Replicas of Columbus' ships come to Charleston
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Dave Mistich The Nina is tied up at Haddad Riverfront Park for FestivvALL |
October 25, 2012 ·
Replicas of two of Christopher Columbus’ famous expedition ships docked at Haddad Riverfront Park in Charleston on Wednesday afternoon.
The Nina and the Pinta made their way up the Kanawha River before casting their anchors.The ships made a rather pronounced
introduction with the firing of cannons.
Captain Morgan Sanger of the Nina says the replica ships
had to be modified to meet modern nautical standards, but they were built in
many of the same ways that the originals were.
“Back then, ship builders did not use any paper drawings to
build ships. It was in the ship builder’s
mind. When we went to Brazil, where the ships were built, this area of Brazil
was settled in 1500—the first area of Brazil that was settled—Portuguese ship
builders came over and started building their ships there because they had used up
all the timber and lumber in Portugal. We built the Nina without any paper
drawings, the traditional way as they would have built it 500 years ago,” says Capt.
Sanger.
The ships will be in Charleston until the morning of November 5 and will be
open to the public for self guided tours for an admission fee.