(This story was changed to fix the captions.)
As the City of St. Augustine waited for the arrival of the Nao Trinidad on Monday, engine failure, north winds and the bayfront current caused the full-size replica of the Magellan-Elcan to crash gently into the Bridge of Lions.
The crash happened about 8:30 a.m. According to Eric Mauldin, the city’s Harbor Master, both engines lost power before the ship drifted into the bridge.
“This morning, while waiting for slack tide and the 8:30 bridge opening coming into the docks, they lost propulsion of both engines,” he said. “The wind and current took them into the bridge, and they were safely taken off the bridge. No damage to the boat. No damage to the bridge.”
The Nao Trinidad is a full-size replica of the tall ship Magellan-Elcan, the first ship to circumnavigate the globe between 1519 and 1522, proving that the world was round.
Commanded by Ferdinand Magellan, the 16th-century journey has been described by many historians as the greatest maritime feat in history, as it opened new routes and connected continents. The journey crossed the Atlantic Ocean, sailed along the coast of South America, discovered the Strait of Magellan and crossed the Pacific Ocean for the first time in history.
The Nao Trinidad was scheduled to be open for daily for guided and self-guided tours of the ship’s four decks from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Tuesday through late November.
Mauldin said that he personally saw no damage, estimating that the ship was travelling less than half a mile an hour before it lost use of both engines.
“Now they’re waiting out at the Dolphins to prepare their engines so they can be towed into the marina at a later date,” he continued.
Mauldin described the Dolphins as an area where barges and commercial vessels will sit and wait for the slack tide to transit through the bridge.
“It’s also where large commercial fishing boats will come in and tie up for bad weather and wait it out,” he said.
Mauldin underscored that the boat gently collided into the bridge. The crash could be seen, but not heard.
“The winds and the currents were opposite, so it just slowly pulled it into the bridge until it made contact,” he said. “The engines were not operating at all.”
The Nao Trinidad, a full-size replica of the tall ship Magellan-Elcan, the first ship to circumnavigate the globe, collided with the Bridge of Lions Monday morning on its way to St. Augustine’s Municipal Marina.
Mauldin said that he had no knowledge of any engine trouble prior to the full shut down of both engines. The boat had been touring “up and down the east coast of the United States.” The crew of “six or seven” were working to get the engines operating before scheduling a tow boat to escort the ship and its crew into the St. Augustine Marina.
“Just in case they do have another mechanical failure, they have a tow boat on standby,” he said.
The ship will remain in the Dolphin’s area of the bayfront until the crew fixes the engines or an outside mechanic is hired to do so.
Mauldin guessed that for now, the crew will remain on the boat. A tender service – a boat used to ferry people and supplies to and from a ship – will be made available for the crew to use.
The Nao Trinidad waits in the Dolphins section the City of St. Augustine’s bayfront for repairs
The Nao Trinidad will return to the same marina location where it was moored this spring. Mauldin said that he expected to have an update Monday night or Tuesday morning.
“Follow the city’s social media to know when the ship will be up and running and open for tours again,” he concluded.
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Nao Trinidad gently crashes into St. Augustine’s Bridge of Lions
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Publish date : 2024-10-29 00:55:00
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