ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Storms rolling across the region over the past week have delayed the arrival of the Tall Ships of America Tour in Charlotte.

A 95-foot-long replica of a 16th-century Spanish tall ship will sail into the Port of Rochester this week. The Nao Trinidad was expected to arrive Wednesday, but some choppy weather means it's not going to arrive until Friday morning. 

It's a replica of the flagship of the Magellan expedition. The ship has three masts with the main mast being more than 82 feet high. The ship has five sails and five different decks, each built of tropical hardwood and pinewood. Visitors are invited to climb aboard for a tour.

"It is walking tour, a self-guided tour," said Catlyn Case of the Port of Rochester Marina. "There is crew on the ship, so if you have questions and want to know more about it they are there to answer it for you. It is a great way to spend time with your kids and show them that this is how we discovered the world at one time. I think reading about it is a lot different that seeing it in person. This is a great way to do it. It is a floating museum. They have all the instruments they use and crew cabin quarters and what they slept on. It is pretty wild, that's a great way to describe it."

This ship was built by the Victoria Foundation, a non-profit that specializes in building replicas to help people experience a slice of history.  

Rochester is thrilled to have it, even with a delay in its arrival. It's the first tall ship to visit the Flower City since 2019.

"It is interesting to see," said Case. "This was a replica of Magellan's ship, so that was in 1519 he was sailing around the world. It's pretty incredible to see how far we have come. All of these boats have motors but they didn't have anything and they were relying heavily on wind. So it is kind of cool to pretend to be one of them for a couple of hours."

The Nao Trinidad has sailed to ports throughout the Great Lakes, Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. In addition to being a floating Spanish maritime museum, it's also a training vessel.

The ship will be open for tours through Sunday.

Tickets are $15 for adults, youth aged 5-12 are $5 and children under 5 are free. You can also buy a special family bundle for $35.