Peter Walsh/Telegraph-Journal Margaret Ann Blaney shakes Tom Creamer's hand as he and Barry Ogden receive a $20,000 cheque from the provincial government for the Marco Polo project on Monday afternoon at Enterprise Saint John.

Marco Polo Project
Marco Polo replica gets $20,000 boost from province
Money will be used to finish ship's hull

BY SANDRA DAVIS
Telegraph-Journal

    The building of a scaled down replica of the famous sailing ship Marco Polo came one step closer to reality on Monday with a $20,000 contribution by the province.
   The money will be used to finish the hull of the ship, said Marco Polo Project Inc. president Barry Ogden who has worked on the project for more than 20 years.
   "The ribs are done and the planking is all paid for," he said in an interview on Monday morning before MLA Margaret-Ann Blaney presented the cheque.
   Just before Christmas, Ocean Steel donated an $8,000 steel "cradle" which will hold the 92 wooden ribs that make up the ship's skeleton. Since then, ironworkers have offered to put it together for free, said Mr. Ogden.
   Once the ribs are in place, the planks will be laid, jobs that Mr. Ogden hopes to have completed by the end of the year. The next phase of the work will stop in a couple of weeks.
   Marco Polo project volunteer Tom Creamer predicts the ship will be a drawing point for both tourists and residents.
   The Marco Polo II, a replica of the famous Saint John clipper, is a 27-metre non-sailing ship that will be 40 per cent the size of the original. It will have a flat bottom and will rest on land. "Passengers" will enter through a cargo door on the side of the hull and will be able to walk the main deck, continue down the companionway and explore inside. Two replica cabins will be set up, lit my a skylight in the centre.
   Its final cost will be about $300,000.
   The original Marco Polo was built in 1851 in Marsh Creek as a cargo ship and was refitted in 1852 as a luxury passenger vessel. During its time as a passenger vessel it was renowned as the fastest ship in the world.
   The Marco Polo II will be displayed on Saint John's waterfront, at a spot still to be determined by the city and waterfront development.

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