THE VOYAGE
Fifth-Centennial of the world‘s First Circumnavigation
We are now celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the world‘s First Circumnavigation. An incredible endeavor considered the most important adventure ever, devised by Magellan and promoted by the Kingdom of Spain.
To commemorate this key achievement in human history, Spanish explorer Álvaro de Marichalar, is circumnavigating the world Solo navigating aboard a tiny 3 meters length vessel, following the watermark of the European heroes of the Sixteenth century honoring Ferdinand Magellan, Juan Sebastián Elcano, HM King Charles I of Spain and the courageous sailors who discovered the shape of our planet empirically demonstrating our world is round. With his Tour around the world, Spanish explorer Álvaro de Marichalar combines both the Spanish and Portuguese spirit of exploration.
First Lap: Sailing around Spain, Portugal and France - From SEVILLE to GIBRALTAR
Álvaro departed from Seville on the exact historical date 500 years later: August 10th 2019. After navigating down the Guadalquivir river he arrived in Sanlúcar de Barrameda on the evening of the same day. As the Magellan-Elcano Expedition did back in 1519, Álvaro resumed sailing on the 20th of September from Sanlucár, arriving in Huelva.
In order to remember the Portuguese explorers who discovered new horizons as the Spaniards did, Álvaro headed to Portugal, landing in Lagos, Sines, Lisbon and Porto.
Álvaro continued sailing along northern Spain reaching the coasts of Galicia, Asturias, Santander and the Basque country, landing in Guetaria where he honored Spanish sailor Juan Sebastian de Elcano, the very first person who circumnavigated the world, born in Guetaria in 1476.
After arriving in Bayonne (France) from San Sebastián, Álvaro’s tiny vessel was transported by land to Monaco were he resumed his Solo WorldTour in November 9th, heading to Marseille and arriving in Barcelona, Salou, Valencia, Alicante, Motril, Malaga, Marbella and Gibraltar.
From Seville to Gibraltar Álvaro sailed always on his feet and completely alone without the assistance of a support vessel, refueling, eating, sleeping and repairing his tiny vessel at ports along the coastline.
Second Lap: ATLANTIC CROSSING - From southern SPAIN to the Caribbean Sea
Álvaro crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Gibraltar to the Caribbean island of Guadalupe where he arrived on Christmas Day after sailing during 15 days with the support of the explorer vessel YERSIN which provided him food, water, supplies and technical assistance.
Third Lap: CARIBBEAN SEA - From Guadalupe to Miami
After repairing his tiny vessel in Guadalupe, Álvaro said goodbye to the support vessel’s crew and resumed navigating on the 31st of December passing by Monserrat island and landing in San Bartolomé - Saint Barths.
Later he continued on to Santa Cruz - Saint Croix, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, Key West and Miami where he arrived on March 16, 2020 just in time to enter the US on the date of the closure of its borders due to the pandemic: Álvaro’s arrival to Miami.
As he did on the First Lap, Álvaro navigated again completely alone without the support of any vessel, refueling, eating, repairing and sleeping at ports of the different Caribbean islands. Solo sailing from island to island along the Caribbean Sea became specially difficult and extremely risky.