Notorious: A recreated 15th Century Portuguese Caravel

Notorious is a wooden sailing ship, a full-size recreation of a 15th Century Caravel.
She travels the Australian coast as a museum ship, open on occasion for onboard and below-deck inspection. A visit to Notorious takes you back to maritime technology as it was over 500 years ago.
Authentic recreations on this scale are almost invariably the work of whole teams of historians, maritime archaeologists, designers and craftsmen, but remarkably, Notorious was researched and designed by one man - Graeme Wylie. Notorious took him nine years to build preceded by a couple of years research. An astounding feat.

[@yarpenzigrin1893]

Whoever was filming this needs to work on their condition. This wheezing after climbing a couple of stairs means quickly approaching death.

[@possm1]

Ha! Thanks for the advice, but I was suffering from a slight chest cold.

[@jimmyhvy2277]

@@possm1I Didn't see a Galley ?

[@possm1]

@@jimmyhvy2277 Que?

[@jimmyhvy2277]

@@possm1: Galley , Where the food is Cooked , Prepared .

[@possm1]

@@jimmyhvy2277 That was the guy ahead of me walking up the stairs talking to the little kid who was with him. He misidentifies the captain's quarters as the galley. Food was actually cooked on a brick stove in the hold. Notorious originally had a replica of such a stove but it was removed to make more room.

[@Tipi_Dan]

The ultimate tiny home for the pirate enthusiast.

[@possm1]

At every place she calls, lots of little pirates, and no-so-little pirates, turn up! Lots of pics of that on their FB.

[@davidagostinho1807]

if pirates liked that small nutshel, wait until they see our "Padre Eterno" in the 17th century, we're talking about a 53m portuguese flagshi with 144 pieces of artillery, whe the average english spanish and french carried 90 pieces average, it was the biggest ship of that time. we actually had pre pirate days the "Botafogo" in 1553, that bad ass had 366 bronze artillery, that was madness, 1.000 tons displacement. what about the biggest loot ever, the "Madre de Deus" in 1589, 50 meter long, 1.600 tons displacement, crew of 700 men, when it got captured, it had chests full of pearls and precious jewels, gold and silver coins, amber, rolls of the highest quality cloth, tapestry, 425 tons of pepper, 45 tons of cloves, 35 tons of cinnamon, 25 tons of cochineal, 15 tons of ebony, 3 tons of nutmeg and 2.5 tons of benjamin. The total value of the goods on that ship alone was bigger that the wealth crown of england in a full year...

[@tjallingdalheuvel126]

Pirates or privateers?

[@davidagostinho1807]

@@tjallingdalheuvel126 privateers had good ships payed by the state

[@anordenaryman.7057]

The hand hewn look of this ship is unmatched. She has character! You can see the love that went into building her.

[@harrykuheim6107]

A razor-sharp adze and millions of swings....

[@davidagostinho1807]

actually there's the better match called "Vera Cruz" the real deal built in portugal to comemorate the 500 years discory of brazil

[@Sayitaint_So]

i can only imagine seeing a Portuguese fleet of ships like this floating in the Persian Gulf in the 15th century when there was no such thing as Kuwait City and when the Portuguese managed to sail to Japan likely as the first Westerners to achieve that .... dang those Portuguese - they knew how to build ships

[@ginogino3551]

They learn quickly

[@helenesaintclere5639]

Best students the Vikings ever had .

[@flamencoprof]

I am from NZ, don't think they made it this far, but first I left NZ I went to Malacca, and later Macau. I'd love to go to Goa and maybe Mozambique. However, I also learned how awfully they behaved..

[@markdowding5737]

They didn't use caravels for those missions. They used carracks, which were much larger, resistant, and powerful (often with a huge quantity of canons)

[@possm1]

Canons? I didn't know cameras were in use way back then! 😉@@markdowding5737

[@joshdoz9234]

I just now realized how small many wooden sailing ships were. Imagine being in a hurricane on a boat like that!

