The Mexican tall ship “Cuauhtémoc” visits Bay Area  --  

The Mexican Naval Academy’s training vessel “Cuauhtemoc” sailed into San Francisco Bay on July 13th for a five day visit before sailing to its home port of Acapulco, Mexico.

During the past six months, the tall ship has sailed the Pacific Ocean and visited Honolulu, Hawaii; the cities of Quingdao and Shanghai in the Republic of China; Incheon, South Korea; Vladivostok, Russia; and the cities of Osaka, Tokio and Onjuku in Japan. After 19,253 miles and six months the ship’s crew

has worked to bring the message of friendliness to the people of the different port cities she visited. In commemoration of the 400 year route between Mexico and Asia, known as the “Nao of China”, the “Cuauhtémoc” embarked on the instruction trip called “Japan 2009” with the mission of strengthening the ties of cooperation and friendship among communities and people of different geographical regions.

Throughout her visit to San Francisco, residents and tourists had the opportunity to go on-board and get acquainted with the features that resemble former 18th century vessels. Officers and regular crew members treated visitors like true ambassadors and readily share their stories of visiting different nations on their tour. They spoke of visiting Japan and trying sushi for the first time. They also spoke of how people spoke no English or Spanish in any of the countries they visited, except for their stop in San Francisco.

One crew member was making coffee for guests while explaining that everyone on the ship is trained on every duty on the ship – every line, cable and piece of equipment. “You really have to have a deep knowledge,” he says. Though he works in the kitchen, he’s been trained on many things. “We have to help each other in case of an emergency,” he says. “You will be given instructions and need to know how to do it.”

The 270 foot sail training ship, also known as the “Knight of the Seas”, was built specifically to train the Mexican Navy’s officer candidates. She can accommodate 186 officers and crew; and 90 trainees. Despite the global access through the new communication technologies, her traditional 23 sails enclose the study of the celestial navigation techniques of the ancient marines.

The “Cuauhtemoc” tall ship was built in 1982 and purchased by the Mexican Navy in order to solve the necessity of a vessel of exclusive use of training captains, officers, cadets and crew. During her 26 years of service, the ship has been witness to the formation of several graduating classes of Officers from the Heroic Naval-Military School, who have among other missions, transmitted the message of friendship and international cooperation. In addition to the main objective of promoting the professionalism of the Officers of the Mexican Navy, the “Cuauhtemoc” tall ship has been recognized for her participation in important sailing competitions, such as the Columbus Race and the Cutty Sark Races. The “Cuauhtemoc” won the prestigious Cutty Sark trophy during the Races of Great Tall Ships in 1998 and 2000, the “highest prize given during this event to the ship whose crew contributes the most to friendship and international understanding.”