Santa Maria Manuela was built in Lisbon, Portugal in 1937 in a record time of just 62 working days.

A four-masted gaff schooner, she was part of the cod fishing campaigns until 1993 when she was retired from the fishing fleet.

Then, considered obsolete, she was partially demolished with only her hull preserved and it was not until 2007 that work began on rebuilding and remodelling her.

She was eventually re-launched in 2010.