A replica of the Niņa, one of the three ships which Columbus sailed to the New World, will make its first visit to the Port of Redwood City in eight years for an 11-day stay in June 20-30, Board Chairman Jack Castle announced today.
Published: June, 2002
A replica of the Niña, one of the three ships which Columbus sailed to the New World, will make its first visit to the Port of Redwood City in eight years for an 11-day stay in June 20-30, Board Chairman Jack Castle announced today.
Self-guided tours June 19-30 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day at Port of Redwood City Marina. Admission prices are $4 for adults, $3.50 for seniors, and $3 for students. Children 4-under are free. Organizations wishing to schedule a guided tour with a minimum of 15 people can email columfnd@surfbvi.com or call 1-284-495-4618
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.
The original Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria used by Columbus on his first voyage across the Atlantic were common trading vessels. The Santa Maria, which Columbus never liked, ran aground and sank on Christmas Eve 1492 in Hispaniola (now Cape Haitien). She was a Nao, a type of Cargo vessel. The Nina and Pinta were Caravels and were used by explorers during the Age of Discovery. The Pinta returned home and disappeared from history without a trace.
The Niña was Columbus’ favorite and for good reason. She was named Santa Clara after the patron saint of Moguedr. A Spanish vessel in those days had an official religious name, but was generally known by a nickname which might be the feminine form of her masters patronymic or of her home port. Santa Clara was always called Nina, after her master-owner Juan Nino of Moguedr. Vincente Yanez was her Captain on Columbus’ first voyage and he later discovered the Amazon on an independent voyage in 1499.
The Nina logged at least 25,000 miles under Columbus’ command.
In 1986, the Columbus Foundation was formed in the British Virgin Islands to raise money to build the three ships that Christopher Columbus used in his encounter with the New World. There were no authentic pictures of the Pinta, Niña or the Santa Maria, and all of the so-called models, replicas, or reproductions that had been built in the past merely represented what some artist, architect, archaeologist or model ship builder thought what they ought to have looked like.
Ships of this period were not built from a set of plans but from the mental template in the head of the shipwright who based the dimensions of the ship on a set of proportions. Different proportions, varying from region to region were used for different types; however, all were based on the length of the keel.
Several important design details, including such fundamental factors as the number of masts and rigging specifics were clarified by data from recent discoveries of 15th & 16th Century Spanish shipwrecks in the Caribbean.
In December of 1991, the Niña left the banks of the Rio Uno in Valenca, Brazil rigged as a four-master. It carried a crew of 11 and arrived in Puntarenas, Costa Rica on January 23rd, 1992 to take part in the film 1492 directed by Ridley Scott and starring Gerard Depardieu. Its voyage of over 4,000 miles represents the first time that a discovery caravel replica has made a successful unescorted open ocean passage of any considerable distance. Since June of 1992 the Niña, has been continually touring and discovering new ports. She has visited over 300 ports covering the East Coast of the U.S., the Great Lakes, the Missouri River as far Northward as Sioux City, the Ohio River, the Tennessee River, the Illinois and Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.
