On this day in Alabama history: Replicas dock
March 5, 2018
Offering a step back into the 15th century, students were able to experience a part of Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the New World as the Nina and Pinta sailed into Orange Beach. The replicas of the historic ships that carried Columbus from Spain to the Americas in 1492 docked at the Wharf and were open for tours March 2-5. The ships are a floating museum that visit 30 to 40 ports annually on the Gulf Coast, Eastern Seaboard, Great Lakes and midwestern rivers. The new Nina was built to scale and set sail in 1991, appearing in the movie “1492.” The new Pinta is 15 feet longer and 8 feet wider than the original to provide adequate space for walk-on tours. It has air conditioning as well.
Read more at the Columbus Foundation.
For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.