Nina says goodbye to Maysville

By DANETTA BARKER Staff Writer
Friday, November 18, 2005 8:54 PM EST

In the early of light dawn Friday, with the brisk winter wind blowing and fog drifting around the hull, the Nina pulled anchor and set out for Indiana.

The eight-day stay for the crew brought in near record numbers of visitors to the ship. It also brought something else, hospitality.

"Little towns are nice," said Miss Ellie, the ship's cook and record keeper. "The people are nice."

A beautiful warm day greeted the crew when it docked Nov. 9, but by week's end, cold early winter temperatures left crew and visitors shivering in the wind.

The cold however didn't dampen the spirit of the 5,871 people who visited the ship, which is a replica of one of the three ships Christopher Columbus used to prove the world wasn't flat. The bulk of attendance during weekdays, 4,017 visitors, came from schools in both Kentucky and Ohio. Schools from Bath, Rowan, Lewis, Mason, Fleming, Fayette, Bracken and Bourbon counties booked tours on the ship. Adams and Brown counties in Ohio also brought school groups.

Built in Brazil, the ship was used in the movie "1492." The ship was built by the Columbus Foundation, which is based in the British Virgin Islands. The Nina has been a sailing museum since 1992 for the purpose of teaching the public about Columbus' journey.

For the crew, who are volunteers, the ship is home during its voyage. Miss Ellie will leave the boat in December to really retire near her family in New Mexico.

"We sail down the Arkansas River to the Gulf," Miss Ellie said. "I get off there and after a two-day car trip I will be in New Mexico where it is warm."

Running the tours in the cold weather is not easy, but it is part of the job. And you won't hear any of the crew grumbling about the conditions. Crew members will be wearing all the clothes they have on board, but they won't complain.

"I had to go buy a coat," Miss Ellie laughed. "I went up to the consignment store in town and found a nice warm coat."

During this stay shopping was done only when necessary because the crew was short handed. Miss Ellie made it out to Wal-Mart to buy supplies. But that was her only venture beyond the hotel room.

"I went to Wal-Mart and this lady tapped me on the shoulder and said 'You are Miss Ellie?'"

The woman had been on the boat and wanted to say hello again to Miss Ellie.

"It's the people again, they are so nice in small towns," Miss Ellie said. "They bring us things like banana nut bread, jam and salsa."

Students who toured the ship were as friendly as adults. The crew said usually with such large tours there can be problems with children. However, there were no problems this time out. One student brought his grandparents back to meet Miss Ellie.

"The little ones know they are on a boat, but that's about it," said Jory Edlin. "The third and fourth grade students have studied Christopher Columbus."

Other crew members Bela Berty, Jameson Marquardt and new hand Tara Buckler packed up the store, the shirts, the photos, the post cards and the mugs. Then moved on to bigger items, such as the gang plank and stairs. The work took about an hour and kept them moving, which they needed to stay warm.

"If the river is warm, it heats the cabin," Edlin said. "But when the temperature of the water in the river drops, it keeps the cabin cold."

There is no heating system on the boat, but Miss Ellie has her ways of warming things up.

"Tomorrow I will bake all day long and that will warm the ship up," she said.

A day of traveling will also give Miss Ellie time to plan the Thanksgiving dinner.

"We will have turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy," Miss Ellie said. "We will have a big Thanksgiving dinner."

Nina travels to Rising Sun, Ind. before heading toward the Gulf of Mexico. The ship will be docked for repairs most of the winter in Brazil.