Sunday, March 4th was beautiful, sunny and warm. A special day. So, to celebrate, we took this jaunt to Freeport, TX to view (and tour) what (in 1988) was "the first truly, historically correct replica of a 15th century Caravel." "It was in Valenca, Brazil, using only adzes, axes, hand saws, and chisels, in addition to naturally-shaped timbers from the local forest, that the Sarsfield 'Nina' was built." (Taken from material handed out at the Columbus Ships site.)
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| The Pinta |
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| The Nina |
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| Information on the Nina |
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| Photo displayed on the Pinta. |
There are no pix of the Santa Maria because that ship, if replicated accurately, would have required deeper water to sail and would not have been able to visit as many ports as have the other smaller ships. However, if you "google" the Santa Maria, you will find pictures there.
The original Santa Maria ran aground in Hispaniola and sank on the first voyage. She was a nao, or freighter and was built in Galicia. She became the flagship because she was the largest of the fleet but Columbus disliked her for her dull sailing qualities, and when she sank he recorded in his journal she was very heavy heavy and not suitable for the business of discovery. The least was known about the Pinta, and after the first voyage she disappeared from history without a trace. The Niña, like the Pinta, was a caravel, which was a common trading vessel in use during the Age of Discovery.
Columbus changed the Niña's rig to a Caravela Redonda before the first voyage. The Niña was Columbus'; favorite. She made the entire first voyage, bringing the Admiral safely home. When Columbus had the pick of the whole Merchant Marine on his second voyage he selected her out of 17 ships as his flagship for an exploratory voyage to Cuba, and purchased a half share in her. After his return she made an unauthorized voyage from Cadiz to Rome, was captured by a pirate off Sardinia, recaptured by her master and crew and returned to Cadiz in time to sail to Hispaniola early in 1498 as advance guard of Columbus third voyage. She was lying in Santo Domingo in 1500, and we last hear of her making a trading voyage to the Pearl Coast in 1501. The Niña logged at least 25,000 miles under Columbus' command.
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