Replica of the San Salvador––First European Ship to Explore San Diego Bay in 1542 #JourneyThePath
There's a special ship in the San Diego Harbor––a replica of the San Salvador that belonged to the Spanish conquistador Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo.
On Sept. 28, 1542, three sailing ships under Cabrillo's command arrived in the port we now call San Diego, one of them the San Salvador.
A statue of Cabrillo overlooks the ocean at the Cabrillo National Monument.
A replica of the San Salvador is on display at the Diego Maritime Museum.
Cabrillo was born in Spain in 1499 or 1500. He came to Panama in 1514 and travelled to Cuba and Mexico where he assisted Cortés in the attack of the Aztec capital. Later, he took part in the conquest of Guatemala.
In 1539, Cabrillo supervised the construction of thirteen ships, including the San Salvador, in Guatemala.
The 200 ton San Salvador was of the highest quality. Her construction was an enormous undertaking. She became one of the most powerful ships in the entire Pacific, capable of sailing anywhere and facing any adversity. This type of galleon would have been quite revolutionary at the time.
The expedition to explore the North Pacific set sail in June 1542 with over 170 crew members. They sailed from the port of Iztapa, roughly 2,000 miles.
Sailing along an unmapped coastline, they met with Native American communities near the present-day ports of Ensenada and San Diego, Catalina Island, and farther North.
In November 1542, they turned southward to spend the winter on Catalina Island. While going ashore, Cabrillo had an accident and broke an arm or a leg. As a result of the injury, he died on Jan. 3, 1543 and was buried on the shore.
In 2011, the San Diego Maritime Museum started building a full-sized, fully functional, historically accurate replica replica of the San Salvador.
Visit the Museum: www.sdmaritime.org
The music is a street performance by John Clarke on 12/22/22. JohnClarkeMusic.com
Watch him here: https://www.ganjing.com/video/1fggb68hts523OADiQy2x6u4t1bb1c
Video produced by Gisela Sommer