Caravel Chapter

St. Petersburg, Florida

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Welcome!  We are located on the western coast of Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico. 

Caravel Chapter was organized in 1965 at Treasure Island, Florida. This barrier island community enjoyed an early history that included pirates, Indians and buried treasure. The Timucuan Indians, known as mound builders, lived on what is now the Pinellas Peninsula and its adjacent barrier islands. A Timucuan burial mound was found on Treasure Island. 

A Caravel is a Ship

We are often asked what our name represents. The word, Caravel, is a nautical term for several kinds of vessels, but more generally understood as a name for a 15-17 century small sailing vessel used by the Spanish and Portuguese explorers. The caravel was well-suited for a long voyage, because she was extremely maneuverable, and with her triangular sails, could make headway toward the wind. They measured 60 to 90 feet in length and weighed 50 tons or more, having three or four masts, usually lateen-rigged. Before the 17th century, caravels were brilliantly painted with a gilded figurehead.

During the 15th century, Prince Henry, the Navigator, sent caravels on voyages of discovery along the west coast of Africa. On March 28, 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon first sighted the shores of Florida from the deck of his flimsy caravel. Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda headed an expedition in 1519, looking for an opening in the "South Sea." For nine months his fleet of four caravels combed the shore of the Gulf of Mexico from the tip of the Florida peninsula up the west side to Mexico. Ponfilo de Narvacz, inspired by Pineda's legends, organized an expedition in 1528, of five ships  believed to be caravels, and landed not far from the present Treasure Island. 

Eligibility

Any woman is eligible for membership who is no less than eighteen years of age and can prove lineal, blood line descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence. She must provide documentation for each statement of birth, marriage, and death. Refer to Eligibility. Admission to membership in the NSDAR is either by invitation through a Chapter in your State Organization (or Unit Overseas). No Chapter may discriminate against an applicant on the basis of race or creed.

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For chapter membership information contact: Caravel

Webmaster: Veva Scott
Revised: October 5, 2007