There were, in addition to the galley, the nef and the galeasse; the former
of these was a sailing vessel pure and simple like those remarkable
caravels in which Columbus discovered America.
What these caravels were exactly like it was the good fortune of the writer
to see in the year 1893. This was the date of the great exhibition of
Chicago, and the American Government were most anxious to have, and to
exhibit if possible, an exact replica of these historic craft. They
accordingly communicated with the Spanish Government and inquired if by any
chance they possessed the plans and specifications of the caravels of
Columbus? Search was made in the archives of Cadiz Dockyard and these
priceless documents were discovered. From them the ships were built in
every respect the same as the wonderful originals and then towed across the
Atlantic by the United States cruiser _Lancaster_. On their way they were
brought to Gibraltar, where the writer's ship was then stationed, and were
anchored inside the New Mole. The _Santa Maria_, the flagship of Columbus,
was a three-masted vessel with a very high "forecastle" and "sterncastle"
and very deep in the waist; she had three masts, the foremast carrying one
square sail, the mainmast having both mainsail and main-topsail, the mizzen
was rigged with a lateen sail, on the mainsail was painted the Maltese and
on the foresail the Papal cross, and on deck she carried a brick-built
cooking galley.
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