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Hydrography Underwater explorer Barry Clifford said he found sunken off Haiti what he thinks is the wreck of Santa Maria, Chris- topher Columbus’ long lost fl agship from his fi rst journey to the Americas. Clifford, working for an operation funded by the History Channel, claims he led a team that found and investigated the wreck in the exact area where Columbus said the Santa Maria ran aground more than 500 years ago on a reef off Haiti’s northern coast, 10 to 15 feet beneath the water’s surface. Clifford and his team used sonar scanning and metal de- tection devices to examine the ship’s remains. Most of the ship is intact and excavation will be possible with assistance from the Haitian government, Clifford said. While Clifford is reportedly confi dent that the wreck is the Santa Maria, it is now up to archeologists to study the wreck to determine if it is the Santa Maria. Clifford’s crew photographed the wreck in 2003, and those pictures, along with data gathered by computer and other recent dives, have assured Clifford that the wreck is Columbus’. The ship is the correct size (117 ft. long), Clifford said, and stones found at the wreck site that match the type in Spain where the Santa Maria was built were found at the site, CNN reported. Santa Maria was the largest of Columbus’ small fl eet that set sail from Spain in August 1492 under the sponsorship of King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I. The ship reportedly ran aground in December off the coast of Haiti. Santa Maria: Has the wreck been found off of Haiti (Librar y of Congress photo) June 2014 44 MTR MTR #5 (34-49).indd 44 6/9/2014 10:46:25 AM
