Eastwaters : Newfoundland & Labrador's Maritime Heritage

Winterton goes provincial,
looks back 400 years

What used to be the Winterton Boatbuilding Museum has gone provincial. It is now the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador, with a couple of annual conferences behind it and a fascinating look at construction of a 400-year-old boat ahead.

At the 2009 conference in October, Bob Halliday of St. John's unveiled his carefully researched model of the sailing bark Indeavour, built at Cupids in 1612. He explained how he arrived at the final design and how he thinks the original 12-ton vessel was built using basic 17th Century woodworking tools and native timber. Indeavour is believed to have been the first decked sailing vessel built in what is now Canada.

The WBMNL in 2010 will open exhibits and a full-scale construction model at Winterton, interpreted by master builder Jerome Canning of St. John's. The model will display the keel, stem, counter and main frames of the Indeavour. Halliday's small-scale model will also be displayed. The exhibit supports the 400th anniversary of the founding of Cupids in 1610.

Participating in another way will be the Baccalieu Trail Heritage Corporation which plans to make presentations to schools, clubs and other groups about the Indeavour, and its remarkable 1612 voyage in late autumn to Trinity Bay to contact the native Beothuk people.

More information at: www.woodenboatnl.com, www.baccalieudigs.ca, and www.cupids400.com.

Learn more about Indeavour under Early History at the Eastwaters website.

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