They're Back!!

Replicas of the  Nina and  the Pinta visit the Southeast again. It's been three years since they were here. I saw them at Guntersville on Columbus Day 2010, but missed them here at Ditto Landing Marina. They are currently at Ditto and will head up the Tennessee River to Chattanooga, TN next. After that, other Tennessee stops include Lenoir City and Knoxville. If they weren't such tiny vessels, I'd try to stowaway, but where would I hide?

The Nina at her temporary location before getting in place for visitors

The Pinta, the larger of the two 

According to the website, the Nina is "the most historically accurate replica of a Columbus Ship ever built." More info at www.thenina.com

Pinta just arrived at the dock

 Nina slipping in beside Pinta when they first arrived. 

I had forgotten these two ladies were coming to Huntsville and just happened to be at Ditto when they arrived. I was unaware that they were even in the area and did not see them coming up the river. I was being entertained by these folks over on the creek side of the marina 

Suddenly there was a loud blast followed by another about five minutes later. I decided I'd creep around to the riverside parking lot to see what was going on and was very pleased to see the Pinta making her way into the marina. The blasts were the two ships firing their canon to announce their arrival.  The Nina had already docked at a temporary spot. I spent quite some time watching them dock and get into position for visitors. What a happy surprise that I was there.

My older posts of the 2010 visit are Columbus Day 2010 and Two More Photos of the Ladies and Parting Shots

Two More Photos of the Ladies and Parting Shots

I didn't get these two photos uploaded yesterday, so I thought I'd include them in this post.


The Nina at Guntersville, AL, October 12, 2010




The Pinta at Guntersville, AL, October 12, 2010



And now the ladies leave Guntersville for Chattanooga, TN. Although they make use of wind and sail as much as possible, they are equipped with inboard motors in order to adhere to schedules and navigate rivers a bit more efficiently. They had been in Florence, AL before heading to Huntsville and Guntersville. Had I thought about it, I would have gone over to Guntersville Dam to watch them go through the locks. It would have given an opportunity for some interesting photos. I had hoped to get to Guntersville in time to watch them leave, hoping that they would get away under sail. However, I was late leaving Huntsville and was only able to watch them fade into the distance.


The Nina and the Pinta depart Guntersville, AL (October 13, 2010)



One of the ladies headed to Chattanooga, October 13, 2010

For more information, photos, and schedule visit the website for The Columbus Foundation.

Columbus Day 2010

The Nina (front) and Pinta at Guntersville, AL, October 12, 2010


I thought I'd missed these ships this time on their visit to North Alabama. I saw the Nina at Guntersville about 12 years ago. This time, both the Nina and the Pinta were here in Huntsville at Ditto Landing and at Guntersville before heading on up to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Thinking they'd already left the area, I was enjoying the photos from a couple of fellow bloggers this morning when I decided to check the website and see what the schedule was. Turns out they are in Guntersville until 10/13, so we drove over for a quick look. It was neat to see replicas of two of the three ships that Columbus and his men used to cross the Atlantic and bump into North America.

The Nina and the Pinta and others of their era are such small vessels. If you click on the photo, you get a better idea of the size of the ships in comparison to the visitors on board. The Nina is a full-size replica, but the Pinta is a bit larger than the original. The beam (maximum width of the deck) of the Nina is only 18 feet. It is amazing to think of the early seafarers crossing vast expanses of ocean in ships narrower than my family room is wide. When I was 11 and and visited Plimouth Plantation, I saw the Mayflower II, the replica of the Mayflower that carried the Pilgrims to the New World. I could hardly believe those brave people had survived their voyage on such a tiny ship. It was so small that it seemed like a toy, especially when compared to the U.S.S. Constitution, "Old Ironsides," that I had seen earlier that summer at Boston Harbor. A few years ago I had the same feeling when we visited Jamestown and saw replicas of vessels that regularly crossed the Atlantic transporting food, animals, equipment, and other necessities for daily living for the folks living in the colonies.

I made a few more photos of the Nina and the Pinta, but I recommend visiting Giraffe Head Tree's post "The Nina and the Pinta" and "A Special Columbus Day Visit" at Sunny Side Up for some really neat photos.

The Nina and the Pinta will be in Guntersville until about 1:00 p.m. tomorrow before heading up to Chattanooga, so if you have time and are in the area, go take a look.