When the small replica sailing ship Duyfken, the Little Dove, departs from the National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour at 1100am on Saturday 5 May, the ship will feature a truly national Australian crew.

Every Australian state is represented in the crew which will take on the greatest challenge ever contemplated in such an ancient replica ship - to sail a spice route voyage to Europe around the Cape of Good Hope.

Duyfken's crew will sail the 20 metre, Fremantle-built sailing ship from Sydney to Jakarta, then across the Indian Ocean to Sir Lanka, then Mauritius and South Africa before sailing north through the Atlantic Ocean to The Netherlands.

Not since the spice trading days of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) more than 300 years ago has such a voyage been attempted.

The crew is:

Master Glenn Williams (resident of Sydney, New South Wales, born in New Zealand)
Chief Officer Alan Campbell (formely Master of Enterprize in Melbourne, Victoria and resident of Launceston, Tasmania)
Second Mate Greg O'Byrne (Fremantle, Western Australia)
Engineer in Training Walter Walker (Gladstone, Queensland)
Ship's Carpenter/Photographer Michael Redding (Brisbane, Queensland)
Cook Julie Milne (Brisbane, Queensland)
Leading Hand Nicole Gardner (Perth, Western Australia)
Leading Hand Heidy Bontjer (Mount Nebo, Queensland, born in The Netherlands)

Deckhands
Bob Looijschelder (Sydney, New South Wales, born in The Netherlands)
Brett Torin Yates (England)
James Holdsworth (Perth, Western Australia)
Alice Turnbull (Adelaide, South Australia)
John Quigley (Sydney, New South Wales)
Shaun Piggin (Tasmania and Brisbane,Queensland)
Davina Taylor (Brisbane, Queensland)
Historian Nick Burningham (Darwin, Northern Territory)

The full crew has now assembled in Sydney for final preparations for the ship's departure.

The crew will be at sea for 12 months with only 39 days of the year scheduled in ports-of-call en-route.

The VOC 2002 Duyfken Voyagie has been made possible by a grant from the Steering Committee of the 400th anniversary celebrations of the Dutch East India Company which will begin in The Netherlands in April 2002.

Duyfken is scheduled to arrive at the island of Texel near Amsterdam on 30 April 2002.

Duyfken Project Director Graeme Cocks said that the Duyfken crew had been selected to blend highly experienced square-rigged sailors with people with specialist skills and raw enthusiasm.

"We have 16 people who are prepared to give a year of their lives to something which has not been done for 300 years and will probably never be done again in our lifetimes," he said.

Sailors from Holland and every Australian state are represented in the crew which will take on the greatest challenge ever contemplated in such an ancient replica ship - to sail a spice route voyage to Europe around the Cape of Good Hope. The Duyfken crew were selected to blend highly experienced square-rigged sailors with people with specialist skills and raw enthusiasm.

They are prepared to give a year of their lives to something which has not been done for 300 years and will probably never be done again in our lifetimes.

"A number of events have come together to make it possible for us to undertake this voyage.

"The crew are now preparing mentally for the challenge of living with each other in a tiny space for a year - whilst at the same time making all the last minute preparations which are necessary for a sailing ship to take to sea."

Mr Cocks said that members of the public were welcome to farewell the crew from the Australian National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour on Saturday 5 May. The ship will depart at 1100 hrs sharp.

Daily updates of the ship's progress will be available on the web at www.duyfken.com