Columbus Comes to the TN River

By Jess Snyder

Replicas of Christopher Columbus' ships, the Nina and the Pinta, sailed into town last week. The ships will be docked on the downtown riverfront until Nov. 3 and are open for public exploration.

The Nina was completely hand-crafted — no power tools were used. It has been called the "most historically correct Columbus replica ever built" by Archaeology Magazine. It is the same ship used in Ridley Scott's movie, 1492.

The Pinta is Brazilian-built and on a slightly larger scale than the Nina. The ships are Portuguese caravels, a word that derives from the Greek word for "beetle." They are small, easy-to-maneuver ships, ideal for long coastal explorations. A slide show of their construction is available in the Pinta's main salon.

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