The Niña and the Pinta
The Nina navigates through a channel toward Three Forks Harbor in front of the Muskogee Power Plant on Nov. 22, 2011. The rigging and sails on the ships are functional, but the ships were powered with diesel motors on their two-day journey from Fort Smith, Ark., to Muskogee. The ships will be available for tours through Dec. 7. JEFF LAUTENBERGER/Tulsa World
This was quite a sight…scale model replicas of Columbus’ ships, made using historical tools and methods, motoring down the Arkansas River through the middle of Oklahoma. The ships were much smaller than I thought they’d be, and unfortunately didn’t have their sails down because of weather. After walking on the deck of both ships, and realizing that I could probably spit a sunflower seed from one side to the other, I could never imagine crossing an ocean on such a tiny, rinky-dink vessel.
Traveling the Arkansas River, the Nina fires a cannon as it approaches Three Forks Harbor in Muskogee on Nov. 22, 2011. Along with the Pinta, the ships are model replicas of the caravels Christopher Columbus used for exploratory voyages. JEFF LAUTENBERGER/Tulsa World
Kyle Friauf, captain of the Nina, pulls on ropes to tighten the ship closer to the dock at Three Forks Harbor in Muskogee on Nov. 22, 2011. The ships arrived from Fort Smith, Ark., the next stop will be Punta Gorda, Fla. JEFF LAUTENBERGER/Tulsa World
Flags wave aboard the Nina after docking in Three Forks Harbor in Muskogee on Nov. 22, 2011. The Columbus Foundation funded construction of the vessel, to historical specifications, in 1988. JEFF LAUTENBERGER/Tulsa World
Rigging onboard the Nina, docked at Three Forks Harbor in Muskogee on Nov. 22, 2011. The Nina was built to scale using traditional methods, while the model Pinta was built slightly larger than scale with modern tools. JEFF LAUTENBERGER/Tulsa World