[@vincencures]

I really dont wanna imagine that, thank You very much. :D

[@Drelam]

I went to visit the recreated Mayflower, I was also struck with just how small it was.

[@patwilson2546]

There is a pretty accurate recreation of a Jamestown ships in the US. You can walk across the mid deck in a few seconds. The fore and aft decks are even smaller. The ship is 68 feet but usable deck space probably not much more than 50 feet

[@BeKindToBirds]

They did get bigger, quite a bit so for the golden age of sail. They were really only this small at the beginning.

[@patwilson2546]

@@BeKindToBirds Going straight to the biggest: Victory's deck was less than 200 feet in length. They packed nearly 900 people onto that thing. Of course, when you compare 200 feet to less than 60 feet it is huge, but its still easy to understand why a person today looks at any of these things and the first thought is "it's tiny".

[@MrJovision]

1 - The Caravel was the ship for discovering the world. 2- Then the world offered excelent trade oportunities so it was built the carrack, bigger for bringing tons of cargo in spices from Asia to Europe. 3 - As expensive products had serious Arab competence and also pirates making everything to put their hands on this millionaire cargo a new ship had to be built to protect this trade. 3 - The Portuguese built the Galleon, a big carrack full of cannons, including new sea war developments, that was developed for centuries and soon also by other countries. Great video!

[@hollawar1391]

With due respect I must correct you, Galleons were built by the Spanish.

[@user-hj7km8tm5p]

Big hello from Portugal! That is a fantastic ship! Congratulations to the builder and all ppl that supports her.

[@BernasLL]

The portuguese now claim this video in the name of Bifanas no Pão.

[@miguelmartins5968]

Devolve o ouro ae cara

[@user-hj7km8tm5p]

O ouro está em vc! Vc não tem cara de Tupi e fala a minha língua.

[@Luzitanium]

@martins5968 devolve o territorio que o ouro que nós devolvemos o ouro.

[@jmg10v49]

@@miguelmartins5968Eles não tem mais, quase todo o ouro que eles tomaram de nós agora está com os Bretões.

[@david9783]

I could never come up with enough superlatives of praise and appreciation for this ship and its builder.

[@soulfullcreations7308]

I seen this ship randomly while crossing the bridge from Newcastle to Stockton. It blue my mind, I thought I was seeing a ghost ship as it looked completely black from my view. I tried googling about it but was unable to find any information. After which I was telling a mate about it and he had known about the ship also, now seeing it from this video is awesome. So thank you.

[@possm1]

Yeah, I'd never heard of it and when I first noticed it anchored in the Clyde River at Batemans Bay, I took it for a replica Chinese junk. Anyway, monitor their Facebook, 'cos they're heading north again. ATM they're at Shellharbour, south of Wollongong.

[@Jacquobite]

@@possm1 Pity you would have to be completely mad to sail overseas in that. I would love to see it.

[@garryferrington811]

Getting your mind blued is tough.

[@thesnitch7]

lol@@garryferrington811

[@t.a.7970]

The same thing happened to me. I was north of Grafton following the Clarence River early one morning and this thing appears out of the mist and just as quickly is gone again. It was a weird experience. I was convinced it was a ghost ship until I saw it pop up in one of Old Sea Dog's videos.

[@lastmanstanding9389]

We have one in the Dias Museum in Mossel Bay, South Africa. It was used by Bartolomeu Dias in 1488 when he was looking for a new route to India via the southern tip of Africa.

[@johnsmith-ht3sy]

Glad you mentioned this ship, I visited it with my wife and son whilst on holiday from England.

[@markmark2080]

It's staggering to think about what it was like on those voyages...

[@johanneswittmann4534]

My father in law just saw the Notorious near Port Macquarie NSW a few days ago - he is with the marine rescue as a volunteer and spotted her at anchor - amazing to see in real life! Now I came across this post quite at random and will share it with him! Thank you very much. Great endeavour to build and sail this vessel!

[@stephenmoerlein8470]

Portuguese sailors were tough to explore the world in ships like this. Respect.

