The last standing Columbus replica ship is waiting for her new voyage to begin.
But, she needs a new owner. La Niña is the last caravel replica in the Northern Hemisphere, and her former owner, President of the Columbus Sailing Association Kim Mrazek hopes to see her live on.
The City of Corpus Christi has been searching for new owners for the past few months. This is the second time the city has tried finding new owners and La Niña is not even for sale.
“We’ve not had the response we were hoping,” Marina Superintendent Gina Sanchez said. “In fact, we don’t have any response.”
Sanchez says her organization has reached out to 46 organizations, including museums and sailing associations to find a new owner. Included are other cities La Niña passed through on her journey, 25 years ago.
But, after three attempts to find a new owner, the local group has been unsuccessful.
The City has asked the Marina and the Columbus Sailing Association to market La Niña, in hopes of finding an owner that will preserve her for educational purposes.
Mrazek says that La Niña will need a new main deck, but that her rib cage is ‘sound.’
There will need to be money spent to keep up with the ship’s maintenance, but there is no price for it. Mrazek said it would be a trade of ownership.
“We don’t want her destroyed,” Mrazek said. “Her sisters were, and it shouldn’t happen. We should be able to do better than that.”
The City is looking for potential owners through a Request for Interest form that you can find on the city’s website
The deadline for finding new ownership is 5 p.m. Friday.
