''Simón Bolívar'' is a

training vessel A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

for the

Venezuelan Navy The Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela (), commonly known as the Venezuelan Navy, is the navy, naval branch of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. The Venezuelan Navy serves the purpose of defending the naval sovereignty of Venezuela, i ...

. She sails from the home port of

La Guaira La Guaira () is the capital city of the Venezuelan Vargas (state), state of the same name (formerly named Vargas) and the country's main port, founded in 1577 as an outlet for nearby Caracas. The city hosts its own professional baseball team i ...

and is a frequent participant in

tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigging, rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a r ...

events. She is named after

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

, the liberator of

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Design

''Simón Bolívar'' was built in the Spanish shipyard of Astilleros Celaya in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

, Spain. She is one of four similar barques built as sail training vessels for Latin American navies; her half-sisters are the Mexican , the Colombian and the Ecuadoran .

History

She was commissioned on 12 August 1980. She participated in

Operation Sail Operation Sail refers to a series of sailing events held to celebrate special occasions and features sailing vessels from around the world. Each event is coordinated by Operation Sail, Inc., a non-profit organization established in 1961 by U.S. Pr ...

in 1986 and again in 2000, visiting

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on both occasions. She formed part of the French ''Voiles de la liberté'' in 1989, ''Armada de la liberté'' in 1994 and ''Armada du siècle'' in 1999. In 1995 she won the golden prize in the international Americas' Sail tall ship race. From 2002 until 2008 she was in refit at Diques y Astilleros Nacionales Compañía Anónima state shipyard in

Puerto Cabello Puerto Cabello () is a city on the north coast of Venezuela. It is located in Carabobo State, about 210 km west of Caracas. As of 2011, the city had a population of around 182,400. The city is home to the largest and busiest port in the count ...

. She participated in

Velas Sudamerica 2010 ''Velas Sudamerica 2010'' or ''Regata del Bicentenario Velas Sudamerica 2010'' or, more commonly, ''Regata del Bicentenario'', was a 2010 historic tall ship gathering and touring of Latin America to celebrate the Bicentennial of Argentina, bicente ...

, an historical

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n tour by eleven tall ships to celebrate the bicentennial of the first national governments of Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and Mexico. She is classified as a Class A Tall Ship by the

International Sail Training Association Sail Training International (STI) is a non-profit international sail training organisation, with members in 29 countries. Its main aim is the "development and education of young people of all nations, cultures, and social backgrounds through the ex ...

and has the

MMSI number A Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) is effectively a maritime object's international ''maritime telephone number'', a temporarily assigned UID issued by that object's current flag state (unlike an IMO number, which is a permanent global UID ...

735059037.

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon Bolivar (barque) 1979 ships Ships built in Spain Individual sailing vessels Sailing ships of Venezuela Sail training ships Tall ships of Venezuela Ships of the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela

Design

History

See also

Notes

References

External links