The striking vessel is no ordinary ship. As a ‘floating museum’ and the world’s only replica of a 16th–17th century Spanish galleon, the ship is styled after the mighty ships that once formed the backbone of the Spanish Empire. The kind that sailed the globe in search of silk, spices, and (let’s be honest) a bit of glory.

Fresh from her journey across the Bay of Biscay from Vigo, Spain, the Andalucía made Dartmouth her first UK stop before continuing a European tour through Cork, Ireland and then back and forth between UK, France, Germany and Netherlands.

Visitors climbing aboard were free to explore below deck as well as above - walking through living quarters, storerooms and past the impressive cannons. All while learning how these majestic ships once journeyed the furthest corners of the globe, trading everything from porcelain to peppercorns.

Director of the Galleon, Lupo Bathke Luce, said: “It was pretty much the first merchant navy to put simply, which is very important as far as shipping goes.”

Although not a pirate ship, the dramatic rigging, ornate wooden stern and broad, curved hull bares a striking resemblance to the Pirates of the Caribbean vessels - and with good reason. Spanish galleons were both treasure ships and warships, heavily armed to defend their valuable cargoes from rivals and rogues alike. Bathke Luce explains these ships would have been “a prize” to pirates.

In fact, it was vessels like these that inspired tales of buried treasure, privateers, and cutthroat adventures on the high seas. Their journeys shaped empires, and their stories still fire the imagination centuries later.

The Andalucía was built in 2009 by the Regional Government of Andalusia and the Nao Victoria Foundation, aiming to promote the region's history and culture.

But the galleon offers more than just a photo opportunity. Adventurous souls can sign up for a three-month volunteer programme and join the crew - hoisting sails, sleeping in hammocks and getting very familiar with the concept of sea legs.

This is how Bathke Luce became involved with the galleon, and has never looked back. “It's very special to us - the guys who sail on it - because it's basically a once in a lifetime experience to be able to sail on a ship like this.”

“I applied to the volunteer program they had a couple of years ago. I just started as a volunteer, which pretty much everyone on board does, even the captains, chief engineers - everyone starts off a volunteer. And it just grows on you spending time here.”

If a volunteer training programme is not your cup of tea, the Tall Ship Experience offers the chance to travel across the seven seas on board any of the five replica ships in the Nao Victoria Foundation’s catalogue.

The Nao Victoria Foundation is a non-profit organisation that specialises in the promotion and development of events through its replicas of historic ships in ports all over the world.