Pictures by Joan

Pictures by Joan Rennie


On a recent trip to South Africa I was taken to see a replica of a Caravel that was used to explore the coast of South Africa in 1488. The replica was built in Portugal and set sail from Lisbon on 8 November 1987 arriving at Mossel Bay on 3 February 1988, exactly 500 years to the day after the original voyage. The modern voyage took three months to undertake where as the original took six months.

Although the ship was sailed to Mossel Bay it was lifted clear of the water and is now housed inside a specially constructed museum with ramped walkways that allow viewing of the vessel from all sorts of elevations. The perimeter of the display is used to show maritime maps on the walls and a few relics and items of interest in attractive glass cases. Although you have to pay to enter the museum an additional charge is added if you wish to go onto the vessel. Cunning!