According to a statement by the Navy, its stopover in the Canary Islands was the last one before beginning its 84th training cruise, which will cross the Atlantic twice and drop anchor in the ports of San Juan (Puerto Rico), Colón (Panama), Miami and Newport (United States), Den Helder (Netherlands), Bayonne (France) and Santander and Marín, a port city in the province of Pontevedra (Spain).

In total, the ship will sail some 11,500 nautical miles on its 100-day voyage.

On this training cruise, the Juan Sebastián Elcano will participate alongside other Latin American training vessels in the "Tall Ships" regatta that will sail from Puerto Rico, tracing the route taken by Juan Ponce de León in 1513.

Those aboard this vessel also plan to attend the commemorative acts of the "500th Anniversary of the Discovery of the Pacific Ocean" in Colón (Panama) and the "500th Anniversary of the Discovery of Florida" in Miami (United States).

The ship's captain, Alfonso Gómez Fernández de Córdoba, has under his command a crew of 23 officers, 22 non-commissioned officers, 140 army soldiers and navy officers and five civilian officials.

With a length of 131.1 meters and breadth of 13 meters, the Juan Sebastián Elcano vessel has been given the title of Honorary Ambassador by Spain.

Source: www.panamaamerica.com.pa