Spain’s Nao Trinidad docks in St. Michaels to give ship lovers an immersive experience

ST. MICHAELS, Md. – 93-foot-long replica of the 16th century Nao Trinidad is docked in St. Michales.

The ship was built in 2018, and program director, Brenda Parra, said the five-year-old ship already has a few thousand miles on it.

“We started in Spain, with a tour around Spain and around France,” Parra said. “We crossed the Atlantic 15 months ago and now we have been touring all over the East Coast of the US.”

Crewmember Abraham Lopez showed 47ABC all of the stops the ship has made in the western world.

“It has been here, in the United States– on the East Coast– and we have been up to the Great Lakes, and we also have been down to Mexico, central America, Panama and the Caribbean islands,” Lopez said.

Crewmember Jaye Lunsford said the experience the Noa Trinidad offers the public is like no other. Attendees are able to walk in the shoes of those who sailed the seas, over five centuries ago.

“I tell people that, you know, they would have had a crew of 50 or 60 people, and they’re all sleeping on the deck; they’re putting up with these tremendous hardships, and the context for that is things were so bad in Europe that people thought this was a good idea,” Lunsford said. “They don’t get that from reading a book, they get that by walking these decks.”

As the crew members prepare for their next voyage along the East Coast, Lunsford said she’s looking forward to what’s over the horizon.

“When you’re underway, and the night is long and dark and cold, and then you see that first light on the horizon, you go ‘We made it,” Lunsford said.