In 1986, the Columbus Foundation was formed in the British Virgin Islands with the goal of raising funds to construct replicas of the three ships Christopher Columbus used during his historic voyage to the New World: the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria. With the 500th anniversary approaching, the project seemed perfectly timed to spark renewed interest in maritime history. While the quincentennial later became controversial for some, the Foundation’s mission remained clear — not to celebrate or condemn, but to seek historical accuracy.

No authentic images of Columbus’s ships exist. Previous models and reproductions were based largely on artistic interpretation rather than evidence. Determined to create a true replica, the Foundation spent the next two years conducting extensive research. Due to time and funding limitations, the decision was made to build only one ship — the Niña.

The Santa Maria, a larger cargo ship (nao) built in Galicia, ran aground and sank during the first voyage. Columbus himself described her as heavy and poorly suited for exploration. The Pinta largely disappeared from historical records after the first voyage. The Niña, however, was a caravel, a versatile vessel widely used during the Age of Discovery.

Caravels were fast, maneuverable, shallow-draft ships used for trade, exploration, warfare, and even piracy. The Niña was rigged as a Caravela Redonda, featuring square sails on the main and foremast for downwind sailing and lateen (triangular) sails on the mizzen masts for maneuverability.

Caravels played a major role in Portuguese and Spanish exploration. They charted the African coast, carried Columbus on all four voyages, were used by Vasco da Gama, and accompanied Magellan’s expedition. Their golden age lasted from the early 1400s to the 1530s, before larger galleons replaced them for transatlantic trade and warfare.

Columbus personally favored the Niña. She completed the entire first voyage and safely returned him to Spain. On his second voyage, Columbus selected her as flagship from a fleet of seventeen ships and even purchased a half interest in her. Over the years, the Niña endured pirate attacks, unauthorized voyages, and multiple Atlantic crossings, logging more than 25,000 miles under Columbus’s command.

AUTHENTIC SHIPBUILDING

In 1988, the Columbus Foundation hired John Patrick Sarsfield, an American engineer and maritime historian specializing in Portuguese caravels, to design and build the replica. Sarsfield had previously lived in Brazil with the Peace Corps, where he learned about an ancient shipbuilding method known as Mediterranean Whole Moulding — a 15th-century technique likely used to construct the original ships.

Sarsfield discovered that this method was still being practiced in the fishing village of Valença, Brazil. Gaining the trust of local shipwrights, he learned their traditional techniques firsthand. Valença was selected as the construction site for three reasons:

1. Shipwrights still used Whole Moulding and geometric measuring tools called graminhos.

2. Traditional hand tools such as axes, adzes, chisels, and saws were still in use.

3. Bahia’s tropical forests provided naturally curved timbers essential for wooden ship construction.

Ships of this era were not built from blueprints but from the mental templates of master shipbuilders, who relied on proportional measurements based on keel length. Archaeological discoveries of 15th and 16th century shipwrecks helped refine design details such as mast number and rigging configuration.

A TRAGIC LOSS

Tragically, on July 11, 1990, John Sarsfield was killed in a traffic accident while selecting a main mast for the Niña. His passion and determination made this project possible.

With the hull complete but the ship still unrigged, British maritime historian Jonathan Nance was asked to finish the vessel. Drawing from Sarsfield’s plans and the historic Libro de Armadas document (discovered by Eugene Lyon), Nance developed an accurate sail plan. This 1498 inventory detailed the Niña’s equipment and suggested she may have been a four-masted vessel.

Nance’s final design reflects how the Niña would have appeared during the busiest years of her service following her departure from the Canary Islands in 1492.

HISTORIC VOYAGE

In December 1991, the Niña departed the Rio Uno in Valença, Brazil, crewed by eleven sailors. She sailed more than 4,000 miles unescorted across open ocean to Puntarenas, Costa Rica, arriving January 23, 1992.

This marked the first successful long-distance ocean crossing by a replica discovery caravel. She later appeared in Ridley Scott’s film 1492, starring Gerard Depardieu.

Marine archaeologists from Ships of Discovery inspected the vessel and published their findings in Archaeology Magazine (January 1991), calling it:

“Likely the most authentic replica of a Columbus-era ship ever built.”

LIFE ABOARD THE NIÑA

Life aboard the original Niña was extremely difficult. The cargo hold was packed with food, water, weapons, and live animals — including horses, cows, pigs, and chickens. Larger animals were suspended in slings to prevent broken legs in rough seas.

With little space below deck, the 27 crew members slept on the wet decks or atop coils of rope. Cooking was done in a firebox on the bow. Conditions improved in the New World when fresh produce reduced scurvy and hammocks — learned from native populations — replaced deck sleeping.

Modern life aboard the replica Niña is far more comfortable. Today’s crew enjoys:

6 Bunks for sleeping, fridge, freezer, AC, head & propane Stove.

THE PINTA

The Pinta, the second ship in the fleet, was launched on February 25, 2005, also in Valença, Brazil. Built 15 feet longer and 6 feet wider than the Niña, she was designed to accommodate more visitors and continues the mission of historical education.