Christopher Columbus had three ships on his first voyage, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Columbus sailed from Palos de la Frontera on 3 August, 1492. His flagship, the Santa Maria had 52 men aboard while his other two ships, the Nina and Pinta were each crewed by 18 men.
The Santa Maria was a nao, was a bit of a tub, and was not able to go near the coastline. But was able to carry a lot of cargo, and it was able to stand up well in bad weather. The Niña, the Pinta were caravels, with a shallower draft than a nao, did not have much cargo space, but were able to explore shallow bays and the mouths of rivers. A carvel was square-rigged on its foremasts and mainmasts, but used a lateen sail on the mizzen to help in tacking. A caravel had about twenty crew members, who slept on the deck and would go below only if the weather was bad.
No one knows exactly what Columbus's Santa Maria was like. We can examine similar ships of the era. It was a nao, which simply means "ship" in old Spanish. She was fat and slow, designed for carrying cargo. It was a merchant ship, between 200-600 tons.The length of Santa Maria was about 18 meters, keel length 12 meters, beam 6 meters, and a draft about 2 meters.
The Santa Maria was a rented vessel owned by Juan de la Cosa, who sailed with Columbus as the first officer. Formerly, known as the La Gallega since its owner was from Galicia, Columbus renamed the vessel Santa Maria.
The Santa Maria had three masts (fore, main, and mizzen), each of which carried one large sail. The foresail and mainsail were square; the sail on the mizzen, or rear, mast was a triangular sail known as a lateen. In addition, the ship carried a small square sail on the bowsprit, and small topsail on the mainmast above the mainsail. Most of the driving force of the craft was from the largest mainsail with the remaining sails used for trimming.
The Santa Maria also had a crow’s nest on the mainmast. It had a raised stern. There was a forecastle in the bow of the ship.
The ship ran aground off Hispaniola and had to be abandoned.
And away we go.
Regards
Mike
The Santa Maria was a nao, was a bit of a tub, and was not able to go near the coastline. But was able to carry a lot of cargo, and it was able to stand up well in bad weather. The Niña, the Pinta were caravels, with a shallower draft than a nao, did not have much cargo space, but were able to explore shallow bays and the mouths of rivers. A carvel was square-rigged on its foremasts and mainmasts, but used a lateen sail on the mizzen to help in tacking. A caravel had about twenty crew members, who slept on the deck and would go below only if the weather was bad.
No one knows exactly what Columbus's Santa Maria was like. We can examine similar ships of the era. It was a nao, which simply means "ship" in old Spanish. She was fat and slow, designed for carrying cargo. It was a merchant ship, between 200-600 tons.The length of Santa Maria was about 18 meters, keel length 12 meters, beam 6 meters, and a draft about 2 meters.
The Santa Maria was a rented vessel owned by Juan de la Cosa, who sailed with Columbus as the first officer. Formerly, known as the La Gallega since its owner was from Galicia, Columbus renamed the vessel Santa Maria.
The Santa Maria had three masts (fore, main, and mizzen), each of which carried one large sail. The foresail and mainsail were square; the sail on the mizzen, or rear, mast was a triangular sail known as a lateen. In addition, the ship carried a small square sail on the bowsprit, and small topsail on the mainmast above the mainsail. Most of the driving force of the craft was from the largest mainsail with the remaining sails used for trimming.
The Santa Maria also had a crow’s nest on the mainmast. It had a raised stern. There was a forecastle in the bow of the ship.
The ship ran aground off Hispaniola and had to be abandoned.
And away we go.
Regards
Mike
