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NLIS 3
July 13, 2000
(Executive Council)

 

Minister Noel to greet Islendingur in Greenland

Walter Noel, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, will be representing Newfoundland and Labrador at the Islendingur arrival ceremony in Greenland on Saturday, July 15 and events commemorating Greenland�s 1000 year Jubilee Celebrations. Participating in the Jubilee events are Her Majesty, Queen Margarethe of Denmark and representatives from Canada, the United States, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

Minister Noel, who will speak at the ceremony on behalf of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, said it is an honour to represent the people of this province at the Jubilee celebrations. "The province of Newfoundland and Labrador and Greenland have much to celebrate and much in common. Like the people of Greenland, we have worked hard to prepare for the Viking Millennium Celebrations. Visiting one another allows us to share valuable information, learn more about our cultures and, most importantly, encourage the formation of friendships which time and distance will not extinguish." Premier Motzfeldt of Greenland will attend the celebrations at L�anse aux Meadows on July 28 marking the arrival of the Islendingur to this province.

Minister Noel will also attend the official opening of Thjodhildur�s Church and Erik the Red�s farm at Qassiarsuk/Brattahlid on Sunday, July 16. On July 17, the minister will participate in the procession of all the members of the clergy to the ruins of the Cathedral of St. Nikolaus. This event is being held to mark the 1000th anniversary of the introduction of Christianity to Greenland.

On July 19, the crew of the Islendingur will depart Greenland for L�Anse aux Meadows. While the journey has gone well to date there have been episodes where the crew fought for the safety of the ship, steering, pushing and pulling it through ice and strong winds, said Captain Gunnar Eggertsson.

"The sailing from Iceland to Greenland took a little less time than scheduled, even though we experienced some difficulties in an ice-belt east of the southern tip of Greenland. We were about nine hours fighting out of the ice. The weather conditions were rarely in our favour during

this link - but it all adds up to how good a ship the Islendingur is - and it also shows once again how great sailors and ship-builders the Vikings were 1000 years ago," said Captain Eggertsson.

Captain Eggertsson added, "We are all looking forward to sailing the link from Brattahlid in Greenland over to L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. Hopefully the weather and ice conditions will be favourable to us but we sail away to Newfoundland sure in our hearts that there we will meet friends who will celebrate with us the great achievements of the Vikings."

Final preparations are underway for an impressive arrival ceremony at L�Anse aux Meadows on July 28, where the Islendingur will be greeted by up to 15,000 people who will surround the beaches of the tiny community, just two kilometres from the only authenticated Viking settlement in North America.

The Islendingur departed from Reykjavik, Iceland on June 17, and then sailed to Hvammsfjordur in western Iceland, where the crew participated in the opening of Eric the Red�s re-created homestead.

Designed and built by its captain, the Islendingur is an exact replica of an old Viking ship found in a burial mound in Norway in 1882. Captain Eggertsson, a direct descendent of Leif Ericsson, and the crew of the Islendingur will be making the journey to Vinland as his forefather did 1000 years ago.

People can follow the Islendingur on the web as she sails across the Atlantic by logging onto our web site at www.gov.nl.ca/vikings or www.viking-2000.com .

Vikings! 1000 Years: Make the Journey is a project of the Department of Tourism, Culture, and Recreation, Parks Canada and the Viking Trail Tourism Association. The Government of Canada, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Canada Millennium Partnership Program are the funding partners for Vikings! 1000 Years. The three major corporate sponsors for the Vikings! 1000 Years celebrations are Petro-Canada, NewTel and Newfoundland Power. Supporting sponsors include Dominion, Eimskip, FMC Kongsberg Subsea, Atlantic Lottery Corporation, the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board, Interprovincial Airlines, and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro.

Media contacts:

Catherina Kennedy Kelly, Intergovernmental Affairs, (709) 729-1341, (709) 687-0302.

Tara Laing, Special Celebrations, (709) 729-3813.

2000 07 13                 3:05 p.m.


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