Christopher Columbus sailed on three ships on his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María. The Santa María, originally named La Gallega, was the largest of the three ships and was captained by Juan de la Cosa). The Santa María had three masts and was the slowest of Columbuss vessels, but performed well in the Atlantic Ocean crossing). The Niña was the smallest of the fleet, captained by Vicente Añes Pinzón, and was another caravel of probably 50 or 60 tons. The Pinta was the fastest of the three ships, and the differences in speed between the three ships were small, perhaps about 0.1 knot between them.