WOODEN BOATS
H
50
TREASURE COAST BOATING
COLUMBUS FOUNDATION
SAILING
INTO HISTORY
The Pinta, foreground, and Nina sail into harbor. The replicas of Columbus’ ships were on exhibit in Stuart in late April.
istory books might say they landed in the New World in 1492, but the
Nina and Pinta also made a landing at the Harborage in Stuart April
14-26. The replicas of two of three of Columbus’ vessels that made the
maiden voyage to the New World were hand-built in Brazil and are on tour
by the Columbus Foundation, based in the British Virgin Islands. The Nina
was Columbus’ favorite ship — he later bought an interest in it — and sailed the Atlantic
on three of his voyages and logged 25,000 miles under him. The Pinta returned home after
the first voyage and disappeared from history. The modern replica of the Pinta was built in
the same Brazilian shipyard as the Nina and is used for parties and charters. The Nina and
Pinta are caravels, a type of highly maneuverable sailing ship developed by the Portuguese
in the 15th century. And what of the Santa Maria? Columbus never liked the nao, or
cargo vessel, and she ran aground and sank on Christmas Eve 1492 in Hispaniola.
PINTA
Type of boat: Caravel
Length: 85 feet
Beam: 24 feet
Draft: 7 feet
Sail area: 4,000 square feet
Displacement: 101 tons