Adventures with the Nina, Pinta & the Santa Maria

We had a wonderful day in Corpus Christi today. We viewed replicas of the ships shown in this blog. The top left is the Pinta, the top right is the Santa Maria and the bottom left is the Nina.
Here is a little information on the history of these ships:
Christopher Columbus departed from Spain on August 3rd, 1492 with a fleet of three ships. The Nina (no mention of this ships dimensions, but we do know it was the smallest), The Pinta, which is 74.5 feel long and 22 feet wide, and the Santa Maria, which is 97 feet long and 28 feet wide. All three ships were working ships and carried approximately 120 men and boys, equipment and supplies.
The goal of the voyage was to find a new passage to Asia. After a few 'wrong turns' the crew landed the new world on one of the Bahama's Islands on October 12, 1492. In November the Pinta disappeared in a strong wind and on December 25th, 1492 the Santa Maria ran aground and was completely destroyed. Later in January the Pinta rejoined the Nina and Columbus returned to Spain on the Nina in March 1493, with the Pinta arriving shortly afterward.
Replicas were built and sailed into Corpus Christi in 1992, after a long cruise across the seas and stopping at many ports along the way. The government of Spain built the replicas to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Columbus voyages. In 1993 Corpus Christi won the privilege of a 50 year lease agreement with Spain to exhibit the ships. The ships were then moored at a cargo dock in the port of Corpus Christi. Disaster struck when an empty barge broke loose and rammed the Pinta, which in turn rammed the Santa Maria. They are now dry docked, where they were repaired and tourists could watch while the repairs where being done. The Nina is still in the water, but not safe enough for any tourist to board her.
The city of Corpus Christi has run into problems raising enough money to maintain these ships. The hope is that somehow the money will be raised to accomodate the maintenance of these three beautiful works of history.
Hope you enjoy looking at them as much as we enjoyed being able to see them first hand.