Troop 583 - McAllen, Texas

March 10, 2007 - Day trip to Port Isabel, Texas
to view the Sarsfield Nina, visit the museums and Lighthouse
then visit Laguna Station, Rio Grande Councils camp on South Padre Island.

The Sarsfield Nina
Length overall = 93.6 feet
Length on Deck = 66 feet
Draft = 7 feet
Displacement = 100 tons

The designers were John Patrick Sarsfield and Jonathan Morton Nance.
Mr. Sarsfield died in an automobile accident in Brazil shortly before the building of this boat was finished.

It is owned and operated by The Columbus Foundation, British Virgin Islands.

The Nina from across the chanel
This replica of the Nina is rigged as the original was after it left the Canary Islands.
According to the records of Columbus first voyage, the original was rigged lateen (with triangular sails)
on all masts when it left Spain. It was re-rigged during a stop in the Canary Islands
to make it easier to sail during the trip across the Atlantic,
where the winds were fairly steady, and almost always from behind.

From the bow (on the right) the masts are, The bowsprit, the foremast, the mainmast, the mizzen and the contre mizzen.
The foremast and mainmast are rigged with square sails hung on yards. These sails are brailed up to the yards for storage while at dock.
The mizzen has a lateen yard (set at an angle) which has its lateen sail brailed up on it, stored while at dock.
The contre mizzen (aft most mast) is not rigged with its yard. When it is rigged it would look much like the mizzen.

The windless, a winch used to heave up the anchor.

The windless showing the pawl,
the piece of wood at the right which keeps the windless from rotating backwards, much like the handle in a socket set.

The shrouds - standing rigging which holds up the foremast side to side.
Note that the rigging lines which hold the masts fore and aft are called stays.

A frame model of the Nina.

The fore part of the Nina

The youth who made the trip.

Looking aft at the stern cabin on the Nina.

The group who were on this trip - minus one.

The group who were on this trip - minus a different one.

The Nina from ahead.
Note the square sails on the Fore and Main Masts.

The Kit Kat an oil field supply boat returning to dock.
Recently there have been significant oil discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico
offshore from Port Isabel.
There is a lot of activity going on more than 10 miles east of Brazos Santiago Pass.

After viewing the Nina, walking the docks and having a look at the other boats we ate the lunch we brought in the Laguna Madre Yacht Club. One of the members, (who had been a Boy Scout in his youth) invited us to use the facility.
After lunch we visited the 2 museums in Port Isabel. One is dedicated to the history of Port Isabel, and the other displays finds from Spanish galleons which shipwrecked off the Texas coast near the Port Mansfield cut in the mid 1500s.

One of the Scouts in the historical museum

An interactive exhibit in the historical museum

On the way to the Port Isabel Lighthouse

At the top of the Lighthouse - it was windy.

The gate to Laguna Station - on South Padre Island.

Walking on the southern edge of Laguna Station.
Shrimp boat heading east out of Brazos Santiago Pass.

Large hopper dredge keeping Brazos Santiago Pass open and deep.