The term 1492 Caravel refers to the three ships that Christopher Columbus used in his first voyage to the New World. The ships were named the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina. The Nina was a caravel, a type of small, highly maneuverable sailing ship used by the Portuguese and Spanish during the 15th and 16th centuries. The Nina was the smallest of the three ships, measuring only about 50 feet long and 17 feet wide.