Caravelha Pinta – Portugal started building its naval empire before Christopher Columbus. Rival Spain rapidly soon took the measure and eventually in 1492 granted Genoese Christoforo Columbo to sail to Asia to according to his theory to avoid the dangerous trip via East. His fleet counted three ships, since passed into posterity: The Santa Maria, a carrack, the Pinta and Nina, two Caravels. But Where there ? The Caravel (from caravelho, “oak”) was derived from sturdy fishing ships built for the Atlantic, and rigged with latin sails. Larger coastal ships received three masts, and to cope with changing weather, a later type used square sails on the foremast. Such was the Pinta, a quite sizeable Caravel depicted here.