On Wednesday, 11 March, the Tall Ship Glenlee was delighted to welcome representatives from the Spanish Navy and the Spanish Consul General based in Edinburgh on board the ship.
The visit celebrated Glenlee’s long and meaningful connection with Spain. From 1922, the ship served for sixty years under Spanish ownership as a training vessel for the Spanish Navy under the name Galatea. In June 1993, she returned to the River Clyde, where she had originally been built almost a century earlier.
The delegation was welcomed to Glasgow by the Lord Provost, Jacqueline McLaren, who presented the visitors with a tie made from Glasgow tartan as a gesture of civic hospitality. During their time on board, guests enjoyed a tour of the ship, sharing memories and stories connected to Glenlee’s long and varied history.
A highlight of the visit was a presentation by Captain Juan Escrigas Rodríguez of the Spanish Navy, who shared his research and historic photographs of the vessel during her years of Spanish service. Captain Escrigas has a particularly close personal connection to the ship. He is the grandson of two commanders of Galatea and has maintained strong professional and personal links with the vessel throughout his career.
A historian of the Spanish Navy, Captain Escrigas has written extensively on its history, including research on Galatea. He currently serves as Director of the Maritime Museum in Madrid, which holds an important collection of artefacts, photographs and archival material relating to the ship. Among his own personal collection is the original Glenlee ship’s bell from 1896, which was presented to his grandfather in the 1920s.
The visit also included presentations from Elizabeth Allen, Vice-Chair of the Tall Ship Glenlee Trust, and Museum Manager Lauren Henning, who shared updates on the restoration work that has taken place since the ship’s return to the Clyde and outlined the Trust’s priorities for the future.
The day celebrated the strong historical ties between Scotland and Spain through the story of Glenlee, while also marking the beginning of a renewed relationship between the Spanish Navy and the Tall Ship Glenlee Trust.