Senate Concurrent ResolutionNo. 153


Introduced by Senator Hueso

June 14, 2016


Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 153—Relative to the San Salvador replica.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 153, as introduced, Hueso. Maritime Museum of San Diego: San Salvador replica.

This measure would recognize and commend the Maritime Museum of San Diego for its continuing dedication to preserving, interpreting, and teaching the rich maritime history of California while upholding a worldwide reputation for excellence with regard to the restoration, maintenance, and operation of historic vessels, particularly the San Salvador replica.

Fiscal committee: no.

P1    1WHEREAS, The Spanish galleon San Salvador was explorer
2Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s flagship vessel, and during his 1542
3expeditionary voyage, the San Salvador, in the company of two
4other ships, landed at what is now the City of San Diego and
5established first contact with the indigenous peoples of the
6California coast, and Cabrillo and his crew became the first
7Europeans to set foot on the Pacific coast of the United States; and

8WHEREAS, The Maritime Museum of San Diego’s mission is
9to serve as the community memory of our seafaring experience by
10collecting, preserving, and presenting our rich maritime heritage
11via a world-class collection of 10 historic vessels, exhibitions,
12public events, and educational programs; and

P2    1WHEREAS, In pursuit of this mission, the Maritime Museum
2of San Diego sought to build a full-sized, fully functional, and
3historically accurate replica of the San Salvador to create a living
4link between California’s past and present, that would serve as a
5community memory of the region’s seafaring experience and
6present its rich and diverse maritime heritage and historic
7connections to the Pacific world; and

8WHEREAS, After years of research and fundraising for the
9construction of a functional and historically accurate replica of the
10San Salvador, the Maritime Museum of San Diego hosted an
11international symposium in 2004, at which time experts were
12enlisted to evaluate the design of the vessel, and in the spring of
132011, construction began in full view of the public at Spanish
14Landing Park in the City of San Diego; and

15WHEREAS, The construction of the San Salvador replica is
16based on painstaking research in the fields of early modern Spanish
17and Portuguese maritime history and maritime archeology, and
18experts have scoured volumes of historical narratives, examined
19all the available images of early sixteenth-century sailing vessels,
20and surveyed the remains of contemporary shipwrecks; and to
21execute this vision, the Maritime Museum of San Diego engaged
22a group of skilled professional boat builders, who were assisted
23by scores of regular volunteers; and

24WHEREAS, Most of the labor was performed by volunteers
25who believed they could learn to build a ship and almost 500
26volunteers from around the world devoted their time, energy, and
27talents to building the ship; and

28WHEREAS, On September 4, 2015, during the Festival of Sail,
29the San Salvador replica was commissioned; and

30WHEREAS, The San Salvador replica will function as the origin
31symbol ship for California and commemorate the voyage of the
32original San Salvador which, through its voyage into the unknown
33parts of the ocean, provided vital geographic, climatic, and
34oceanographic information on the Pacific Ocean; and

35WHEREAS, Beginning in the fall of 2016, as an operational
36vessel, the San Salvador replica will be used in Cabrillo discovery
37reenactments and outreach voyages to other ports and the museum
38will partner with other educational facilities and museums, and
39the ship’s presence will also enable the Maritime Museum of San
40Diego to implement a teacher training institute, where teachers
P3    1can attend California standards-based seminars on the discovery
2of the western coast and the age of exploration; and

3WHEREAS, The vessel’s maiden voyage will be known as the
4San Salvador Pacific Heritage Tour and will travel from San Diego
5to other California ports of call in Ventura, Monterey, San
6Francisco, Vallejo, Jack London Square, Old Sacramento, Morro
7Bay, and the Channel Islands; and

8WHEREAS, The mission of the San Salvador replica is to
9embody our community origin story by presenting the life and
10times of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the historic voyage of the San
11Salvador, our place in the beginnings of the modern world, and
12first contact between Europeans and Native American peoples of
13the west coast of North America; now, therefore, be it

14Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
15thereof concurring,
That the Legislature recognizes and commends
16the Maritime Museum of San Diego for its continuing dedication
17to preserving, interpreting, and teaching the rich maritime history
18of California while upholding a worldwide reputation for
19excellence with regard to the restoration, maintenance, and
20operation of historic vessels, particularly the San Salvador replica
21that will soon set sail; and be it further

22Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
23this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.



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