Finally, the ships will communicate that success does not always hinge upon a correctly thought-out central plan. If Columbus was successful in the traditional art of navigation, his motivation was fundamentally pragmatic rather than visionary. His desire to find a quick and efficient path to Cypangu, Japan offset his rather nonexistent knowledge of the dawning science of celestial navigation. Thus, the ends were unrelated to the means and Columbus' faulted strategy did not prevent what was essen- tially an unfounded hunch from proving itself true. The Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria will recapture the essence of Columbus' lessons to the world when they, like Columbus, set their sails for the New World in 1992 from the Canary Islands amidst a flurry of carnivals, exhibitions, symphonies, and other Iberian festivi- ties.
Any lesson carries with it a financial burden.
Texaco, in a gesture to promote worldwide appreciation of the quincentennial, has agreed to foot the 15 million dollar bill as the exclusive sponsor of the voyage. As time winds down to 1992, the re-discovery armada is busily training its crew in the Mediterranean. This crew, composed of seamen from both sides of the ocean, will make over fifty stops in the United States and continental America. The ships will first stop in the Bahamas at San Salvador, the proba- ble site of Columbus' first landing in the western hemisphere. When Columbus made the voyage the chief problems he encountered were two mutinies caused by the psychological uncertainty of the voyage.