Cuauhtémoc
The ARM Cuauhtémoc BE-01

The ARM Cuauhtémoc BE-01

Mexican Naval Sailing Ship Photos

The ARM Cuauhtémoc BE-01
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Photos taken in Port Elizabeth - 27-04- 2006  •  Photos taken in Melbourne - 27-06-2006  •  More information  - from Wikipedia

Cuauhtémoc Jigsaw
A photo Jigsaw of the Cuauhtémoc, see photos below

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The Mexican Navy's 270-ft sail training ship Cuauhtémoc has docked at Port Elizabeth.

The Cuauhtémoc is a three-masted steel barque, built specifically to train the Mexican Navy's candidate officers.   Commanding Officer is Captain Roberto Gonzales Lopes.

A traditional square-rigged sailing ship in all respects, although it is equipped with modern navigation aids required by maritime convention, including radar.

Photos taken in Port Elizabeth - 27-04- 2006
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Cuauhtémoc Cuauhtémoc Cuauhtémoc Cuauhtémoc Photos taken at Port Elizabeth Harbour 2006 Photos © D Coombe
Photos taken in Melbourne - 27-06-2006
Photos © Sue Lawrence, Frances Henke, Andrew MacKinnon
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The Cuauhtémoc in Melbourne - 27-06-2006
Thanks to efforts initiated by David Aarons, the Mexican consul in Melbourne, the Peninsula Ship Society had a fantastic day out on Tuesday and, I hope, helped to make the Cuauhtémoc 's arrival in Melbourne a memorable one.

At 5.45 am last Tuesday, a bitterly cold winter's morning, a group of intrepid ship lovers boarded the chartered coach at Hastings for the hour and a half trip up to Melbourne's Station Pier. We picked up more passengers at Mornington and Frankston, filling the 50 seat coach. We arrived at Station Pier soon after dawn, where the ex-Sorrento ferry, Nepean, was waiting to take us out to sea.

Still bitterly cold (it never did warm up), but calm and dry, we headed out at 7.30 am - a group of very excited men, women and children. After about 45 minutes, the Cuauhtémoc  came into view. She had actually arrived the previous day, but had been waiting at one of the outer anchorages, so that she could dock dead on time. What a magnificent sight she was - even under bare poles. Spotless, with men lining every inch of deck and dressed overall, she really looked the epitome of a sail training ship.

We caught up with her and then circled her before falling into station off her starboard beam. One member of our society had prepared a banner that said Welcome in Spanish and which required six people to hold it up. This was arranged when we were close enough for them to read it, the crew looked at it, cheered and raised their hats aloft and then responded by several blasts on the ship's horn. We repeated this a few times during the voyage and each time the response was warm and enthusiastic.

Soon after this Victoria's own tall ship, the Enterprize arrived on the scene, adding some colour to the scene, her brown hull contrasting vividly with the spotless white of the Cuauhtémoc  - but she looked like a dwarf against the Cuauhtémoc .

In convoy, we headed into the port, the Cuauhtémoc  initially unfurling her sails (I don't know the term whereby the sails are slightly dropped, so that they look like very attractively arranged open curtains), and then sending all her men up the masts to man the rigging. What an impressive sight - every inch of rigging with a man standing on it with legs and arms akimbo.

All too soon it was 10 am and, dead on time, the Cuauhtémoc was tying up at Station Pier just astern of the Tasmania ferry, Spirit of Tasmania 1.

At 11 am, we all walked down the Pier,  right down to the end and around the foot of it to where the Cuauhtémoc  was waiting for us. We had been invited to go aboard, before she opened up to the general public, for a group guided tour. What a magnificent sight awaited us. The ship was totally spick and span, and was kept in that state as everywhere there were men out with their bits of cotton waster polishing anything that gleamed. We were made to feel so very welcome. Splitting up into two groups, we were then taken on the tour, first around the open deck and then into the officer's accommodation - the wardroom, great cabin, chartroom and finally the bridge. The standard of accommodation and fittings would have put shame to any of the world's luxurious liners - polished wood, sumptuous furniture, plaques presented to the ship from all corners of the globe, ultra-modern navigation equipment. She was superb.

Finally, the two groups merged again and we were asked to wait by the gangway, which we did for a while - only to be rejoined by our guide (one of two young junior officers who spoke perfect English) who thanked us for visiting his ship and presented us (the Peninsula Ship Society) with a magnificently engraved ship's plaque. This will go up in pride of place on the wall of the Hastings RSL, where we meet. We were overwhelmed by this generosity.

It was a truly wonderful day, and on my own behalf (but I know that I am expressing the views of all members of our society), I want to thank David Aarons for setting all this in motion, the Mexican Embassy, and, of course, the ship's captain and company. Mexico can be very, very proud of its ship and its representatives.
Susan Lawrence
Vice-President
Peninsula Ship Society
More Information - from Wikipedia
Official Name and Number : ARM Cuauhtémoc BE-01
Type : Barque
Hull : Steel
Builder : Astilleros Celaya S.A., Bilbao, Spain
Commissioned : July 29th,1982
Homeport : Acapulco, Mexico
Sparred Length : 296.9 ft (90.5 m)
Length waterline : 220 ft 4 in (67.2 m)
Beam : 39 ft 4 in (12 m)
Draft : 17.7 ft (5.4 m)
Displacement : 1,800 tons
Sail Area : 25,489 sq. ft (2,368 sq. m)
Auxiliary Propulsion : one 1,125 hp engine
Fuel Capacity : 220 tons
Water Capacity : 110 tons
Officer / Crew Accommodations : 186
Trainee Accommodations : 90

The ARM Cuauhtémoc BE-01 is a Sail Training vessel similar to the USCGC Eagle, designed to train officers and cadets of the Mexican Navy She is the last of 4 sister ships built by the Naval Shipyards of Bilbao, Spain and named for the last Aztec Emperor Cuauhtémoc.  Cuauhtémoc was captured by Hernán Cortés and with his execution in 1525, ended Aztec rule of present day Mexico to Spain.

Like her sister ships, the Colombian Gloria, the Equadorian Guayas and the Simon Bolivar of Venezuela, the Cuauhtémoc is a sailing ambassador for her home country and a frequent visitor to world ports, having sailed over 400,000 nautical miles in her 23 years of service with appearances at the Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Races, ASTA Tall Ships Challenges, Sail Osaka, and others.        
Cuauhtémoc (ship) Wikipedia

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