Replicas of the Niña and Pinta make their way past Lansing ...

The Niña, a replica of the caravel sailing ship that was part of the famous trio of ships used by Christopher Columbus in his journey across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, is pictured above sailing south past Lansing on the Mississippi River about mid-morning Tuesday, August 2. The ship was accompanied by another replica from the original triad of vessels, the Pinta, on its recent Mississippi voyage, as both set sail from Riverside Park in La Crosse, WI, where they had been docked for public touring over the previous weekend. The third vessel of that famous threesome, the Santa Maria, has never been reconstructed because it would be far too large of a vessel to navigate the river waters the other two ships currently sail on as floating maritime museums. Both replicas were constructed in Valencia, Brazil, the Niña being built from 1988 until she set sail in 1991, and the Pinta being completed 16 years later. Both ships actually take applications for volunteer crew members to set sail with them on their river journeys, with the Upper Mississippi River course the two ships recently took part in being traversed about every three years, according to informational brochures. Photo courtesy of Don Larson of Lansing.