[@kimhenry5658]

I saw this boat in Tasmania a few years ago at a wooden boat festival. I remember a fireplace or wood burning stove and was impressed with it in the surroundings of wood and tar! A wonderful feat of woodworking. It’s great to see the shots of it under sail.

[@sarcasmo57]

9 years full time? Imagine being able to work on a passion project like that. What a world we could live in.

[@cheryl1766]

his wife worked and he also made furniture. country folk of simple needs. Loveliest smartest couple you will ever meet.

[@sarcasmo57]

@@cheryl1766 Oh cool.

[@guito2494]

Incrivel! Como brasileiro tenho muito orgulho dos meus ancestrais portugueses e como conseguiram construir essas caravelas e virem da Europa até a America, Gloria a Deus!

[@fmac6441]

Não sei se é do Rio, mas aqui tem uma reprodução que fez parte dos 500 anos do descobrimento.

[@guito2494]

@@fmac6441Que legal! Eu nasci no Rio, mas hoje moro na região serrana

[@victor_silva6142]

​@@fmac6441 eu ja vi essa replica no museu da marinha. É linda. Embora eu não saiba diferenciar se ela é redonda ou latina. Eu lembro que ela tinha até pequenas falconetas nos castros de popa e proa. Linda❤

[@juliopereira557]

Obrigado amigo por esse reconhecimento , temos também grande consideração pelos nossos descendentes que reconhecem que sem estes heróis que correram o mundo não tinham os países que os Portugueses ajudaram a criar e nem existiam

[@sloth_e]

Although it's a very unpopular opinion here in Australia, I feel the same about my English ancestors. Without them making similar journeys (albeit 200 years after the period of Portuguese exploration) I wouldn't have been blessed to live in such an awesome part of the world. We all should be proud of the achievements and hard work of our forbears. 🙏

[@R.a.f.a.e.l.]

It's insane to think they crossed the Atlantic in these little things. How they all didn't go insane while at it blows my mind.

[@tatumergo3931]

Liquor, lots of liquor and other substances available at the time. Like khat for example, which they would have obtained from the moors. 😅

[@sonnylambert4893]

Lotta bumsex

[@marvindebot3264]

28 to 30 days to cross the Atlantic, God knows how long to the East Indies.

[@tatumergo3931]

@@marvindebot3264 . From one annual season to the next and then wait until the next year's season.

[@R.a.f.a.e.l.]

@@tatumergo3931 There was liquor indeed but I think the rations were pretty limited, weren't they? They wouldn't get wasted often except by special occasions, and from what I remember (from past readings) they would get punished if they did. Drunken angry sailors are trouble lol.

[@cratecruncher4974]

Being able to beat close to the wind was this ships greatest technology contribution from my understanding. It allowed explorers to travel much further down the west coast of Africa past the great desert and still return home. Something previously impossible due to the trade winds in that region. Fun irony: Railroad magnate Leland Stanford imported Australian Eucalyptus trees to grow in plantations for railroad ties. Although the species proved too weak for the application California farmers in the Monterey area discovered they made great wind breaks! There are still millions of eucalyptus trees in Southern California, particularly around the Salinas Valley. There are so many they are considered invasive now and being slowly removed.

[@thesmartestmanintheworld2653]

Yeah, because they're the most flammable tree on the planet and the biggest culprit of California's wildfires.

[@juliopereira557]

Com estas Caravelas o mundo e seus continentes nunca mais deixaram de estar ligados , graças a um povo heróico no sul da Europa os ( Portugueses )💪

[@PauloCosta-ji8kt]

Obrigada por partilhar este vídeo 👍👏👏👏👏👏🇵🇹

[@brucemacallan6831]

I had no idea this vessel existed. It's truly remarkable.

[@johnmcnulty4425]

I got to sail on a recreation of the Niña for three months and it was amazing! Our boat was made of Brazilian tropical hardwood and made with traditional tools and techniques.

[@andrewblack7852]

Brazilian tropical hardwood, eh? Lol there is a small forest of Brazilian wood, they call it amazon. So this amazing wood is it? Sounds amazing.

