The Santa Maria ship, a replica of Christopher Columbus's vessel, will not participate in this year's Columbus Festival in Porto Santo, an event running until Sunday, September 20th. This marks the first time in approximately 20 years that the ship has missed its presence at the festival.
The vessel, which departed from Funchal heading to the golden island, was forced to turn back due to adverse sea conditions. Despite two attempts to cross and reaching about three miles offshore, high waves made the journey impossible and endangered the safety of the crew and the ship itself.
Merícia Sousa, head of the Nau Santa Maria, explained to DIÁRIO that the ship experienced "very pronounced" movements, with "yawing or twisting," leading to the decision to cancel its participation. The situation has been communicated to the Regional Secretariat for Tourism, the entity responsible for the event, causing disappointment to both the organizers and the crew, who regret their absence from a festival celebrating the Age of Discoveries.
