For almost two hours yesterday, the Maritime Action Vessel (BAM) Rayo accompanied the Juan Sebastián Elcano on its way through Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The Spanish Navy training ship sailed off the Chicharrera coast as part of the fifth centenary of the first circumnavigation of the world begun by Ferdinand Magellan in 1519, with 5 ships and more than 300 men, and completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano three years later, with only 1 ship and 18 sailors, a voyage in which Puerto chicharrero became their first stopover. Elcano received the honors of the BAM Rayo, in which the Commander Admiral of the Canary Islands Naval Command, José Lago Ochoa, together with the rest of the invited civil and military authorities, sailed to stand next to the ship to accompany it during those two hours. Ochoa welcomed the attendees to the ship, recalling that the feat carried out by Spain 500 years ago, if it were transferred to the present, “it would be like going beyond Mars”.
The admiral commander of the Naval Command in the Canary Islands explained that the Juan Sebastián Elcano had planned to dock in the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife last year, during the celebration of that fifth centenary, but that the pandemic prevented it. “This year it has not been possible to adjust the programming so that it docks in Santa Cruz, but we did not want to let it pass by and that is why we wanted to pay it this tribute”, he pointed out.
The president of the Tertulia Amigos del 25 de Julios, Luis García Rebollo, was in charge of explaining to the attendees the importance of the milestone achieved by Magallanes-Elcano. García Rebollo offered a conference in which he pointed out that, according to documentary sources, some recently discovered, the Armada del Maluco, as the fleet with which Magellan left Seville on August 10, 1519, was known, arrived in Santa Cruz on the September 26 of that same year. There it remained anchored until the 29th, to weigh anchor on the 30th and move to Montaña Roja, in Granadilla, where it would remain until October 2. The passage of Juan Sebastián Elcano through Santa Cruz is therefore a tribute to that first port of call of the Magellan expedition before crossing the Atlantic.
Once the Rayo arrived next to the training ship, it was possible to see how a zodiac brought a vital supply to the ship for the training ship’s crew: blood bags for transfusions in case the sailors needed it in the coming months. crossing that still lies ahead.
The sailors of the Juan Sebastián Elcano greeted the passengers of the Rayo from the deck, and proceeded to unfurl the sails before the attentive gaze of the twenty guests, among whom was the Minister of Justice and Security, Julio Pérez, the president of the Port Authority, Carlos González, the Bishop of Tenerife, Bernardo Álvarez, or the Councilor for Works of Santa Cruz, Dámaso Arteaga, representing the Santa Cruz City Council. The latter wanted to highlight the importance of a commemorative act such as the one held yesterday, in which the leading role of Santa Cruz in the historical milestone of the first circumnavigation of the world was highlighted, not only as a supply point but also “as a point of place himself on the map by recalibrating his instruments on the meridian of Tenerife as it was known then, before starting his journey to cross the Atlantic”.
Arteaga recalled that Santa Cruz is part of the Magellanic Cities and that as such it is participating in all the events that are being celebrated on the occasion of the fifth centenary of this trip around the world. The mayor advanced that it will be in July when “an element that allows us to remember the importance of Santa Cruz in the Magellan-Elcano trip, in which that meridian of Santa Cruz helped to carry out” will be installed.
Magellan’s project, at first, consisted of being able to reach the Moluccas Islands from the West, instead of from the East, and thus open a new passage to the Spice Islands. This project was accepted by the Crown of Castile and for this purpose, on March 22, 1518, some capitulations for the expedition were signed in Valladolid, in which Magellan was granted the title of governor and advance of all the lands that he owned. “discover”.
The Magellan-Elcano expedition is considered one of the most important naval feats in the history of mankind, being the starting point of the Pacific exploration era and in which the members of the expedition showed great courage that surprised the world.
Likewise, this fact is also considered a turning point in the course of humanity that, by demonstrating the navigability of the terrestrial orb, opened a means of free interconnection between the various regions of the world, thus launching the first globalization of humanity.
With this instruction trip by Juan Sebastián Elcano, 500 years later, the Navy seeks to honor its sailors by commemorating the naval deed and valuing the Spanish contribution to navigation and exploration. The ship began the XCIV Training Cruise departing from Cádiz on February 12 and, until it passed through Tenerife, it visited the ports of Athens (Greece), Civitavecchia (Italy) and Barcelona. After passing through Tenerife, he plans to visit the ports of Praia (Cape Verde), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Havana (Cuba), Miami (USA), Santander, Saint Malo (France) and La Coruña, ending the trip in Marín and Cádiz.
