Possible Wreck of the Santa Maria Found!

[Thagarr]

Barry Clifford, the underwater archaeologist responsible for discovering Black Sam Bellamy's pirate ship Whydah, has announced that he may have discovered the wreck of Christopher Columbus's flagship the Santa Maria. The ship was wrecked off the coast of Haiti after hitting a coral reef in December 1492. The actual wreck it's self was discovered on a dive 10 years ago, when it was photographed and mapped on an earlier expedition. At the time though, they did not have all the evidence to properly identify the wreck.


Since that expedition, other evidence has come to light that points to this wreck being the Santa Maria. Archaeologist's on land have pinpointed what was likely the position of Columbus's fort nearby, and armed with that information and clues from Columbus's diary, Clifford was able to surmise that this is the likely wreck of the famous flagship. Members of his dive crew recently dove again on the wreck site to photograph it and make further observations.


You can read the full story over at The Independent!

 

[darkevil]

It's sound like unbelievable... If it reveal true, that's awesome !

This morning, I found the article following article Christopher Columbus' Ship, The Santa Maria, May Have Been Found Off The Coast Of Haiti on huffingtonpost.com.

Maybe, someday, it will be possible to dive on this site and watch some wrecked piece of the ship lying on the very ground of the sea...
Morgan's flagship of Morgan and some others ships were be similarly found near panama Rio Chagres, Panama.
Read this article 500 year old rum? Archaeologists search for the real Captain Morgan and this one Captain Morgan's Cannons
LOST SHIPS OF HENRY MORGAN PROJECT may be interesting.

 

[Flannery]

Barry Clifford, the underwater archaeologist responsible for discovering Black Sam Bellamy's pirate ship Whydah, has announced that he may have discovered the wreck of Christopher Columbus's flagship the Santa Maria. The ship was wrecked off the coast of Haiti after hitting a coral reef in December 1492. The actual wreck it's self was discovered on a dive 10 years ago, when it was photographed and mapped on an earlier expedition. At the time though, they did not have all the evidence to properly identify the wreck.


Since that expedition, other evidence has come to light that points to this wreck being the Santa Maria. Archaeologist's on land have pinpointed what was likely the position of Columbus's fort nearby, and armed with that information and clues from Columbus's diary, Clifford was able to surmise that this is the likely wreck of the famous flagship. Members of his dive crew recently dove again on the wreck site to photograph it and make further observations.


You can read the full story over at The Independent!

This is fantastic... And exciting!! The Santa Maria was my very first love when it comes til sail boats... Perhaps my first love ever... The possibility that she now have been found sends shivers down my spine. Its mostly a good shiver... ;-)

Thanks allot for sharing Thagarr!!

 

[Thagarr]

Darkevil, thanks mate, I remember reading about them a couple of years ago, cool stuff.

Flannery, glad you enjoyed the article mate! I know the tingling feeling your referring too, I felt the same feeling when I first read the full story of the Whydah a few years ago. If there was ever a perfect pirate ship, in my opinion the Whydah was it! She was fast, manoeuvrable and easy to handle with or without wind. The Wikipedia article I pointed to above only scratches the surface of the story, here is a Youtube video of Barry Clifford discussing the Whydah. Maybe it will help inspire you for some pirate music when we take HoO back to the Golden Age!

For more information, you can head over to the Expedition Whydah webpage,

 

[Hylie Pistof]

That was an interesting talk that really brings the times to life.

 

[Thagarr]

Yeah, it really does mate. Treasure Island was a good bit of fantasy, but it did get some things pretty close to the truth. This story just goes to prove that the truth is always stranger than fiction. One of these days I am going to make it to that travelling Real Pirates exhibit!

 

[Thagarr]

Possible Wreck of the Santa Maria Found!

...Or maybe not!

Experts examining a wreck off the coast of Haiti say it is not that of a ship which took explorer Christopher Columbus to the Americas in 1492.

"There is now indisputable proof that the wreck is that of a ship from a much later period," experts from the UN's cultural body Unesco announced.

A US marine archaeologist had said in May that he believed he had found the wreck of Columbus's flagship.

The ship, the Santa Maria, ran aground near Haiti in December 1492.

Unesco experts, who had travelled to Haiti to examine the wreck, said artefacts found at the site "were those of a more recent ship, being of copper alloy, while the Santa Maria should have had iron and/or wood fixations".

Full story HERE!