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Nina, Pinta will visit Michigan City

Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - After making history by hosting the first Great Lakes Grand Prix from Aug. 7-9, Michigan City will welcome pieces of history the following week.

Replicas of Christopher Columbus' ships, the Nina and the Pinta, will dock at Millennium Park beginning Aug. 10, when a media tour is scheduled. The public can visit the ships for walk-aboard self-guided tours from Aug. 11 to Aug. 17. The Pinta is available for private parties while in port.

The ships are touring together as a "sailing museum" to educate the public, according to a press release from the Columbus Foundation.

The foundation's Nina was called "the most historically correct Columbus replica ever built," by Archaeology magazine. It was constructed by hand, without power tools, and was used in the film "1492," starring Gerard Depardieu and directed by Ridley Scott.

The Pinta was recently built in Brazil and is a larger version of the original ship. It has more deck space for walk-aboard tours and has a 900-square-foot main salon below deck used for slide shows of the ships' construction.

The ships will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, and no reservations are required. The prices are $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and $5 for children 5 and older. Children 4 and under are admitted free.

Groups with a minimum of 15 people may schedule a 30-minute guided tour with a crew member for $4 per person by calling the ship at (787) 672-2152.

For additional information, visit www.thenina.com.