A tall and ancient piece of history is docked at the Port of Rochester this weekend.

The NAO Santa Maria is a 93-foot, 200 ton replica of one of the three ships that Christopher Columbus used in the voyage that led to the Europeans landing on the shores of North America.

It was built by hand in Spain last December and took the same route as Columbus for the 525^th anniversary of his voyage.

Now, a crew of 16 is taking it on a tour of the Great Lakes.

"The most important for us is just to see the reactions of people,” said Fernando Viota, a crew member on the ship. “When we are sharing this part of the history, and also the experience of the crew with the people, some of them they want to join us."

Curious about the ship? Hop aboard this weekend before they venture on to Buffalo for next weekend’s Tall Ships Festival.