Columbus' long-lost ship, the Santa Maria, may have been found

                                   

An underwater explorer says he may have found the wreckage of Christopher Columbus' famous flagship, the Santa Maria, which was wrecked in a storm nearly 500 years ago. The shipwreck was found in relatively shallow waters off the north coast of Haiti.

In 1492, three ships made the voyage over to the New World -- the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria -- with the largest ship, the Santa Maria, floundering and sinking to the bottom of the Caribbean.
Underwater archaeological explorer Barry Clifford told The Independent that the evidence strongly suggested that the wreck he and his team found in the Caribbean was indeed Columbus' flagship.
Clifford said that when he first spotted and photographed the site in 2003, he saw what appeared to be a 15th century cannon and ballast stones that looked like they came from Spain or Portugal. However, following a more recent dive last week, he said the cannon was no longer there. The cannon and other artifacts may have been stolen by looters over the last decade. full story
 Portrait of Christopher Columbus.