We had a great time this afternoon visiting the Nina and the Pinta -- replicas of the ships that Columbus used to sail the ocean blue in 1492. Columbus started out with the Santa Maria as well, but it sank on Christmas Eve in 1492 in Hispaniola. The group in charge of the replicas did not make the Santa Maria because it was too large to sail up small rivers like the other two boats can do.
The Pinta is the larger of the two boats, and the one my children definitely preferred to look at. The Nina was used in the film "1492" and was the boat Columbus preferred. Columbus used the Nina to sail over 25,000 miles. They are both common trading vessels called 'Caravels.' Each of the replicas was built by a group of traditional ship builders in Brazil that use techniques going back almost 600 years. If you're curious, you can learn more at www.thenina.com.
The Pinta
Climbing aboard The Pinta
For those of you that are interested
The Pinta's vital statistics:
- Length: 85 feet
- Beam 24 feet
- Draft: 7 feet
- Sail area: 4000 square feet
- Displacement: 101 tons
The Nina's comparative stats:
- Lentgh: 65 feet
- Beam: 18 feet
- Draft: 7 feet
- Sail Area: 1,919 square feet
- Displacement: 80 tons
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