NIINA & PINTA SHIPS AT BEAUFORT GEORGIA

It has been a very beautiful day today, but humid. We were glad that we had not planned to go into the city as it would have been a struggle to stay cool. This morning we went into town to see if our mail was in yet. But it was not. That is strange since it has been four days since they sent it out!! After that we stopped at Dollar General and came back home. Gary made a shelf for under the bathroom sink and called it quits after that. And I scrap booked for a couple hours and read while sitting out in the lounge. The kind of day I love!!

Yesterday we went north east to Beaufort SC to see these two ships that are in port there. The Nina on the right in this photo is a replica of a typical trading vessel of the 1400's. After many years of research and three years of construction, the Nina set sail from Salvador, Brazil with a crew of eleven. Her first port after 4000 miles at sea was Punta Arenas, Costa Rica where she was filmed for the production of "1492". She has traveled over 600 ports in the western hemisphere. Her voyages have taken her to the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, as well as the Great Lakes and the Mid-western river system. Her longest voyage, to date, has been 5200 miles in 34 days at sea.

From this stop in Beaufort she will be making more stops along the Atlantic coast including Philadelphia, followed by a stop at Lorain, OH as she sails through the Great Lakes, before traveling on to the Mississippi River.

This ship's boat provided transportation to shore from the "Mother ship". It can be sailed or rowed. This historically correct vessel was built by a 14 year old apprentice whose family built the Nina.

The captain's quarters, which we only saw from this picture, was a cabin below deck with two bunks and a very small navigation desk. There is only four feet of head room and no ventilation except through the open hatch. In addition to being the most historically accurate replica of a Columbus ship ever built, the ship is the only touring 'maritime museum' of it's kind. It is manned by hired sailors, but they also accept volunteers signing on for different lengths of time.

The construction of the second ship, the Pinta, in the photo was finished in 2006 for the purpose of day sails and private charters. In order to accommodate 100 passengers, it was made 50% larger than the Nina and was built with a combination of fifteenth century and modern techniques.

The Pinta

Unlike life aboard the Nina in 1492, today the crew have pipe berths rather than sleeping on deck. There is an icebox holding 1000 pounds of ice and a small propane stove for cooking on today's ship.

There were a few other ships docked in Beaufort and the city was preparing the area for "A Taste of Beaufort" on Saturday in the park near the dock. It was an attractive park but we were glad that we missed today's crowd.

In the park they had an Eagle Scout Project that we thought was neat!

It was a monument to Vietnam Veterans, recognizing all branches of the military.

We plan on another quiet day tomorrow after we attend a church down the road. But stay with us as we will be going back in to Savannah.