As a history buff and a lover of anything to do with old sailing ships, I especially enjoyed this episode of California’s Gold which I just happened to catch a few nights ago for the first time. I had certainly heard the name Juan Cabrillo before, but I wasn’t aware of the whole story behind his arrival in Southern California and exploration of the coast as far north as the Russian River in Sonoma County. This episode originally aired back in 2012 — so it’s wonderful to now be able to see the final result of how the San Salvador turned out and how it has become a treasured part of the San Diego Maritime Museum.

Huell travels to Point Loma to learn about the history of Juan Cabrillo’s ship, the San Salvador, which arrived at San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542. We then meet the builders and see the progress of a full-scale replica of the ship at the San Diego Maritime Museum.

(Click on the linked image below to see the video.)