CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — City of Corpus Christi crews were busy Monday working on getting the La Niña Columbus ship replica ready to be hauled off for repairs.
It was back in April when La Niña began taking on water and began sinking in the Corpus Christi Marina. It requires a series of repairs.
On Monday crews began cutting off part of the mast of the ship and removed pieces of rotten wood in an effort to keep the ship seaworthy. The plan is to eventually get the ship out of the water and to a shipyard in Aransas Pass for repairs.
"The high winds that we had for the past three weeks made all of this impossible, so all we're doing is keeping her afloat and removing the main mast will help get her under the bridge when she goes to repairs," said Kim Mrazek, president of the Columbus Sailing Association.
So far a new owner for the ship has not been named. The City of Aransas Pass announced last week that they were turning down the offer to take possession of the ship.