Columbus Replica Ship Sinks in Corpus Christi Bay…Again

An hour of television news can leave you feeling pretty bleak about the state of affairs in America these days. Then this story comes along...again.

A replica of Christopher Columbus' ship, La Nina, has sunk for the second time in three years. It's now half submerged in the Corpus Christi Bay after it was discovered on Tuesday morning. It's like a sign of the times.

Let's rewind. Back in 1992, Spain awarded to the City of Corpus Christi three replica ships modeled after the ones Columbus is said to have used exploring America. The La Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria replicas arrived as a celebration of the 500th anniversary of the famous voyage. Well, the Columbus Sailing Association became the caretaker of these ships and by 2014, two of the three ships were determined to be too big and too expensive to keep up. They were then demolished. Thanks for the gift, Spain.

This left the lonely, 75-foot-long replica of the La Nina, by its self in Corpus Christi Bay. Hurricane Harvey did a number on the ship in August of 2017 causing it to sink into the bay before being lifted out of the water and restored. That took 3 months and cost about $20K. Well, in 2019, it sank again around 2 am Tuesday morning.

The plan now according to MySanAntonio.com is to lift the boat out of the water and move it to the shipyard in Aransas Pass so it can be turned into a tourist attraction on land. An anonymous donor has been said to have agreed to pay for the restoration if the ship stays in the Coastal Bend.

It's ironic that the city is willing to spend the time and money to restore the La Nina when at the same time, there is a big stink about removing the statue of Columbus himself from the Corpus Christi ship canal because some find it offensive. Just last week the website Caller.com ran a story about the removal of the statue which can also be seen in the video below from KIII 3 News. Happy sailing 'Merica!