In the 17th century, Galle's harbour would have been visited regularly by small Dutch sailing ships called "Jachts" -- even to the extent that several
sunken jachts are at the bottom of Galle harbour today.

Later this month, after an absence of more than 300 years, a jacht returns to Galle.

The ship will have completed an arduous ocean crossing from Jakarta following the trade winds which have brought traders to Galle for thousands of years.

The 24 metre Duyfken replica, built in Fremantle, Western Australia is sailing on the longest reenactment voyage ever undertaken in an "Age of Discovery" (Renaissance) replica ship. Called the "Little Dove" in English, Duyfken left Sydney, Australia on 5 May and began her reenactment of a spice-trading voyage from Jakarta, Indonesia in July.

Galle's critical historic role in the global spice trade will be highlighted by the five day visit.

Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation Project Director Graeme Cocks said that the Foundation hoped that the ship's visit to Galle would also highlight the city's historical attractions and help promote tourist visits
to Sri Lanka.

"While Duyfken is a Dutch design, she was built on the shores of the Indian Ocean at Fremantle in Australia and her crew are predominantly Australians," he said. "We are hopeful that the visit will build cultural relations between Sri Lanka, Australia and The Netherlands."

The crew's ultimate destination will be the island of Texel, near Amsterdam, in The Netherlands: a total distance of more than 18,200 nautical miles taking 12 months.

The VOC 2002 Duyfken Voyagie marks the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the world=B9s first multinational trading company, the United
East India Company (VOC) which pioneered the Dutch spice trade. It has been more than 300 years since a Dutch "jacht" has sailed the spice route which
brought cargoes of untold wealth such as cinnamon back from Asia to the markets of Europe. The wealth from spices helped create the Dutch "Golden
Age" and resulted in a flowering of culture. Artists such as Rembrandt made an impact on European art and Dutch scientists made many new discoveries.

The voyage has been funded by the VOC 2002 Steering Committee in The Netherlands to sail the historic spice route from Jakarta to Sri Lanka,
Mauritius, Cape Town, St Helena, Ascension Island, the Azores and on to The Netherlands. The Committee is responsible for coordinating the events in The Netherlands to mark the 400th anniversary. Duyfken will become the ambassador ship for the celebrations, and then return to Fremantle, Western Australia in late 2002/2003 to be placed on permanent exhibition.

Duyfken is the only fully-seagoing Dutch "Age of Discovery" vessel sailing in the world pre-dating Captain Cook's ship Endeavour by almost 170 years.

The voyage is a joint venture of the Fremantle-based Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation and the Dutch-based Stichting Duyfken VOC 2002 Nederland, chaired
by Mr Benno van Tilburg. "After 400 years the Duyfken is coming home next year and she will be playing a major role in the events of 2002. The Duyfken will be visiting every Dutch city with a VOC past like Amsterdam, Enkhuizen, Hoorn, Texel, Rotterdam, Delft and Zeeland," said Duyfken VOC 2002 Nederland chairman Benno van Tilburg.

"The Duyfken VOC 2002 Voyage will be the longest re-enactment voyage in a faithful replica of an Age of Discovery ship ever undertaken anywhere," said
Graeme Cocks.

Mr Cocks said the voyage was an exceptional opportunity which may never be repeated.

"Duyfken is in excellent condition, little more than one year old and she has been thoroughly trialed after 8,500 nautical miles of sailing through Australian and Indonesian waters on the Chevron 2000 Duyfken Expedition.

"The voyage route has been meticulously evaluated to enable the Duyfken Foundation to be confident that the ship can meet a deadline to arrive in The Netherlands on 30 April 2002, Queen Beatrice's birthday."

The VOC 2002 Voyage will fulfil a long held ambition of the Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation for Duyfken to visit her "spiritual" home in The Netherlands. He said that the re-enactment of a spice trading voyage in an
accurate replica of a Dutch VOC ship is an opportunity which may never be repeated in our lifetimes.

The crew comprises 16 Australian, Dutch New Zealand, English and American adventurers.

Conditions on board are tough, with some legs as long as 55 days. Crew facilities on board are extremely basic. For example, the ship does not have freezers, and only a small galley.

Duyfken is a full seagoing replica of the first recorded ship to visit Australia - the Dutch trading ship Duyfken or "Little Dove" which sailed from Banda to the Pennefather River in Queensland in 1606. Updates of the ship's progress are posted on the Captain's Log at the Duyfken website, www.duyfken.com

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Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation: Graeme Cocks, Duyfken Project Director, Ph 040 324 1038, 08 9272 6854, Fax 08 9370 1779, email: gacocks@iinet.net.au Web Pages: www.duyfken.com

Stichting Duyfken VOC 2002 Nederland: Mr Benno van Tilburg, Chairman, + 31 6 200 34 100.