With the Highlands Business Partnership hosting the cadets on the “Most Beautiful Ship in the World, the Tall Ship Amerigo Vespucci July 3, it might be a good idea to stop in Bahr’s Restaurant prior to then to learn more about this fascinating cadet training ship, the largest of all that will be participating in the Tall Ships Parade celebrating our nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4.
Jay Cosgrove, president of the Partnership and owner of Bahrs Landing and Bahrs Famous Restaurant, has a fascinating story behind the huge and impeccably perfect model that is on display at the Restaurant, Bay Avenue, Highlands, and which has been in the family for many years. Jay’s story of the model is almost as exciting and mysterious as the story of the training ship itself. There are other mementos and reminders of the nation’s anniversary on display at the restaurant, as well as photos and mementos of the restaurant’s own history as the oldest still operating business in Highlands.
The Amerigo Vespucci is named after the explorer Amerigo Vespucci and is home ported is La Spezia, Italy. Vespucci was born in the 15th century in Florence. Italy, and was a merchant and explorer-navigator who took part in early voyages to the New World. He was recognized with the prestigious title of Piloto mayo. He died in Seville, Spain in the early 16th century. The name for the Americas is derived from his given name.
In 1925, the Regia Marina ordered two training ships designed by Italian Navy Engineering Corps General Lieutenant Francesco Rotundi. The style was inspired by the structure of the late 18th century 74-cannon ships of the Italian Navy. The first, the Cristoforo Colombo, was put into service in 1928 and was used by the Italian Navy until 1943. After World War II, this ship was handed over to the USSR as part of war reparations and was shortly afterwards decommissioned.
The second ship was the Amerigo Vespucci, built in 1930 at the Royal Naval Shipyard in Naples. She was launched on February 22, 1931, and put into service in July of that year.
The Americo Vespucci is a full-rigged three-masted steel hull, 270 ft long, with an overall length of 331 ft including the bowsprit, and a maximum width of 51 ft. She has a draught of about 23 ft and a displacement at full load of 4146 tons. Under auxiliary diesel-electric propulsion the Amerigo Vespucci can reach 10 knots and has a range of 5,450 nautical miles .
The three steel masts are 160 ft, 177 ft, and 141 ft high, and carry sails totaling 30,400 sq ft. The vessel has 26 sails when you include all the square sails, staysails and jibs, all are traditional canvas.
The hull is black with two white stripes, harking back to the two gun decks of the ships her design is based on; she also carries two saluting guns in pivot mountings on the deck. The deck planks are of teak wood and must be replaced every three years. The figurehead on the bow is of Amerigo Vespucci.
The standard crew of the Amerigo Vespucci is 16 officers, and 70 non-commissioned officers with sailors.. In summer, when she embarks with the midshipmen of the Naval Academy (Accademia Navale), the crew totals some 450.
Other than during World War II, the Amerigo Vespucci has been continually active. Most of her training cruises are in European waters, but she has also sailed to North and South America, and navigated the Pacific. In 2002, she undertook a voyage around the world, 1976 she was in Sandy Hook Bay for the Tall Ships of the Bicentennial parade. In 1960, she carried the Olympic torch from Piraeus to Syracuse for the Summer Olympics in Rome.
While sailing the Mediterranean Sea in 1962, the American aircraft carrier USS Independence flashed the Amerigo Vespucci with the light signal asking: “Who are you?” The full-rigged ship answered: “Training ship Amerigo Vespucci, Italian Navofficers, ” The Independence replied: “You are the most beautiful ship in the world.” In 2022, the Amerigo Vespucci sailed by the American aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, which saluted the ship and commented: “You are still, after 60 years, the most beautiful ship in the world
The Amerigo Vespucci often takes part in sailing parades and Tall Ships’ Races, where she is in amicable rivalry with the Gorch Fock, which will also be in Sandy Hook Bay July 3.
In January of last year, Archbishop Santo Marcianò of the Military Ordinariate of Italy designated the ship as a 2025 Jubilee church and site “for sacred pilgrimages and for pious visits among its missions at sea
Amerigo Vespucci
