This 28x8m (92x26ft) replica tallship was built in 2007 by Punta Umbría shipyards in Huelva, Spain and owned by the Nao Victoria Foundation. This foundation has built two other ships, the Nao Victoria and El Galeon.

The Santa Maria is one of the most well known ships in history along with the other two ships in the 1492 expedition that made her famous, the Nina and the Pinta. The latter two ships being caravels, the Santa Maria is a nao, or carrack. Being the largest of the three ships she was Christopher Columbus‘s flagship.

This ship is tiny by modern standards and I found it to become a bit on the crowded side with about 20 people on board between the crew and visitors. The crew size of this ship was 40 and it was difficult to imagine that many people being in this small space for months and largely unprotected from the elements!

There is only one small cabin aboard this ship which would have been used by the highest ranking person aboard. That probably would have been Columbus.

This ship was steered not from a wheel but from a steering pole on the quarterdeck which connected to the rudder via a mechanism on the main deck. The pole was pushed to the left or right to produce the desired rudder movement.

Parked between a pair of Watermark cruise ships in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor an interesting perspective was provided on her size and shape.

She was built by the Nao Victoria Foundation to celebrate the 525th anniversary of her most famous voyage. The exact size of the original is not known but her capacity of 100 barrels is and so this ship was built to dimensions of a similar nao of that capacity. The replica is wood clad fiberglass and has a crew of 16 who have their quarters in a hidden area where the cargo would have been on the original ship.

If you missed her visit to Baltimore, which was arranged by Sail Baltimore, you can still check her out at The Wharf in Washington D.C. between November 7 and 13th and again between the 15th and 17th.

More photos I took on and around this ship can be viewed by clicking here. You can view my photography (more than just ships!) here and more videos here.