The Santa Maria was a Karacke ship with some caravel components and was the flagship of the Columbus fleet.
Launching and design:
The launch took place in 1480. The first name of the ship was still "La Gallega" (the Galician), since at the time ships were often baptized to the place where they were built. The owner of the ship was Juan de la Cosa, himself a navigator, cartographer and explorer.
The exact classification in a ship type is not possible today, since the structure is similar to a caravel, from the sails, however, is more likely to be assigned to a carafe.
Under the command in front of Christopher Columbus:
Juan de la Cosa rented the Santa Maria to Columbus and was himself on board when the fleet together with the ships Niña and Pinta set sail on 3 August 1492 to find a western seafaring route to India.
On October 12, 1492, the fleet reached islands on the northeastern edge of the Bahamas.
The end of Santa Maria:
On December 25, 1492, the ship ran on a sandbar before Hispaniola, triggered by the poor navigation of Juan de la Cosa. Salvage attempts failed and so the ship was abandoned and the wood was used for the first Spanish settlement La Navidad, in which 30 to 35 men of the occupation remained.
Ship data:
| Launching | 1480 |
| Country | Spain |
| Whereabouts | Stranded on December 25, 1492 |
| Number of masts | 3 |
| Number of sails | 5 |
| Length | 23,6 meters |
| Width | 7,92 meters |
| Draft | Max. 2,1 meters |
| Arming | 4 x 9cm Bombardellen 5cm Kolubrinen portable crossbows and rifles |
| Crew | 39 Man |
Replica of Santa Maria
Model of Santa Maria
Model of Santa Maria
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