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June 19, 1997
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)


Matthew Captain Registers for the Summit of the Sea Via the Internet As the Matthew drew nearer to Newfoundland today, Captain David Alan-Williams registered as an honorary delegate to the Summit of the Sea. Scheduled for August 27 through September 19 in St. John's, the Summit is the largest oceans policy conference in the world in 1997.

"We invited Captain Alan-Williams to attend the Summit of the Sea core conference as an honorary delegate in recognition of the Matthew's amazing journey. We're pleased that he found the time during his voyage to register," says David Finn, Summit Coordinator.

"Captain Alan-Williams registered for the conference when the Matthew was only a couple hundred kilometres off the island of Newfoundland. Five hundred years ago, when the original Matthew entered the same area, John Cabot wrote that the progress of the ship was slowed because "the fishe were so thicke". Five hundred years later, it's unlikely that the crew of the new Matthew will suffer the same problem," says Mr. Finn. "As we all know, we have to re-think the way we manage our ocean resources and that is what the Summit of Sea Core Conference is about - understanding and managing the oceans."

"The Matthew voyage is an impressive marriage of the new world with the old. Like its predecessor, this modern day Matthew is a tiny wind- powered wooden ship. But onboard the Matthew, Captain Alan-Williams used the most modern of technologies to register for the conference via the Internet," says Mr. Finn.

"The Matthew's crew has state of the art communications technologies through Stratos Mobile Networks. Stratos, a Newfoundland company, is a major sponsor of the Matthew voyage. Through its Global Inmarsat Voice, Fax and Data Satellite Services, Stratos has provided the Matthew crew with access to phones, faxes, E-mail and the Internet. Using the Stratos technology, Matthew Captain Alan-Williams visited the Summit of the Sea website and used the on-line form to register," explains Mr. Finn. The website, www.cabot500.nf.ca/summit, is sponsored by the NewTel Group of Companies including NewTel Communications.

"The Summit of the Sea is sure to be an exceptional event and I am happy to support it," says Captain Alan-Williams. "I'm disappointed that I won't be able to attend the conference myself. The Matthew will still be travelling along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States in early September. However, if one of my crew is available at that time, the Matthew will be represented at the Summit. A conference of this kind - bringing together the world's leading experts on oceans and oceans policy - is a remarkable and important opportunity for everyone involved."

The Summit of the Sea is the largest oceans policy conference in the world in 1997. In a series of twelve conferences over a three week period, move than 3000 delegates from across the globe will gather in St. John's, Newfoundland, to discuss oceans-related issues. The Summit Core Conference is scheduled for September 1 - 6, 1997. With a theme of Understanding and Managing the Oceans, the Core Conference will bring together over 1000 international delegates to discuss the major issues in oceans policy today.

Contact: Jan Woodford, phone: (709) 729-4323, fax: (709) 579-2067, Email: jwoodfor@cabot500.gov.nf.ca

1997 06 19 1:35 p.m.

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