JOSIAN MORALES DE OÑATE, owner of the sailing yacht “BADUM”, is a Yacht Captain and expert 22,000 miles ocean navigator. Josián is an Aeronautical Engineer and pilot, and has worked in AISA, BOEING, CASA and AIRBUS; he is also founder and vice-president of AGNYEE (Association of Friends of Great Spanish Navigators and Explorers), member of RAECY and founder of “Navegantes por la Historia” (Navigators for History).
Josián is the main promoter of the project “El Caribe español” (“The Spanish Caribbean”), and on January 8, 2025 he plans to set sail from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to the Caribbean, and, after visiting several ports of historical interest, return to Spain at the end of May 2025.
We thank Josián in advance for sharing his project with our readers in this interview.
Josián, how were your beginnings in yachting? What would you highlight about your facet as a sailor?
As a young model airplane hobbyist, glider instructor pilot and private pilot, it is certainly a good basis to understand how to optimize the aerodynamic performance of the sails.
Sailing navigator, self-made, since I have not received any sailing course in any Sailing School. Like many, quite a long time ago, I started with a windsurfing board, then dinghy sailing with Vaurien, and then founded a cruising charter company (Rentamaran). This allowed me to sail on cruisers, without being an owner. And then distributors of GibSea sailboats, and later Dufour.
As a sailor, I would emphasize prudence and meteorological knowledge as two pillars to ensure that the navigations are of little risk and reach a good port. In addition, it is important to know the boat and its equipment well, to have a good crew and of course to have a good weather forecast and to know how to interpret it.
It is very desirable to be able to involve the whole family, wife and children, so that they participate in the sailing plans. Children and their friends are an ideal breeding ground for crew members. It is very important to instill a love of sailing in your children from a very young age. In my case I feel very fortunate because my wife is a great diver and a very good cook who loves sailing. In addition, all four children are good sailors, each with their own preferences, and they make a good team when they can go out together.
How did “El Caribe Español”(“The Spanish Caribbean”) project come about and what does it consist of?
The interest in spreading the successful History of Spain, leads to focus on the Caribbean, which is where many of the successes of our History of the sixteenth century are concentrated.
I have limited to a maximum of 15 cities in the Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico that had a relevant influence in our History, and because it is complicated to coordinate all of them in a single voyage, it has been divided into three seasons.
Each season a flotilla of Spanish ships will cross the Atlantic and make a tour visiting 5 cities chosen for their historical importance. This first season in 2025 will include the Greater Antilles: San Juan de Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Santiago de Cuba, Havana and St. Augustine, Florida.
The first important city founded by the Spanish is Santo Domingo and from there, by proximity, San Juan and Santiago de Cuba were founded. Later, in about 60 years, Havana became more important than Santiago and became the capital of Cuba.
Already starting the way back to the Peninsula and before reaching Cape Hatteras (on the east coast of the USA), to begin the “crossing of the Atlantic” with the support of the Gulf Stream, the galleons sailed very close to the coast of Florida, to take advantage of the current. This proximity to the coast also made them more vulnerable to the enemies of Castile and St. Augustine was founded to provide cover and protect the passage of the galleons that came along the coast from Havana.
What route are you going to follow and what ports are you going to visit in this first season of “The Spanish Caribbean”?
The Atlantic crossing route to the West is the classic historic route from Las Palmas, Canary Islands to San Juan, Puerto Rico. We will sail in the right season with the trade winds already formed. After San Juan and before arriving in Santo Domingo we will dock in Puerto Plata (north of the Dominican Republic) to visit the fortification of San Felipe that protected the main port in its beginnings.
We will visit Santo Domingo, the first capital of the Caribbean. Then we will sail to Santiago de Cuba, passing through Jamaica. In the south of the island of Cuba we will reach Cienfuegos and visit the fortress-castle of Jagua that protected the entrance to the bay.
We will dock at the Hemingway Marina, from where we will visit Havana.
From Havana we will sail to the West end of the Bahamas to reach Stuart on the coast of Florida. We will sail up the Florida coast to St. Augustine and visit the restored Castillo de San Marcos. From there and towards the East, we will start our return crossing, stopping in Bermuda and the Azores until we reach Cape St. Vincent.
In total it will be just over 10,000 miles in 5 months.
What collaborators have you counted on for this exciting project?
The project was born two years ago and has been delayed until the crews of the eight legs were in place to ensure that the BADUM returned to its home port. The Spanish Caribbean project is based on the organization “Navegantes por la Historia” (which at the moment is a group of 87 members incorporating sailors and friends of the History of Spain) and has the main collaboration of the RAECY, and the support of the Institute of Naval History and Culture (IHCN) of the Navy and the Web-Publishing and online school “Bluewater Sailors” (Navegantes Oceánicos).
A group of Bluewater Sailors volunteers is organizing the shore office, which will provide weather and logistical support.
The “Spanish Caribbean” project has an important component related to history, how is this part of the project planned to be developed?
The most important part of the project are the 15 conferences in the 15 ports.
Each one of them recovers a forgotten Hero that we want to recover and divulge the merits he did. The lectures are arranged in order according to the route that the BADUM will follow in each season.
In each lecture there will be an opportunity to interview the speaker and, with the transcripts of the lectures and his interviews, the intention is to edit a summary document of the History of the Spanish Caribbean.
To give our readers an idea: can you tell us what the BADUM sailboat is like: seaworthy qualities, habitability, features, etc.?
The BADUM is a BENETEAU FIRST 47.7, standard version from 2000, and since 2004 has been upgraded in equipment and maintained by the current owner. She is a fast cruiser that can do 7Kts averages with a design speed of 8,6 kts. For carrying winds she has a furling Gennaker, a furling ocean foresail and a furling ocean genoa. She is a spacious boat with three cabins, two bathrooms, and plenty of stowage for food.
She has full B&G digital navigation electronics. She has a large bank of eight 165Amp/Hr. batteries to power all the electronics, the two refrigerators, the navigation lights, the electric winch, the electric toilet, the anchor windlass and the watermaker. In addition two solar panels of 110W each to support and smooth the charge of the battery bank.
How have you formed the crew of the BADUM for this adventure, is it fixed or does it rotate in the different ports?
The crew changes for each leg, except for the skipper who will be on every leg. The selection is stricter for the ocean legs, as more experienced sailors are sought to add value during the three weeks of a crossing.
Three profiles are sought for each leg, in addition to the skipper: a crewmember to act as second mate, in the hypothetical case of having to replace the skipper and having to take the helm. Crewmember 3, an experienced cook to keep the crew well fed to ensure good performance. Crewmember 4, a medical officer who knows how to take care of the crew’s health. Crewmembers 5 and 6 could be generalists with an eagerness to learn and a lot of flexibility to adapt to the many different conditions that may arise during the voyage.
Thank you very much Josián for the interview, which will allow our readers to get to know this interesting project. It only remains for me to ask you the last question: do you want to add anything else, did I forget to ask you something?
I think it is a very exciting project and I would like to encourage you to participate in some of the seasons.
I would like to encourage the owners to equip their boat in Category 1 and to gather their crew for the duration of each voyage.
From “Bluewater Sailors” we thank Josián for his collaboration with this interesting interview and wish him good luck and good winds in this exciting project “The Spanish Caribbean”.
