Right Around the River Blog
The Nina and Pinta Ships Dock at Rocketts Landing
Post Date: 05-22-2012
History comes alive at Rocketts Landing this week! Starting May 25, The Columbus Foundation will be docking their Nina and Pinta ships at our community's marina so Richmonders can come aboard their floating museums. After years sailing across the globe, the Foundation's visit to Rocketts Landing offers visitors a unique chance to experience replicas of the ships that brought Christopher Columbus to the New World.
The Nina
Hailed as the most historically accurate replica of Columbus' ship ever built, The Columbus Foundation constructed the Nina by hand without the use of a single power tool. And with no photos of the actual ship to reference, at least two years of in-depth research guided their efforts. In stunning detail and weighing 75 tons, the ship's deck is 65 feet long and sail area is 1919 square feet. The Nina also features a Scandinavian style bow and midsection, typical of its era. Over the course of the ship's life, Columbus sailed over 25,000 miles in the Nina.
Pinta
As the newest edition to The Columbus Foundation’s floating-museum fleet, the Pinta first launched in 2005 from Valenca, Brazil, and is the largest version of the archetypal caravel. The deck is 35 feet long and sail is 3800 square feet, and she weighs in larger than the Nina at 101 tons. Similar to the Nina, the Foundation built the Pinta in painstaking detail — quite a feat considering historians know little about the ship because she disappeared after her maiden voyage.
The Pinta and the Nina will dock at Rocketts Landing for a full week starting this Friday, so be sure to check them out while they’re here. And if you’re attending Rocketts Red Glare this weekend, they’ll be open for visits throughout the event!
- When: Friday, June 25 – Sunday, June 3
- Time: Ships dock at noon and will be open every day from 9:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m.
- Cost: Admission charges are $8.00 for adults, $7.00 for seniors and $6.00 for youth aged 5 to 16 years old. Children 4 years old and under are free.
Photos courtesy of The Columbus Foundation