FRONT PAGE NEWS-NOT!

No doubt many of you read the local, front page, newspaper article last week – WIND OUT OF THE SAILS OF NINA PROJECT.

It must have been an extremely slow news day, as this information is old news; and unfortunately not quite correct. It is one person’s perspective and not what—we—the Columbus Sailors Association understand to be correct. If you want to read the article and comment on-line, it would serve to show people that the Nina has support. As it stands now the comments are shocking.


Here’s what we believe to be true.

We know that Spain may not be in the picture for the near future. In particular, the Spanish shipwrights have moved on to another project. We hear they are building a galleon in Shanghai, China. Spain’s most recent gesture of commitment centered on providing the shipwrights for restoration of the Nina, when they wanted her to travel to Houston for a regatta. The City and Spain could not come to agreement (I know shocking, isn’t it!) on the details—so this event never took place.

It is our understanding that, Spain never pledged $150,000 to restore the ships. Spain does not own the ships—the city owns the ships. The city is responsible for the ships.

In the most recent talks about the restoration of the Nina, the City and the Friend’s of the Museum had both pledged specific dollar amounts towards the goal. And under “the supervision of the museum” as one of the three ships, money has been allocated for—upkeep/repair of the Nina. To date, we have not seen upkeep or repair underway on the Nina.

The work of restoring the Nina does not depend on the Spanish shipwright’s involvement. There is much we can accomplish on our own.

If it seems like—we—the Columbus Sailors Association are slow in our endeavors to get started, realize that we are working hard, behind the scenes to “get our ducks in a row” and approach the city with our ideas and goals. We must have a commitment from the city, prior to moving forward.

We are creating an informative timeline that will hopefully educate our new mayor and council people to the past history of the ships, in an effort to move forward in light of our past.

Two Squares and a Lateen

The Niña, the smallest ship of the Columbus fleet, is a Caravel like the Pinta.

In the XVth century, La Niña was—state of the art—in her quickness and maneuverability.

The Caravel’s were originally built with one to four masts and lateen* sails. Later, the ships were changed to square sails or mixed—with lateen and square** sails.

The Nina was originally named Santa Clara, but was called La Niña by its commander Vicente Yanez Pinzon, the younger brother of the Captain of the Pinta

The Caravels can sail up to 70˚ into the wind – or so they say

With average wind speeds, the Niña carries a boat speed of 2 to 6 knots

The Square rig sails carry the Cross of Santiago

Characteristics of the Nina
Hull length – 70’3”
Length of Keel - 51’
Breadth – 20’7”
Depth – 6’7”
Displacement in light condition – 48.66 tons
Maximum displacement – 100.3 tons
Height of main mast above deck – 52’6”
Length of the Main yard – 42’
Height of Foremast above the Forecastle – 32’2”
Length of the Foreyard – 24’
Height of Mizzen mast above the quarter-deck – 26’9”
Surface of the Main sail – 115.70 meters or 1245 sq. ft.
Surface of Foresail – 40.6 meters or 437 sq. ft.
Surface of Mizzen sail – 22.5 meters or 242 sq. ft.

*A lateen (from a la trina, meaning triangular) or Latin-rig is a triangular sail set on a long yard mounted at an angle on the mast, and running in a fore-and-aft direction.
** Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars, which are perpendicular, or square, to the keel of the vessel and to the masts. These spars are called yards

Thanks to all volunteers

It was a busy weekend here in Corpus Christi, the International Boat Show, Buccaneer Days and the Rodeo were all at the bayfront and kudos to Peter Davidson, Corpus Christi Marina superintendent, for a job well done in hosting another fabulous boat show.

Volunteers staffed the sidewalk in front of La Niña to meet and greet the public and create a buzz about our plans to restore, maintain and sail the ship. We received lots of positive feedback and interest towards the ships. It was a great networking opportunity.

There was particular interest from the past commodore of the Texas Mariners Cruising Association. We may join them in Rockport in the near future to provide them with further information.

Thanks to all the volunteers who took the time to hang out this weekend and to all the future volunteers—we’ll be in touch.

Welcome to our new blog

Welcome to our 1st post – we are The Columbus Sailors Association.

First and foremost, please bear with us as we get our blog, up and running.

The intent of this blog is to provide constantly updated information, personal interest stories, and education for sailors, volunteers, anyone interested in the Columbus Ship replicas; in particular, La Niña. We want to tell the story of the Columbus Ship replicas that were built by the Spaniards in celebration of 500th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage to the new world. As we begin anew—realizing we have a complex history—we strive to be positive, strong and forward-looking. We have a variety of sailors and volunteers who have remained passionate about the ships. Our favorite—La Niña is borne out of our shared experience and adventures in sailing her.

We begin our adventure, concentrating our efforts with La Niña. Our goals are to restore, maintain and sail her. We plan to revitalize our sailing school—so many can learn to sail our XVth Century ship. We plan to work with the city of Corpus Christi to solidify the ships place of prominence in the Marina.

We are a non-profit, citizen’s group—who are counting on your support—to join us in upholding our commitment to Spain as caretakers of the Columbus ships replicas. Join us in celebrating our living history, our living museums. Join us in time and effort, membership, capital contributions. Bring your resources, ideas and opinions. We welcome all who want to move forward, into the future.

Whether you are an adventurer, sailor, volunteer or simply just a passionate bystander, membership in the Columbus Sailors Association will provide you a voice; a voice to the City of Corpus Christi, a voice to the Spaniards, a voice to right a wrong.

Join our association and visit our blog often to educate yourself on the story of the Spanish built Columbus replicas that are now held in the hands of the citizens of Corpus Christi. Stay tuned for further information on membership and/or contirbutions.