A replica of Ferdinand Magellan’s flagship the 16th-century sailing ship, the Trinidad, drifted into a bridge in St. Augustine, Florida on Monday. The crew of the Nao Trinidad reported losing control after losing power to both of its engines. The replica wasn’t damaged, unlike the original Trinidad, which was destroyed by a storm in Indonesia.
The Nao Trinidad is essentially a floating museum intended to immerse visitors in the Age of Sail. The massive four-masted vessel is a recreation of the ship Magellan used to circumnavigate the globe in 1519. It is 93 feet long and its tallest mast rises 82 feet above the waterline. Despite featuring 359 square yards of sail and nearly two miles of rope, the ship relies on engines to navigate modern ports and harbors not equipped to accommodate massive sailing ships.
The Nao Trinidad awaited the Bridge of Lions to open before heading into St. Augustine on its East Coast tour. However, weather conditions and an unfortunately timed mechanical failure pushed the ship into the bridge. Eric Mauldin, the city’s harbor master, told the St. Augustine Record:
“This morning, while waiting for slack tide and the 8:30 bridge opening coming into the docks, they lost propulsion of both engines. 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.”
This isn’t the first time that a sailing ship collided with the Bridge of Lions. In 2021, a Nor’easter pushed a modern sailboat into the bridge while it was docked and everyone onboard was asleep. The boat was pinned on its side, partially capsized. While the fire department had to save the boat, it didn’t have to be babysat by a tow boat after the incident like the Nao Trinidad.