NINA REPLICA CRUISING ILLINOIS RIVERS

ALTON, Ill. -- -- A replica of the Nina, one of three ships commanded by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage of discovery, is cruising the rivers of Illinois.

The replica Nina is a 93-foot sailing museum, with a 66-foot deck and 17-foot beam. It weighs 73 tons, including 32 tons of rock to keep it from turning over. It cost about $600,000 to build in Brazil from 1988 to 1991, said Capt. Morgan Sanger.

"It's all wood," said Doc Kaiser, first mate on the ship, which now is docked on the Illinois River in Ottawa. "There were no power tools used at all. It was built the same way Columbus had it built."

The ship, which was used for the movie "1492: Conquest of Paradise," is owned by the British Virgin Islands-based Columbus Foundation and has been touring the world since 1992.

The Nina crossed the Atlantic Ocean with the Pinta and Santa Maria in 1492. Its twin allows visitors to see what life was like for its Spanish crew.

Plans call for the Nina to leave Ottawa next week and travel southwest on the Illinois and Mississippi rivers to Alton.

While in narrow river channels, it is powered by a 128-horsepower diesel engine and travels 8 to 9 mph.

"When we have wide open water (on lakes or oceans), we can sail it," Kaiser said. "And we try to do that as much as possible."