“They really just go out into the big ocean, drop those sails and see where they go,” Sanger said. So how did the Nina’s 27, the Pinta’s 33 and the Santa Maria’s 40 crewmen make it from Spain to the Caribbean on those tiny boats?

This is the first year both ships have toured together, although the Nina has been touring for almost 20 years. Steve Sanger, first mate on the Pinta, said that because the boat was originally used for day cruises in the Cayman Islands, it was built almost 50 percent larger. The Pinta is larger, with a deck length of 85 feet, but also is not built entirely to scale. The deck of the Nina, which is the most accurate replica ever built of Columbus’s second flag ship (it became so after the original Santa Maria sank), is only 65 feet long. In fact, they’re downright tiny for something that sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. Of course, exploring the ships won’t take long. A $7 ticket gets an adult an all-access pass to explore the two caravels and ask crewmembers as many questions as they please.Ĭaravels are a type of small ship with two or three masts developed by the Portugese and used in the 15th century for exploration. The two ships are basically floating museums run by the Columbus Foundation, which is based in the British Virgin Islands.Īlthough the ships’ crews generally use diesel power to get them from port to port, the ships - especially the Nina - are historically accurate. 15, the Nina and Pinta are docked in the Allegheny giving tours.

You won’t find Columbus on the North Shore, but you will find replicas of two of his ships.

In 2009, Columbus sailed the … Allegheny River?

Nina pinta cincinnati