Vano, originally from Harlingen, boarded the ship at Port Isabel about three weeks ago and now works as the cook on the Pinta. Photos: Did we see you playing pickleball at the Athletic Complexįraternization beyond friendship and couples are also prohibited. Sanger has zero tolerance for misbehavior, so when fistfights occur between crew members, for example, they're off the boat. "You don't have to stay on long - the shorter, the better."Īlthough the crew members remain chipper on deck, drama worthy of reality television happens behind closed doors, Teresa Vano says. It takes a special person to become a crew member," said Sanger. The only privacy afforded to crew members are the curtains that enclose their bunks, and restrooms, which do not come with showers and are only a bit larger than airplane stalls. While the exterior of the boats try to remain consistent with 15th century models, below deck the crews live in a more modern, but still cramped space with basic household appliances - flat-screen televisions, gas stoves, microwaves and freezers. Six volunteer crew members, ranging in age from their 20s up into their 50s, live on each boat. With such a high price tag, Morgan says he isn't likely to build the Santa Maria. The larger vessel is 25 feet longer and 8 feet wider than the Niña and cost $2.5 million to complete, according to Sanger. Both boats can sail in waters around eight feet deep. Steering is manual, with a wooden rudder that sweeps beneath the water. Built from Brazilian hardwood, the boat was patterned off of a caravel vessel that Sanger excavated from the ocean and from a 15th century log entry that said the Niña could carry 55 tons of cargo.Īlthough they have a back-up diesel tank, the Niña and Pinta generally are powered by wind and sail. Morgan Sanger, a New York native and the captain of the ships, and his team of 30 men completed the Niña - reportedly Columbus's favorite ship - in 1991 with the use of only hand tools. No detail was overlooked in designing and constructing the vessels to be as identical as possible to the ones that sailed across the Atlantic in 1492. and sometimes into Central America, where the crew gives tours and answers all Columbus-related questions. The boats travel 10 months out of the year around the U.S. "We don't really have a home port because we sail almost year-round and we do maintenance in Alabama." "We move 7 and 8 miles per hour," said Stephen Sanger, first mate on the Pinta. The arrival of the 15th-century replicas of Portuguese caravel vessels on Thursday was replete with the pomp and circumstance that wasn't seen with the Beaumont landing five years ago.Ĭelebratory cannons were blown to announce the arrival of the floating museum while Contraband festival volunteers dressed in pirate attire distributed beads and mock doubloons.Ĭrew members were quick to ready the ship for docking, delighted by their first opportunity to step on solid ground since three days ago when they docked at Matagorda Bay. Dave Ryan/The Enterprise Dave Ryan Show More Show Less The replicas have been touted as the most precise copies of the ships to have been made. Replicas of the Nina and Pinta wooden ships that Christopher Columbus sailed to America docked in Lake Charles Thursday Apbehind the Civic Center on Lake-shore Drive. Dave Ryan/The Enterprise Dave Ryan Show More Show Less 23 of81 Teresa Vano, who has been a crew member for 3 1/2 weeks, and is standing in the ship's galley, is the Pinta's cook. 21 of81 22 of81 Teresa Vano, who has been a crew member for 3 1/2 weeks, and is the Pinta's cook, laughs as she shows off the small bathroom, known as the head, that has no shower or bathtub.The black pole behind her is one of the masts.
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