[@unclebounce1495]

@@andrewblack7852 sounds great

[@jonny-b4954]

How was it living with the shitting and sleeping situation? Always been curious. I'd be worried I'd get seasick. I've only got seasick once on a ferry crossing in Mexico but I'd still be worried about that hah. Especially if it never went away and I just had to get used to it.

[@johnmcnulty4425]

@jonny There was only one head (toilet) in the captain's chambers so we sailors had to literally had to climb to the back of the poop deck to let the excrement fly while perched over the gunnel.

[@danyoutube7491]

@@jonny-b4954 Your ship mates would mock you and deride you as a land lubber, no doubt :)

[@hernanifarias5356]

Fantastic job. I am Portuguese living in Canada and really enjoyed video. thank you Obrigado

[@luispinheiro2567]

Actualy, i´m thinking building one to, here in Lisbon, Portugal. But, one bigger, a Carrack..the most notorious Portuguese ship of all time, a Frol de la Mar.

[@Luzitanium]

why not also the biggest and advanced Galleon ever the Botafogo?

[@nahmend6987]

​@@Luzitaniumthe Epic Botafogo

[@coopergreen5617]

She’s a beautiful ship

[@ozzyjohn1458]

It was the triangular sail as seen on the Nile that changed sailing forever, after adopting this rig the boats could sail better than the square sails, as a child in Portugal, my fathers' small fishing boat had the same sail setup as that used on sailing boats today except all these fishing boats had was a timber mast with a triangular canvas sail and a rope, when the wind was right up it went, no engines at that time just oars, and no one complained.

[@jackavalon8366]

An amazing feat. Thanks for sharing

[@Axgoodofdunemaul]

Wonderful! I did not know there was a caravela on the planet! Imagine sailing from Lisbon to Newfoundland and back again. She looks like she could do it.

[@matthewmolina9485]

An amazing ship builder, on his own! 👍🏽

[@ekim000]

What a remarkable thing! Mr Wylie is a legend.

[@northislandguy]

Amazing how these ships the Portuguese travelled to far away places way before England caught up….must of been tough

[@jeffreytan2948]

Amazed at seeing hand cut and shaped rather than machine sawn timbers making up the ship. Gives the interior an almost organic quality. We get to see wood perfectly cut and square nowadays that we forget that this as seen on this ship was the norm centuries ago.

[@binalcensored2104]

Huauu this is amazing! Congratulations to the people who made this caravel and putted it in this video! Thank you very much!

[@albertseabra9226]

Great video, with important historical content. Thank you for this production

[@Stevos_HookedonRods4844]

I saw this Magnificent sail ship anchored up in the north arm of the Hunter river Newcastle on the 14th October 2023 for a couple of weeks What splendid piece of craftmanship Beautiful she is, I now wish i had the opportunity to go onboard

[@snoobab_86]

Imagine living in those cramped quarters for weeks on end. 😮

[@pimpompoom93726]

Fascinating. I can't imagine sailing the Atlantic in this!

[@gawkthimm6030]

after America was discovered I imagine they would have kept along known coastal routes when the weather was favorable and only crossing the atlantic from Iceland to Canada or western africa to northern brazil,

[@thalestheodoro2063]

Uma obra de arte nos dias atuais.

[@SriOrshu]

Incredibly beautiful !

[@jonriley8342]

That was amazing, thank you so much

[@Interloper783]

Absolutely gorgeous

[@pidginmac]

Really wonderful video. Well put-together with excellent historical info. Thank you .

[@brendonaldson8056]

i did not know i needed this vid until i saw it. thank you so much man ,

[@felicitescott7713]

Thank you very much Werrong Lane Videos 🤩 A great production ☠️🛡⚔️

[@HDias66]

Fantástico! Que bela recriação.

[@GHOSTSTALKER90]

This ship chills around Redcliffe alot always fun to show the kids

[@arkadyarkright1328]

Fascinating !

