Columbus ships attracts thousands from all over West TN

PARIS, Tenn. – These two sailing museums travel far and wide.

“We are able to navigate and travel to many different places around the United States,” said Captain, Stephen Sanger.

Replicas of the Christopher Columbus ships, the Nina and the Pinta are docked at the Paris Landing State Park Marina attracting thousands of people from all over West Tennessee. Not only do visitors get to see what the ships look like, they also get to learn some history.

“We are teaching about exploration and these caravels as to what brought Columbus and many other explorers to open up trade routes all over the world and these ships started it all,” said Sanger.

Those in attendance say they enjoyed learning about the ships.

“They are very informative,” said attendee, Debbie Kerley. “It’s very interesting to see what you learn about in elementary school and social studies.”

“I thought it was great,” said attendee, Tony Mettert. “If you look at the way that they ran the ships and the amount of work, the hours they had to put in and the labor and there was no air conditioning back then.”

“I am glad that they have it here and it is a good memorial day trip for families individuals or friends,” said Kerley.

“The turnout this weekend has been fantastic,” said Sanger. “We’ve had over a thousand people come down and see the ships and hopefully make use of the beautiful state park here.”

Sanger says the general public is invited to visit the ships for a walk-aboard, self-guided tour until Wednesday, May 29th from 9 a.m to 6 p.m.