Nina (another name is Santa Clara) was a Spanish sailing ship - a caravel that was probably launched in the 80s of the 15th century. The length of the vessel was about 15 meters and a width of about 4.5-5 meters. Nina's displacement probably did not exceed 60 tons, and its crew consisted of 24 people. She was one of the three ships that took part in the expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1492.
Nina (Spanish girl), which may be surprising, was designed to navigate the Mediterranean Sea as a strictly commercial vessel with a rather limited range. Originally it had three masts with Latin sails, but during Christopher Columbus' expedition to the Azores, it probably received square sails, much better suitable for sailing in the Atlantic. During the famous voyage, the ship's captain was Vicente Pinzon. The famous cruise began with departure from the port of Palos de la Frontera on August 3, 1492. After it crashed, Santa Maria became the flagship of the expedition to sail to the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, which is widely regarded as the discovery of the sea route to America by Europeans. More importantly - on March 15, 1493, she returned to Spain. She also took part in Columbus' Second Expedition and, despite being on the hurricane route, happily returned to her home port in 1496. The last reference to this undoubtedly historic ship dates back to 1501.
The Pinta was a Spanish caravel - a sailing ship that was launched perhaps in the mid-15th century. The length of the vessel was approximately 17 meters and a width of approximately 5.5 meters. The displacement of the Pinta probably did not exceed 70 tons, and its crew consisted of about 25-28 people. She was one of the three ships that took part in the expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1492.
The Pinta, which may be surprising, was designed to navigate mainly in the Mediterranean Sea, as a strictly commercial unit with a rather limited range. During the famous voyage, the ship's captain was Martin Alonso Pinzon. The famous cruise began with departure from the port of Palos de la Frontera on August 3, 1492. After the crash of Santa Maria, the expedition continued to reach the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, which is generally considered the discovery of the sea route to America by Europeans. Interestingly, the first European to see the New World was probably Pinta's sailor Rodrigo de Triana. The Pinta, along with Nina, returned to Europe in March 1493, but split as a result of the storm, and the first of them entered Bayona, north of the Spanish-Portuguese border. The further fate of the ship is unknown.
Santa Maria (colloquially called La Gallega) was a Spanish sailing ship - a karaka, which was probably launched at the beginning of the 15th century. The length of the vessel was approximately 19 meters and a width of approximately 5.5 meters. The full displacement of the Santa Maria ship probably did not exceed 130-150 tons, and its crew consisted of about 40 people. She was one of the three ships that took part in the expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Santa Maria was a commercial unit, but had little artillery armament. It was also much larger than the accompanying 1492 ships Nina and Pinta, and thus better prepared to cross the Atlantic. The unit was also the flagship of the entire expedition. The most famous voyage in the history of the ship began with departure from the port of Palos de la Frontera on August 3, 1492. Unfortunately, on December 25, 1492, the ship ran aground near Hispaniola and was unable to continue navigation. Santa Maria was partially dismantled by the crew and abandoned.