WILMINGTON — Wednesday morning, the Niña and Pinta arrived in Wilmington to the thunder of cannon fire, wreathed in smoke. As the ships approached the Port City, the Niña let loose with her three-pound cannon, much to the surprise of restaurant goers having lunch downtown.
It was a raucous entrance for the ships, which are faithful recreations of two of Christopher Columbus’ original vessels. The Columbus Foundation constructed the replica Niña and Pinta as “sailing museums” for the purpose of educating the public on life aboard a caravel. According to the Foundation, the handcrafted Niña is the most historically correct Columbus replica ever built.
What’s it like to set sail in a 500-year-old ship design?
According to Captain Stephen Sanger, you have to be multi-faceted individual to work on a floating museum such as this.
“We wear many hats, each individual brings different talents to the table,” Sanger said.
“People on board the ships do everything from steering the ship to handling the lines for rigging at sea,” he said. “Then when we get to port they really take on the role of tour guide, telling the stories they have traveling aboard these ships.”
When asked about what role a Captain plays aboard a modern caravel, Sanger said “I’m a captain one day, doing news the next. Sometimes I’m hiring, sometimes I’m firing, and then the next day I’m organizing ports to visit.”
Sanger says the crew spends around 40 weeks per year at sea, stopping in around 30 ports as they venture along the U.S. coast.
Sometimes, the crew like to announce themselves with cannon-fire, often to the surprise of onlookers. When asked about the cannon fire, Wilmington Harbor Enhancement Trust President Stephanie Fornes laughed, adding: “We were not expecting that!”
Then the crew spoke up, saying that although Homeland Security frowns on using the three-pound cannon at full power, they do like to fire it. Crewmembers said they hoped they had given downtown diners a little something extra with their lunch.
Part of that something extra came from Crewman Kat Wilson. Typically fired with just black powder, Wilson said she had set out to test a new theory with the cannons.
“As a little experiment, I wanted to try something, and it went better than we expected.” she said. “I remembered that obviously, corn is volatile, you know they make ethanol out of it, so I put a little corn starch in the secondary charge, and I think it made a really crisp sound!”
Sound like your kind of job? The ships are hiring
“We are looking for a cook if you know anybody,” Captain Sanger said. “You have to be willing to travel for at least 30 days minimum, do basic meals, cooking … come on down if it sounds like the job for you.”
The Wilmington Harbor Enhancement Trust is hosting the event in conjunction with the Port City Marina.
The ships will be open for tours for individuals, groups, and sponsored events May 11-21. Tickets are $8 for Adults, $7 for Seniors/Military, and $6 for children 5 to 16. Children 4 and under are free. Group tours of 15 or more are available for schools, museums, Scouts, and camps for $5 per person. Group tours need to book in advance.
Tickets are available online and will also be on sale at Port City Marina on the days of the tours. Tours are May 11 – 21, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
