The term 'One of a Nautical Trio' refers to the three ships used by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage to the Americas in 1492. These ships were the Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria. The Pinta was a caravel-type vessel with five letters in its name, while the Nina was a caravel-type vessel with four letters in its name. Both ships were smaller than the Santa Maria, which was a larger nao-type vessel.