FRONT PAGE NEWS-NOT!

No doubt many of you read the local, front page, newspaper article last week – WIND OUT OF THE SAILS OF NINA PROJECT.

It must have been an extremely slow news day, as this information is old news; and unfortunately not quite correct. It is one person’s perspective and not what—we—the Columbus Sailors Association understand to be correct. If you want to read the article and comment on-line, it would serve to show people that the Nina has support. As it stands now the comments are shocking.


Here’s what we believe to be true.

We know that Spain may not be in the picture for the near future. In particular, the Spanish shipwrights have moved on to another project. We hear they are building a galleon in Shanghai, China. Spain’s most recent gesture of commitment centered on providing the shipwrights for restoration of the Nina, when they wanted her to travel to Houston for a regatta. The City and Spain could not come to agreement (I know shocking, isn’t it!) on the details—so this event never took place.

It is our understanding that, Spain never pledged $150,000 to restore the ships. Spain does not own the ships—the city owns the ships. The city is responsible for the ships.

In the most recent talks about the restoration of the Nina, the City and the Friend’s of the Museum had both pledged specific dollar amounts towards the goal. And under “the supervision of the museum” as one of the three ships, money has been allocated for—upkeep/repair of the Nina. To date, we have not seen upkeep or repair underway on the Nina.

The work of restoring the Nina does not depend on the Spanish shipwright’s involvement. There is much we can accomplish on our own.

If it seems like—we—the Columbus Sailors Association are slow in our endeavors to get started, realize that we are working hard, behind the scenes to “get our ducks in a row” and approach the city with our ideas and goals. We must have a commitment from the city, prior to moving forward.

We are creating an informative timeline that will hopefully educate our new mayor and council people to the past history of the ships, in an effort to move forward in light of our past.