Far Barcelona

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Far Barcelona is a two-masted schooner from Norway, built in 1874 and originally named Anne Dorthea. It was used for fishing, general cargo, and at times transporting emigrants to North America. The hull is about 23 meters long, with a beam of around 6.8 meters and a bowsprit reaching up to 33 meters; it weighs about 140 tons. It ran on wind power, but later had a 100-horsepower diesel engine added, which was removed during restoration in the 1970s. Modern updates include solar and wind energy for on-board power.

In 1984 the ship was bought by Miquel Borillo Esteve and rebuilt in Vinaròs and then in Barcelona, with help from local groups and social programs that involved people facing social and labor exclusion. It was transformed into a training ship to teach traditional navigation and to help social rehabilitation. In July 2006, it was renamed Far Barcelona in a ceremony by Barcelona’s mayor, and that summer it took part in two legs of the Tall Ships’ Races.

After the Consorci El Far dissolved, the vessel became part of the Barcelona Maritime Museum collection in September 2016. Today Far Barcelona serves as a training ship and as an ambassador for the city of Barcelona.