Rope is for Cowboys, Line is for Sailors

The Niña and Pinta have dropped anchor in Station Square’s Bessemer Court until Oct. 12^th, just one of their many stops that the floating museums make in their 11-month North American journey.

Both replica ships mimic the original ships, the Niña being noted the most accurate Columbus ship ever built at 65 feet, 80 tons and the Pinta at 85 feet and 101 tons. Built by 20 eighth generation Portuguese shipwrights in Valenca, Brazil, the Niña took 32 months to build and the Pinta took 36.

As the story goes, King Ferdinand of Spain sponsored Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the “New World” in 1492. Columbus is now given credit for the discovery of North and South America. The New World Columbus had promised his crew was not accurate, with most of them perishing from disease and very little gold found.

The Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria were the three original ships that Columbus took on his first voyage to the new world. Columbus sailed the Atlantic to discover the new world in 1492, taking the tiny Niña over 25,000 miles. The Pinta was the fastest of the three ships, followed by the Niña and the Santa Maria. You won’t see the Santa Maria in any North American ports in the near future due to it’s mass, slow speed and failure to return to Europe.

The two ships offer a gorgeous view of our historic city as well as self-guided and group tours. The boats are open everyday of the week 9:00am to 6:00pm. Check them out before their departure in the early hours of Oct. 13th.