The Spanish Association of Friends of the Great Spanish Navigators and Explorers (AGNYEE) announced Friday it will restart a global sailing expedition honoring Juan Sebastián Elcano’s historic voyage. The new journey begins December 15 from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, and will include a transit through the Panama Canal. This attempt follows the loss of the expedition’s original vessel to a typhoon in 2023.
Organizers plan to complete the ambitious tribute voyage in approximately fifteen months. The route will retrace key ports from the original Magellan–Elcano circumnavigation, including San Juan in Puerto Rico and Cartagena de Indias in Colombia.
Association president and expedition captain Pepe Solá confirmed the details. He expressed a determined commitment to finish the journey started years earlier.
“We are not giving up. We want to complete this expedition and continue spreading the legacy of Elcano,” Solá said. [Translated from Spanish]
The new vessel, a 21-meter, two-masted sailboat named Fénix, replaces the previous yacht Pros. That boat sank at its mooring in Guam during Typhoon Mawar in May 2023. The original expedition launched in 2019 to mark the 500th anniversary of the first recorded circumnavigation of the globe.
Retracing a Historic Maritime Route
This modern voyage aims to cover roughly 25,000 nautical miles. The planned itinerary mirrors the path of the 16th-century explorers with several symbolic stops. After crossing the Atlantic and transiting the Panama Canal, the crew will sail across the Pacific.
Key Pacific stops include Hawaii and the Philippine island of Mactan. Portuguese captain Ferdinand Magellan died there in 1521 during a conflict with local inhabitants. The route will also visit the historic spice islands of Tidore and Ternate in Indonesia before turning homeward. A return to Spain is targeted for the first quarter of 2027.
The association describes the project as an ambitious effort to unite institutions, companies, and individuals passionate about Spanish maritime history. Officials frame the journey as more than a simple recreation.
“This ambitious project seeks to combine the efforts of institutions, companies, and people passionate about Spanish maritime history and sailing,” the association stated. It considers the voyage “a unique opportunity to associate values of exploration, culture, and sustainability with a feat that changed the world.” [Translated from Spanish]
Solá and his team view the expedition as a living educational mission. They intend to promote the historical significance of the original journey led by Magellan and completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano.
Completing a Interrupted Tribute
The 1519-1522 expedition remains one of maritime history’s paramount achievements. Magellan’s fleet of five ships departed Spain seeking a western route to the Spice Islands. Only one ship, the Victoria, returned under the command of Elcano after Magellan’s death, proving the Earth was circumnavigable.
The modern tribute voyage faced its own formidable challenge with the 2023 typhoon. The sinking of the Pros in Guam forced a lengthy pause. Organizers spent the subsequent period securing the new vessel and finalizing updated logistical plans for the global circuit.
Preparations for the December 15 restart are now in their final stages in southern Spain. The association continues to seek partnerships to support the operational and educational goals of the fifteen-month mission. This second attempt underscores a resilient drive to honor a pivotal moment in global exploration history.