None of us really knew the etiquette or rules involved with a formal name changing of a ship, but we had fun doing it our way. The lunch menu included boiled beef brisket and sourkraut in honor of the mainstay cuisine on board Cook's vessels, and afterwards everybody (including the Crew) gathered on the Foredeck and our ship was officially re-christened the M.S. ENDEAVOUR when Lindblad Expeditions' Senior Vice President Pamela Fingleton broke a bottle of champagne on the base of the observation mast.
For many of us, it was quite emotional and there was lots of hugging, kissing, back-slapping, and hand-shaking going on. This event was not taken lightly by those of us associated with Lindblad Expeditions, however, for it required a great deal of expense and legal paperwork, but most importantly, it showed our respect and admiration for an important historic figure and his achievements. We believe it is appropriate for our beloved vessel to be renamed the M.S. ENDEAVOUR in honor of Captain Cook's famous ship for she is carrying on in the same tradition. There is a strong connection between Whitby and Lindblad Expeditions because this town was the first port-o-call of our newly acquired ship POLARIS in May 1987, as part of a circumnavigation of the British Isles.
Today was also the official announcement that Sven-Olof Lindblad had been named to the United Nations Environment Programme's Global 500 Roll of Honour. The award ceremony event will take place on World Environment Day (June 5) in Torino, Italy. It is a very prestigious award that acknowledges his many conservation projects and strong environmental ethics. He is truly an inspiration and it made the Lindblad Expeditions Staff and guests very proud.
