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Columbus discovers Clearwater!

Well, at least a replica of his ship Nina sailed into Clearwater Harbor this week, offering onboard tours through Tuesday.

CLEARWATER - She is a 15th century-style 93.6-foot-long piece of history that has glided from Brazil to Nebraska.

She has starred in the 1992 film 1492: Conquest of Paradise with Gerard Depardieu and has appeared in several PBS specials.

And now she's here.

The original Nina carried Christopher Columbus' crew safely from Spain to the New World and back home again.

Built entirely by hand, the sturdy replica of the famous Nina, said to be Christopher Columbus' favorite ship, cruised into Clearwater Harbor Wednesday afternoon and is now open for visitors.

From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Tuesday, guests can climb aboard this $750,000 "sailing museum" and take a self-guided tour of the upper deck (Coast Guard rules forbid visitors from descending below decks).

"It's a fascinating vessel even to people who don't know anything about boats," said Captain Morgan Sanger, who has been at the helm since 1992. "It's a fascinating look back into history."

In 1492, Columbus commanded the small fleet of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria from Spain west across the Atlantic Ocean searching for a sea route to Asia. He never found it. But he did discover islands in the Caribbean Sea. He made four voyages westward between 1492 and 1504 exploring what are now the West Indies and the coasts of Central and South America.

He logged 25,000 miles on the Nina.

While no one knows what happened to the original trading vessel, known as a caravel,the replica was built by the Columbus Foundation in Bahia, Brazil, out of local timber using axes, hand saws, chisels, the tools available in the 1400s.

The foundation set out to build copies of all three ships used during the 1492 trip to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the voyage, but was only able to build the one ship.

The other two didn't have stellar histories anyway. Columbus disliked the Santa Maria, which ran aground and sank off Hispaniola, and not much is known about the Pinta after the 1492 voyage.

To be sure, life on the Nina was uncomfortable.

On the first voyage, 27 crew members, some horses and other animals were aboard. (Ninety people in all took part in the expedition including a translator, three physicians, servants for each captain, a secretary and an accountant.)

They ate stew made of salted meat or fish, hard biscuits and watered-down wine. The sailors had no sleeping bunks, so they huddled on deck at night, sleeping on a bed of coiled rope,if they were lucky.

Life is easier on the modern Nina, which has World War II-style berths and a motor.

And its 7-foot draft has allowed it to go where no Nina before it has been: the Erie Canal, the Mississippi River and yes, Nebraska.

Via the Missouri River.

- Times researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report. Eileen Schulte can be reached at 727 445-4153 or schulte@sptimes.com

Climb aboard a replica of Christopher Columbus' ship the Nina, which is docked at the Clearwater Municipal Marina until Wednesday. You can take a self-guided tour from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Tuesday (the ship departs very early Wednesday for its next port of call). Admission is $4 for adults, $3.50 for seniors and $3 for students. While on board, watch an 18-minute documentary film about the vessel. Teachers who want to book a tour for their classes should call (561) 301-9692 as soon as possible. The marina is at 25 Causeway Blvd., Clearwater Beach.