La Esmeralda leaving Valparaiso

The Esmeralda, also known as La Dama Blanca (The White Lady) is the second tallest (48.5m – 159ft) and longest (113m – 371ft) sailing ship in the world. Belonging to the Chilean Navy it is used as the training ship for their cadets (only 50 or so are in training at any one time) and holds up to 333 sailors in total.

On the 3rd of January 2010, the Esmeralda set sail on a journey that will take her over 20,433 nautical miles visiting ports in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Mexico, United States and Panama. The ship won’t return to Valparaiso until the 8th of August 2010, just in time for the Chile’s bicentennial celebrations.

Below is a video of the Esmeralda leaving port that day:



A little history about the Esmeralda

Building of the ship started in Spain in 1946 though was halted many times, only being completed in 1953. In 1951 ownership of the partially completed ship was transferred to Chile as a part of Spain’s debt payment to the country.

During the Pinochet regime the boat was “supposedly” used as a floating jail and torture chamber for political prisoners. The British priest Miguel Woodward was one of those killed aboard in September 1973.
(I bet you won’t find anything about that on the Esmeralda’s official site!)

For information about the Esmeralda and where it is at the moment (in Spanish), check out their official website: www.esmeralda.cl