NLIS 1
July 13, 2000
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)

Provincial crew chosen for voyage of the Islendingur

Charles Furey, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, is pleased to announce the volunteers chosen to join the crew on the Islendingur as it sails to the ports of call around the province.

"This is an excellent opportunity for the Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who have be chosen to take part in the re-creation of this historic voyage. The Islendingur is an authentic Viking ship built using technology of 1,000 years ago. While rustic in its amenities, it will provide the volunteer crew with an experience of a life time," said Furey.

Furey added: "The joining of the Icelandic crew with experienced sailors from Newfoundland and Labrador is a further example of the team effort between Iceland and Newfoundland during these celebrations."

After the arrival of the ship in L�anse aux Meadows on July 28, it will spend the next 24 days touring nine other ports of call around the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The volunteers will join the crew of the Islendingur as she prepares to depart each port and will take over the responsibilities of three Icelandic crew members that will remain on shore during each sailing.

The volunteer crew of the Islendingur include the following people:

Sailing from L�Anse Aux Meadows to Port au Choix on July 30

Dwayne Barret             Fleur-de-Lys
Bruce Winsor               St. John�s
Dwayne McCarthy       Port Saunders

Sailing from Port au Choix to Norris Point on August 1

Boyd Laing                 Norris Point
Harris Porter               Port de Grave
Erika Pittman              Rocky Harbour

Sailing from Norris Point to Corner Brook on August 3

Brian Brewer             Corner Brook
Harry Anderson         Port aux Basques
Graham Oliver           Kippens

Sailing Corner Brook to Port aux Basques on August 5

Maxwell Kettle         Port aux Basques
Graham Power         St. John�s

Sailing from Port aux Basques to Harbour Breton on August 8

Mary O�Brien         St. John�s
Ray Dunphy            Corner Brook
Bob Simms             Happy Valley- Goose Bay

Sailing from Harbour Breton to Burin on August 11

Duncan Finlayson     St. John�s
Renee Finlayson       St. John�s
Earle Johnson           North Harbour

Sailing from Burin to Placentia on August 13

Jim Miller                 Holyrood
Mike Sutton             St. John�s
Brian Parsons           Rocky Harbour

Sailing from Placentia to St. John�s on August 14

Philip Thorne             St. John�s
Eric Rendell               St. John�s
Steven Duffet             St. John�s

Sailing from St. John�s to Port de Grave on August 20

Bob Kelly                 Goulds
Bonnie James            Holyrood
Kevin Yetman           Port de Grave

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 Hydro.

Media contact: Tara Laing, Communications, Special Celebrations, (709) 729-3813.

2000 07 13                         12:35 p.m.