Replica of the Golden Hind

[melodysparks]

Golden Hind, a photo by Melodysparks (Chris Preedy) on Flickr.

The Golden Hind or Hinde was an English galleon best known for its circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580, captained by Sir Francis Drake. She was originally known as the Pelican, but was renamed by Drake mid-voyage in 1578, as he prepared to enter the Strait of Magellan, calling it the Golden Hind to compliment his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton, whose armorial crest was a golden 'hind' (a female deer). Hatton was one of the principal sponsors of Drake's world voyage.

The original disintegrated and was broken up approximately 400 years ago but two replicas exist, one replica of the Golden Hind docked in St Mary Overie Dock, London the second smaller replica in Brixham, and can be seen during low tide.

The modern full-size authentic replica of the ship, was built by traditional handcraft in Appledore, North Devon and launched in 1973. It has travelled more than 140,000 miles (225,000 km), a distance equal to more than five times around the globe. Like the original, it has circumnavigated the world. It first sailed, in 1973, to San Francisco to commemorate Sir Francis Drake's claiming of California for Queen Elizabeth I.

In 1979–1980, it retraced Drake's around the world route. In 1981–1984, it berthed in Britain and was established as an educational museum. In 1984–1985, it circumnavigated the British Isles and then sailed to the Caribbean. In 1986, it sailed through Panama Canal to Canada for the World's Fair in Vancouver.

In 1987, it began a US tour, visiting ports in Washington, Oregon, and California. In 1988, it sailed back through the Panama Canal from California to Texas. In 1989, it visited ports on the Gulf of Mexico. In 1990–1991, it visited ports on the east coast of the US. In 1992, it returned to tour the UK.

I have personally been fortunate to see both replicas I was extremely surprised when I saw the one in Brixham first as I thought that it looked far too small to travel as far as it did not knowing at the time it was a smaller replica. This second replica is more in line with what I imagined the Hind to look like.

The Specs are
Tonnage: 100 - 150 tons
Displacement: 300 tons
Length: 102 ft (31 m) on deck
Beam: 20 ft (6.1 m)
Draught: 9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion: Sail; Wind
Speed: 8 knots (15 km/h)
Complement: 80–85
Armament: 22 guns