Use the arrow keys to move between letters. Press Enter or Space on the first letter of a word, then again on the last letter. Press Escape to cancel.
A few of the words
- PALOS
- The fleet departed from Palos de la Frontera, a small port in southwestern Spain that had been ordered by the Spanish Crown to supply two of Columbus's three ships.Find this word in the grid to read its note.
- COMPASS
- Columbus relied on a magnetic compass to hold his westward heading, a navigation tool that had reached European sailors from the Arab world during the medieval period.Find this word in the grid to read its note.
- NINA
- The Niña, formally the Santa Clara, was Columbus's personal favorite of the three ships and carried him safely back to Spain after the voyage.Find this word in the grid to read its note.
- RIGGING
- The intricate web of ropes controlling the sails was tended constantly by the crew; on a caravel like the Pinta, skilled handling of the rigging let the ship sail closer to the wind than older vessel designs allowed.Find this word in the grid to read its note.
armchairpuzzles.com · free large-print word searches
Columbus sets sail 1492 word search
Columbus Sets Sail for the New World: a free large-print word search
Columbus Sets Sail 1492, free large-print word search evoking three wooden ships, a salt wind, and the vast Atlantic opening westward on August 3.
About Columbus Sets Sail for the New World
On August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus led his small fleet out of the harbor at Palos de la Frontera, Spain, and pointed the prows of the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María toward an unknown horizon. The ships carried charts, compasses, anchors, and a crew of roughly ninety men who trusted the wind and the captain's reckoning across open water. It was the departure that would, weeks later, connect two hemispheres, but on that August morning, all that lay ahead was the deep Atlantic and the dare of a westward sail.
How to play
- 1Find a word.Tap its first letter, then tap along to its last. The trail fills in and finishes itself when it spells a word. Or press the first letter and drag.
- 2Words run in straight lines.Across and down, and on the harder difficulties diagonally and backwards.
- 3It marks itself.Each word you find takes on its own soft colour on the grid and is crossed off the list.
- 4Choose a difficulty.Relaxed, Classic or Challenging set those directions and how much the word list helps, never the grid size. Tap the A buttons at the top to enlarge the letters, or pinch the grid.
Prefer pen and paper?
A clean, large-print sheet. Free, and no sign-up.