Since my first ever sea voyage was in this sail ship, I decided to research more deeply about It’s history. ????

Santa Maria Manuela (SMM) was built in 1937 by order of Vasco Albuquerque d’Orey and was named after his wife Maria Manuela de Sampaio d’Orey. It’s construction only took 60 days, which is very impressive, and it was built in Lisbon’s shipyard, same as it’s twin Creoula. Up until 1963 it was used by the company “Pesca de viana” to fish codfish in terra nova and labrador. That year, the company was sold to the fishing company Ribau, from Aveiro and kept its original functions.

For many years the ship kept being renovated so it could stay up to date with all the new technology advances in cod fishing but, despite all that effort, in 1993 it was considered obsolete and it was demolished and removed from the fishing boat registration, although it’s hull was preserved. In 1994, the founders of what is now the Santa Maria Manuela Foundation, decides to buy all the scrap metal from the original ship and begin it’s recovery. The entire restauration was made with the ship’s original project from 1937.

The project was in standby for many years and it was only resumed in 2007, after the company Pascoal e Filhos, S.A. became owner of the hull, which was transported to the Navalria shipyard, in Gafanha da Nazaré, so the recovery could finally start. In the end of 2008, the hull was towed to the Factoria Naval Marín shipyard, in Galiza to install equipment and systems and returned to Aveiro in 2010.
Nowadays the ship is used as a learning tool and for tourism, like in the case of the Tall Ships 2016 regatta which I was a part of.

The SMM is a four mast sail ship/ tal ship, with a reinforced hull aft, specially above sea level, due to its original purpose, of ice water fishing. The entire interior’s wood coated.

  • Ship’s length (with bowsprit): 68,64 meters
  • Hull length: 62,64 meters
  • Length (between perpendiculars): 52,68 meters
  • Beam: 9,90 meters
  • Deptht: 5,94 meters
  • Draft: 4,51 meters
  • Propulsion (by engine): 746 kW
  • Crew (maximum): 22
  • Participants/guests (maximum): 50
  • Guest cabins: for 2 people: 12; for 4 people: 5; for 6 people: 1