Moored at the Cais da Alfandega on the River Ave is a replica of a 16th-century carrack, exactly the kind of ship that would have been built at Vila do Conde’s dockyards at the time.

This vessel was launched in 2007 using ancestral carpentry and rope-making skills . One of the many interesting things about this vessel is that it epitomises  a phase of Portugal’s Empire when technical expertise allowed it to build ships with larger load capacities.

These could remain at sea longer for their expeditions to India.

Containers, an apothecary, maps and navigation instruments are all on board to make things realistic.