Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Jul 31/98) - Three area youth will journey from Newfoundland to Portugal aboard a four-masted steel-hulled 67.4 metre long schooner.

Inuvik's Joel Amos, 18, will join Tuktoyaktuk's Dennis Raddi-Kuiksak, 19, Holman's Leanne Kuptana, 19, and 22 other Canadian youths on one of two crossings the ship (named the Creola) will make the trip.

Both the Aug. 3 and the Sept. 1 departures will carry 25 Canadian youth and 25 Portuguese youth. The Canadian government is helping to fund the project with $72,000.

Amos, Raddi-Kuiksak and Kuptana are all Inuvialuit who can trace roots to Portuguese whalers and will likely head off on the Aug. 3 departure.

"I have travelled many times from Inuvik to the coast and have seen the important role played by the Arctic Ocean in our lives," said Amos, who has lived much of his life in Sachs Harbour.

All three youth were in Tuk July 23 to witness the kickoff of the "My Ocean Charter" campaign.

With Western Arctic MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew, IRC chair Nellie Cournoyea and Tuktoyaktuk mayor, Eddie Dillon, they were some of the first Canadians to sign the charter, which stresses how important the world's oceans are to human life.

The trip coincides with the 1998 world exposition held in Lisbon, Portugal, where the theme is "Oceans, heritage of the future."

The youth must complete a 10-day training program to learn safety tips and to familiarize them with the vessel.

Then, on board, there will be a skeleton professional crew to give them guidance. But the youth will work on deck, raising and lowering sails, and they will perform all other aspects of sailing.

"This is going to be a great experience for them," Cournoyea said.

"But it's going to be a lot of work, too."

Each one-way trip is intended to be 10 days long, so they will all be at sea for a total of 20 days.

The My Ocean Charter program encourages people to sign the charter at various community functions -- and children at their school. It could spur fundraising events to set up a foundation.

Program organizers aim to collect one million signatures by the end of 1998 and five million dollars to promote scholarships in marine subjects. They also want to distribute ocean materials to schools and to organize youth events on ocean themes as an on-going activity in the future.