Golden Hind (OC12003)

• Scale: 1:85
• Height:  450 mm
• Width: 230mm
• Length: 643mm
• Difficulty Level: Low
• Second Planking: Yes

Spectacular reproduction of the galleon used by the famous Sir Francis Drake by OcCre Models of Spain.

Golden Hind was an English galleon best known for her privateering circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580, captained by Sir Francis Drake. She was originally known as Pelican, but was renamed by Drake mid-voyage in 1578, in honor of his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton, whose crest was a golden ‘hind’ (a female red deer). Hatton was one of the principal sponsors of Drake’s world voyage. One full-sized, still sailable reconstruction containing original pieces of the galleon exists in London, on the south bank of the Thames.

Queen Elizabeth I partly sponsored Sir Francis Drake as the leader of an expedition intended to pass around South America through the Strait of Magellan and to explore the coast that lay beyond. The queen’s support was advantageous; Drake had official approval to benefit himself and the queen, as well as to cause the maximum damage to the Spaniards. This eventually culminated in the Anglo–Spanish War. Before setting sail, Drake met the queen face-to-face for the first time and she said to him, “We would gladly be revenged on the King of Spain for divers injuries that we have received.”

The explicit object was to “find out places meet to have traffic.” Drake, however, acted as a privateer, with unofficial support from Queen Elizabeth. She is described as a “mid-16th-century warship during the transition from the carrack to the galleon,” and displaced about 100 tons. He first named his flagship Pelican, but renamed her Golden Hind on 20 August 1578 to honor his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton, whose family crest was a golden hind. He set sail in December 1577 with five small ships, manned by 164 men, and reached the Brazilian coast in early 1578.

On 1 March 1579, now in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Ecuador, Golden Hind challenged and captured the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de la Concepción. This galleon had the largest treasure captured to that date: over 360,000 pesos (equivalent to around £480m in 2017). The treasure took six days to transship and included 26 tons of silver, half a ton of gold, porcelain, jewelry, coins, and jewels.

A table, known as the cupboard, in the Middle Temple Hall, London is also reputed to have been made from the wood of Golden Hind. Upon the cupboard is placed the roll of members of Middle Temple, which new members sign when they are called to the Bar. The ship’s lantern was hung in the vestibule of Middle Temple Hall, but was destroyed during the Second World War

Information on the London reproduction can be found here

Golden Hind (OC12003)

• Scale: 1:85
• Height:  450 mm
• Width: 230mm
• Length: 643mm
• Difficulty Level: Low
• Second Planking: Yes

Spectacular reproduction of the galleon used by the famous Sir Francis Drake by OcCre Models of Spain.