ROTARIANS GREET PHOENICIA

On Sunday 29th August a delegation of Rotarians formed part of the welcoming flotilla at sea to greet the 'Phoenicia'. Derek Pennington, organiser of the Gibraltar/Morocco Rally had the crew of BBC2 on board his motor cruiser Albany. BBC2 filmed the Phoenicia as it arrived into Ocean Village with the spectacular Rock of Gibraltar in the background.

The ship is a replica of an ancient Pheonician vessel on an expedition to celebrate Pharaoh Necho's voyage of 600BC. The expedition set sail from Syria back in August 2008 via the Suez Canal, stopping in Yemen, Oman, Mayotte, Mozambique to South Africa's wild coast and the Cape of Good Hope, St Helena, Ascension Islands and the Azores before finally arrving in Gibraltar.

The Rotarians were invited on board by the Captain and were given a tour around the vessel. Rotarian PR/Press Officer Lyana Armstrong-Emery said " it is such a shame that more people didn't take the opportunity to visit the Phoenicia. It would have made a fantastic history study for school children particularly as Phoenicians were also part of Gibraltar's history"

On Sunday 5th September Rotarians George and Joanne Williams, Lyana Armstrong-Emery and Gordon Vickers bade the expedition group farewell on its final journey back.

Mr Vickers presented the Captain and Expedition Leader Philip Beale with a Rotary banner which he was delighted with. Mr Beale is writing a journal of his experiences on board and all the adventures shared with the crew throughout these last two years which he plans to publish soon.

Anyone wishing more information on the Phoenicia can visit their website address (see below):
http://www.phoenicia.org.uk/  or http://www.phoenicia.org.uk/education-home.htm