While searching my computer for a certain e-book I found a small one about Columbus. The author is a professor and a faculty member with over 100+ books to his name, so I don't think he would make this up. Also the book is more like a high school book (light reading). In it was this:

'When the ship landed at Galway, on the western coast of Ireland, Columbus may have been an eyewitness to a curious coastal landing. One day, a small boat drifted onto the shore, carrying the bodies of two people. As the dead pair were examined, they appeared to have faces different from the local Irish residents. In fact, they did not look European. Various witnesses decided they had an Oriental look; some said they looked Chinese.