[@TheebayOffroader]

I've seen this ship sailing the Queensland coast a few times. Really spooky. Looks like a ghost ship. Blacker than black and doesn't reflect any light. Probably crewed by the corpses of long dead pirates. Total respect for the builder and his amazing skills. Great to see inside, but what's in the big black chest? Doubloons? Pieces of eight? Or the bones of scurvy mutineers? I always wanted to sail a bit closer to get a better look, but thought it best to keep away.

[@cheryl1766]

haha go say hi they are lovely people and not ghost pirates lol

[@VadiodaXT]

Fantastic Beautiful work😍 Thanks for sharing Edgar (from Portugal)

[@chrisbergonzi7977]

What an important, wonderful ship of history...thanks man...

[@tanksouth]

So beautiful.

[@IsThisHandleTaken]

wow that is cool as hell. Props to that guy for putting in the effort!

[@BlasphemousBill2023]

Very cool! A sweet looking boat!

[@guts5529]

this ship is such a treasure

[@33Donner77]

An outstanding achievement for one person. I was on the Columbus Nina replica after it was brought up the Mississippi River to the St. Louis region. it was amazing to see how small and rough it was, and that it represented the initial stages of Western discovery voyages.

[@lostpony4885]

What an amazing chunk of ship.

[@user-gr3vx1qn3p]

beautiful ship!

[@jasonz7788]

AWESOME !!THANK you

[@marcgatto9675]

She's a beauty.

[@PaulStClair-or3gj]

Incredible replica.

[@johnking6252]

The age of exploration in a tiny wooden tub ! Brave souls indeed. 👍. Excellent.

[@GanzotheSecond]

looks right out of a time machine! great work on the builders part

[@tacodias]

Beautiful! I’d love to see her in person! Regards from Portugal

[@Lusitani74]

Awsome replica.

[@clebernascimento9943]

The galleon "Pai Eterno" was built in a shipyard in Rio de Janeiro, in 1663, in a location today known as "Ponta do Galeão" (Tip of the Galleon), where Galeão Airport and some organizations of the Brazilian Air Force are located. The construction was made with native wood. It was considered, at the time, the largest ship in the world. At 53 meters long, it was capable of carrying two thousand tons of cargo. In addition, it had capacity for one hundred and forty-four artillery pieces.

[@tatumergo3931]

What ever happened to the Galleon "Bota Fogo", didn't it used to be there also?

[@clebernascimento9943]

@@tatumergo3931 The Galleon São João Baptista (better known by its nickname Botafogo), in its time, was the most powerful warship in the world, having been decisive in the conquest of the city of Tunis. However, it was built in 1533. Therefore, more than 100 years before the Padre Eterno (Galleon that I mentioned in my comment). Interesting detail: Botafogo is the name of a neighborhood in the city of Rio de Janeiro and home to Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas, a football club of which I am a fan.

[@tatumergo3931]

@@clebernascimento9943. Yes that's how I know... did they finally cleaned the lake? Is it a lake, well it's man made right? I also am a lover of medieval and renaissance history, specially the part about the Iberian reconquista and Portugal's attempts to conquer North Africa.

[@JoaoGabriel-mi8ew]

Parabéns. Muito bonito.

[@bvillafuerte765]

Excellent video.

[@tvl9971]

We went abroad this ship in Sydney. It's fantastic.

[@zerofox7347]

I can’t imagine a ship like that ever sinking! It’s basically a block of wood 😂 Beautifully made, A labour of love for sure..

[@manuhonkanen2111]

The counter weight of the keel might have a say on that!

[@lordcommandernox9197]

She's a beauty!

[@paypercutts]

Amazing! 🤩

[@darkranger116]

i cant believe someone actually made one! Fascinating video

[@tatumergo3931]

There are actually many around the world today. Built and privately owned by several people and organizations. Traveling seasonally from Port to Port as displays and living museums.

[@paulgibbons2320]

Its a beautiful vessel that. Very nice design.

[@stevenmaritz759]

There is a Caravelle in a museum in Mosselbay South Africa. It was sailed from Portugal to commemorate the voyage of Bartholemew Diaz . It is also amazing

[@aimaction7393]

AMAZING.

