REPLICA OF NINA TO DOCK HERE; SHIP WILL BE ON DISPLAY 8 DAYS

The Nina is still "discovering" new ports.

The replica of Christopher Columbus' favorite of three ships that sailed westward from Spain in August 1492, will dock in Cape Girardeau Tuesday.

The original Nina is the only one of the three ships that returned to her home port of Palos, Spain, after three trips to the New World under the guidance of Columbus.

The Nina, a caravel ship (one used as a cargo carrier, warship, patrol boat and even a pirate ship), made many voyages, including trips to San Salvador, Hispaniola and Cuba, with Columbus at the helm. The Nina was last heard of in 1501, when she embarked on a trading voyage to the Pearl Coast.

The new Nina, constructed completely by hand in Bahia, Brazil, has been touring since 1992, as a sailing museum. It recently toured the West Coast from Vancouver, B.C., to the Panama Canal. She has visited approximately 170 ports, covering the East Coast of the U.S.; Great Lakes; the Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Illinois and Mississippi rivers; and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Nina is described as being the most historically accurate replica of a Columbus ship ever built. It is the only maritime museum of its kind.

In 1992, replicas of all three Columbus ships -- Nina, Pinta and Santa Marie -- were recreated to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' trip.

The original Santa Marie ran aground and sank on Christmas Eve, 1492, in Hispaniola. The Pinta returned to Spain in 1492, and disappeared from history without a trace.

During its eight-day appearance at Riverfront Park in downtown Cape Girardeau, the Nina will be open every day to the general public from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Special tours and parties can be arranged by calling the Cape Girardeau Convention & Visitors Bureau, (573) 335-1631. A special pirate party will be sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Rotary Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m., with proceeds to benefit Rotary activities.

"The boat allowed for one fund-raising event," said Mary Miller, director of the CVB. "We're happy that Cape Girardeau was selected for a stop."

"Boat officials heard that Cape Girardeau might be interested," she said. "We were."

The story of the Nina actually started in 1986, when the Columbus Foundation was founded in the British Virgin Islands to raise funds to reconstruct the three ships used by Columbus on his initial voyage.

The Columbus Foundation was seeking information on the ships and hoped to have them ready for the 500-year anniversary in 1992.

There were no authentic pictures of the Pinta, Nina or Santa Maria. Two years was spent in research.

The Nina is rigged as a caravela redonda with square sails on the main and foremast for sailing downwind and triangular sails elsewhere.20This was the same way the original Nina was rigged.

Even though Columbus had his pick of the entire Spanish Merchant Marine on his second voyage, he selected the Nina as his flagship to lead the 17-ship fleet. Columbus also bought half-interest in the Nina.

After two voyages to the New World, the Nina was captured by Pirates during an unauthorized voyage from Cadiz to Rome. But she was recaptured by her crew and returned to Cadiz in time to sail early in 1498 on Columbus' third voyage. After the third successful trip, the Nina was last heard of when it embarked on a trading trip.

In 1988, the Columbus Foundation hired John Patrick Sarsfield, an American engineer, maritime, historian and expert on Portuguese caravels to design and construct a replica of the Nina.

Sarsfield lived in Brazil while working in the U.S. Peace Corps and had learned of an archaic ship-building process called Mediterranean whole molding, a technique used by master shipbuilders in the 15th century. Valenca, a small fishing village on the coast of Bahia in Brazil, was selected as the building site.

Tragically on July 11, 1990, while on a trip to select a main mast for the Nina, Sarsfield was killed in a traffic accident.

Jonathan Nance, a British maritime historian and one of the main researchers of the Nina project, was asked by the foundation to complete the ship.

In December 1991, the Nina left the banks of Rio Uno in Valenca, Brazil, rigged as a four-master. It carried a crew of 11 and arrived in Puntarenas, Costa Rico on Jan. 23, 1991, to take part in the film, "1492," directed by Ridley Scott and starring Gerard Depardieu.

Since June 1992, the Nina has been continually touring.

STATS ON THE NINA

The Nina, a replica of one of Christopher Columbus' 1492 ships, has visited more than 170 ports in the U.S., and will dock Tuesday at Cape Girardeau's Riverfront Park for an eight-day stay.

OVERALL LENGTH: 93.6 feet

BEAM: 17.3 feet

SAIL AREA: 1,919 SQUARE FEET

LENGTH ON DECK: 66 feet

DRAFT: 7 feet

DISPLACEMENT: 100 tons

DESIGNERS: John Patrick Sarsfield and Jonathan Morton Nance

CONSTRUCTION STARTED: 1988

SHIP COMPLETED: December 1991