Replicas of Columbus’ ships to dock here
Monday, May 4th, 2009 at 2:04 am by Beth Romanik
Replicas of Columbus’ ships the Pinta and the Nina will be open for tours in St. Augustine beginning Wednesday.
The ships will be docked at the City Marina until they leave early in the morning of May 18.
The Nina was built completely by hand and without the use of power tools. Archaeology magazine called it “the most historically correct Columbus replica ever built.”
The Nina was used in the production of the film “1492,” starring Gerard Depardieu and directed by Ridley Scott.
The Pinta was recently built in Brazil to accompany the Nina on all of its travels. It is a larger version of the archetypal caravel and offers larger deck space for walk-aboard tours. Slideshows of the ships’ construction are shown in the 900-square-foot main salon below decks.
Both ships will be touring together as an enhanced sailing museum to educate the public and schoolchildren on the caravel, a type of ship created by the Portuguese and used by Portuguese and Spanish explorers for voyages of exploration from the 15th century on.
Private parties may be scheduled for the Pinta while the ship is in port.
Crew members will lead 30-minute guided tours May 6 to 8 and May 11 to 18. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. The charge per person in school groups is $3 with a minimum of 15 for the tour. There is no maximum number of students who may be booked; however, tours should be booked as soon as possible, as space is limited. E-mail columfnd@surfbvi.com.
Admission to the ships is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and $5 for children. Children 4 and younger are admitted free of charge.
No reservations are necessary.
A portion of the proceeds will go to the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum.
Teachers wishing to schedule a 30-minute guided tour with a crew member should e-mail columfnd@surfbvi.com. Minimum of 15 per group, $3 per person. For more details, go to www.thenina.com.
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