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Was Columbus the first to sail to the New World?

 

We love projects like this! A call from our friend Tom Abraham of the Anthony J. Abraham Foundation set us  on an interesting quest.  He invited us to join him as  he assisted  The Phoenicia Expedition.  Their  mission  is to prove that the Phoenicians  crossed the oceans centuries before 1492.  How could we resist?

According to sponsor Pioneer Expeditions, “The Phoenician Ship Expedition is an investigation into one of the world’s  greatest maritime  mysteries, the date of the first circumnavigation of Africa.    It is an ambitious project, to build a replica  ship then test her in some of the  world’s most treacherous seas.  The journey has taken over two years and covered more than twenty thousand  miles.  What they discovered is astounding.  A Phoenician ship had the capacity to circumnavigate Africa two thousand years before the first European, Bartolomeu Dias, rounded the Cape of Good Hope.”

They did it by building an exact replica of a Phoenician sailing vessel built based  on archeological evidence gained from a shipwreck found in the Mediterranean decades ago.

Under  the watchful eye of Captain Philip Beale an ex Royal Naval officer the vessel was assembled from the native wood and materials found in the area of modern day Lebanon and Syria.  The ancient Phoenicians would have found the same materials.

Since the beginning of the expedition the vessel and intrepid crew of adventurers  travelled from Syria through the Middle East, Africa and to the UK.  They have weathered storms, winds and primitive living conditions on board and persevered.

The Expedition sailed 6000 miles across the Atlantic before arriving in Miami.   The Captain is convinced that if he and crew could do it in this vessel, the Phoenicians of 600 BC, known for being innovators, entrepreneurs and explorers,  could have done it as well.

Our job was to capture the arrival in Miami (greeted by Miami Dade fire boats saluting this fantastic accomplishment with a water salute) and its arrival at its host dock at Miami’s own fantastic Shake-a-Leg community in Coconut Grove.

They were greeted by Miami dignitaries, Shake-a-Leg president Harry Horgan and Tom and Norma Abraham from the Foundation.

The Multivision crew got to be on the Phoenicia and on a chase boat.   We also captured  Drone videography.   All of this will support a documentary being made about pre-Columbian travel to the Americas.

This was an exciting project for us. It’s not everyday that we at Multivision gets to help capture history in the making.