Replica ship stands tall in Santa Barbara Harbor

A tall ship is taking command of the Santa Barbara Harbor.

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) is hosting the “San Salvador” for several days.

It’s on loan from the Maritime Museum of San Diego. It cost more than 6 million dollars to build and took ten years to replicate.

The San Salvador was the flagship of Juan Cabrillo and was the first European boat to visit the California coast in 1542.

Greg Gorga, the executive director of the Maritime Museum in Santa Barbara said the heritage ship is an important part of our maritime history.

“San Salvador first came through our Channel in 1542. It was the first European contact with our Native Americans, our Chumash here. He fell coming off the boat on one of the islands, broke a limb and developed gangrene. It’s rumored he is buried on one of our Channel Islands here,” Gorga said.

The tall ship tours will be offered from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Monday, May 22.

Tickets are available at SBMM.

For more information on the tours, and other events at SBMM, click here.