Nao Santa Maria (Boulogne-sur-Mer, France)

Aug. 31, 2025389 Views Le Boulonnais, Opal Coast 7 min read

General information about Nao Santa Maria

The "Nao Santa Maria" is a replica of the original ship "Santa Maria" on which Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas in the 15th century. It was the flagship of this a small fleet. "Nao" is a type of ship:, more specifically, a "karrak." There were about 40 sailors on board who lived mainly on deck. This ship was accompanied by 2 more ships of the "karrak" type: the Pinta and the Nina. There were another 26 and 24 sailors there. Together, then, about 90 people left in 1492 in search of the "new world."

However, nothing is what it seems:
1) During the renovation process, an innovative system was used in the field of building historical replica ships, combining a fiberglass construction with a wooden coating. After 14 months of intensive work, the Nao Santa María was launched on March 16, 2018. The ship weighs 200 tons, has a maximum length of 28.30 meters, a width of 7.96 meters and a draft of 3.49 meters.
2) No plans exist of Christopher Columbus' original ship. Every maritime historian has such ideas. Hence, several different replicas were built. To name just one parameter: length. In the replica of the 400th anniversary (1892) it was 22.60 m long, Martinez Hidalgo's replica (1964) was 23.60 m long and in the case of the caravel built on the occasion of the 500th anniversary (1992) it was 26.60 m long. So you see: you have "replicas" and you have "replicas." So it's all to be taken with the necessary grain of salt, too 😉

The one and only "Santa Maria" sank off the coast of Hispaniola on December 24, 1492. This island is located in the Caribbean, in the Greater Antilles (east of Cuba).

The replica ship comes from the big 5-yearly "Sail Amsterdam" event. On August 29-30-31, 2025, this ship can be admired and, upon payment, visited. It is virtually moored at Nausicaa in the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer. If you wish, you can obtain the informative booklet below, published by the Fundacion Nao Victoria, at the entrance gate:

She leaves on September 1, 2025 at 3h in the morning.

Tips related to the Nao Santa Maria

Tip 1: Would you like to listen again to the legendary music composed by Vangelis for the film "1492 - Conquest of Paradise"? You can do so via this YouTube link.

Tip 2: Did you know that ... you can track the current position of many ships online and through several websites ? Those ships must be equipped with the AIS system. AIS stands for Automatic Identification System and is a worldwide used vessel tracking and identification system. If you want to know where the Nao Santa Maria is "now," see MarineTraffic, for example. You sometimes have to put the word "now" in perspective: not every ship transmits an AIS message every few minutes. If they are moving, in principle, they are.
All in all, very interesting information for photographers: if you know that a certain ship will participate in a maritime event, you can see and estimate in advance when it will enter the port. Often, when they are still at sea and entering the port, you can get the best shots 😉.

Geographical information about Nao Santa Maria

Address: Quai Gambetta, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Hauts-de-France, France
Geographical coordinates:
- Google Maps: Latitude = 50.727247 - Longitude = 1.599015
- Open Street Maps: Latitude = 50.727247 - Longitude = 1.599015
- Altitude h = 9 m
Indication of Nao Santa Maria on:
Tourist map of Top.Flanders - Google Maps - OpenStreetMap.

Current Weather Daily Weather Hourly Weather Weather Map

Saint-Martin-Boulogne, FR

08:59, 09/01/2025

17°C

Low: 15° High: 17°

Feels like 17°C°|. very light cloud cover

Sunrise 07:07

Sunset 20:39

Humidity 86 %

Pressure 1005 mb

Wind 29 Km/h SSW

Wind Gust 36 Km/h

UV Index 0

Precipitation 1 mm

Clouds 21%

Rain Chance 0%

Visibility 10 km

Day	Condition	Temperature	Precipitation	Rain Chance	Wind	Humidity	Pressure
Today 23:00	light rain	15° \| 17°°C	1 mm	100%	32 Km/h	84 %	1007 mb
Tomorrow 23:00	light rain	15° \| 18°°C	1 mm	100%	37 Km/h	87 %	1007 mb
Wed Sep 03 23:00	light rain	17° \| 20°°C	1 mm	100%	50 Km/h	90 %	1007 mb
do sep 04 23:00	light rain	16° \| 18°°C	1 mm	100%	41 Km/h	83 %	1016 mb
Fri Sep 05 23:00	light rain	16° \| 18°°C	1 mm	100%	27 Km/h	80 %	1022 mb

1 to 8 of 0 results

Hour	Condition	Temperature	Precipitation	Rain Chance	Wind	Humidity	Pressure
Today 11:00	slightly cloudy	16° \| 16°°C	0 mm	0%	32 Km/h	84 %	1005 mb
Today 14:00	slightly cloudy	18° \| 19°°C	0 mm	0%	30 Km/h	74 %	1006 mb
Today 17:00	light rain	20° \| 20°°C	0.79 mm	79%	28 Km/h	69 %	1005 mb
Today 20:00	light rain	18° \| 18°°C	0.97 mm	97%	22 Km/h	77 %	1006 mb
Today 23:00	light rain	16° \| 16°°C	1 mm	100%	26 Km/h	80 %	1007 mb
Tomorrow 02:00	light rain	15° \| 15°°C	1 mm	100%	27 Km/h	79 %	1007 mb
Tomorrow 05:00	light rain	16° \| 16°°C	0.66 mm	66%	25 Km/h	79 %	1007 mb
Tomorrow 08:00	light rain	16° \| 16°°C	1 mm	100%	26 Km/h	81 %	1007 mb

1 to 8 of 0 results

These are the tide predictions for today:

BOULOGNE-SUR-MER

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Internet information from and about Nao Santa Maria

Nao Santa Maria:
Website - Facebook - Instagram
Wikipedia:
- the explorer Christopher Columbus(EN - FR - EN)
- the ship Santa Maria(EN - FR - EN)
- the island of Hispanola(EN - FR - EN)
Tourist Office "Office du Tourisme Boulogne-sur-Mer":
Website

Our HR, HDR and 360° photos about Nao Santa Maria

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