[@karabenomar]

Imagine trying to sleep in the bow with the waves of the Atlantic smashing against the hull...

[@kanegull1163]

Magnificent video Werrong, much appreciated. Believe I boarded this at the wood boat festival In Hobart last year… unsure.

[@renesagahon4477]

Very well done video

[@shiningirisheyes]

Amazing thanks

[@GringoLoco]

Very interesting!

[@akumabito2008]

Wait.. the whole thing was designed and build by 1 guy? That is absolutely amazing!

[@tatumergo3931]

It's not that hard when you have modern tools and experience. Still it took him 9 years

[@frostedbutts4340]

'It's not that hard' Lmao. As an (amatuer) woodworker this is VERY hard and the fact that one man did it at all is beyond impressive. @@tatumergo3931

[@sirrantsalott]

Cool! Thanks.

[@LabiaLicker]

gray ironbark is no joke. I lived in a homestead built by one of the biggest millers in Northern Rivers NSW. And grey ironbark was used for the flooring. You could drop a hammer and it would bounce leaving no mark. He exported grey ironbark to be used by the ice breakers of the day.

[@possm1]

You're not kidding. Once, when I was a kid, I fired a .22 long-rifle cartridge at an ironbark and the bullet bounced right back at me at high speed. I was very lucky not to be injured!

[@SandmannOZ]

I visited Notorious when she was docked in Brisbane a few years ago... definitley worth a look if she's in your area.

[@TheMariepi3]

I believe that a layer of horse or whale blubber mixed with quicklime and another substance was applied to the hull in contact with the water, which gave it a more or less white color (the mission of this layer of blubber with lime was to prevent that limpets, barnacles, wood-boring worms, etc. adhere to it)

[@ssttvooo]

beautiful :)

[@muratlokmanoglu]

Amazing

[@steveh7823]

An amazing asset for Australia, and she's definitely built for short-handed sailing. Maybe just two deck hands and a helmsman. Now I wonder if the same pattern was built with modern materials and aluminium masts, kevlar sails and a lead keel, she would be half the weight and faster. Could be a great, and very different looking, ocean cruiser.

[@possm1]

Sails with a crew of just two.

[@mindsight9732]

heavy as it is, it has "12 tons" of bluestone as ballast.

[@cromulentparty]

pretty cool!

[@garygaither8263]

🌬⛵️😳Amazing!

[@stevecam724]

Crazy how small these ships were. The Duyfken is not much bigger.

[@Lusitani74]

Some caravels were bigger specially the oceanic ones (Caravela redonda) which combined both lateen and square sails.

[@marcelo497]

Smaller boats are better to go across storms, as waves create a lot of stress on their structure. There were bigger boats, but with their tech it was better to stay small

[@gaius_enceladus]

Beautiful ship! Unusual-looking but I'll bet it's pretty fast and *very manouevrable!*

[@user-ct6gx7gz1v]

This is a good ship. I want one.

[@peterbee162]

so cool......................❤❤❤

[@possm1]

Are you the Peter Bee who took over my job for a year way back in the day?

[@marcelolinhares8233]

Thanlk You!!!

[@tacitoneryferreira8980]

Muito bacana 👍🏻🙌🏻

[@miklawson211]

These Ships are rare in the UK. A later version , a replica of the Matthew of Bristol was sailed around 1497 but i'm not certain there are any other replicas. I didn't know about the Notorious but i shall go and research it now!

[@garybrindle6715]

Thank you for the insight, I have only sailed on a larger barque Eye of the Wind and to create then voyage this Caravel ship is incredible. Sud Aviation named an airliner after it.

[@Luzitanium]

in Madeira they use a replica of a Portuguese Nau and take tourists to see whales and dolphins.

[@ryuunosuk3]

I heard somewhere that the Caravel was a portuguese millitar technology and we don't have precise descriptions of how they were made because everything surrounding them was kept as a State secret.

[@wolfthequarrelsome504]

Pretty interesting