Once carved, it took two days for forty people to haul the 35 foot canoe, the largest canoe to have been built in living memory, down to the village of Salybia in the Carib Territory. This happened in early March, after several weeks in which the canoe sat, weighed down with rocks and doused regularly with water. The heat of the sun and the weight of the rocks inside help the wood to warp outwards and downwards. T he process climaxed in a dramatic morning at the end of the month in which fires were lit on either side of the canoe allowing it to open considerably. At the end of this stage 'Gli Gli' was transformed, with rails measuring approximately four foot in height and a beam of almost six foot.
T hroughout the summer work continued.
Canoe builders fitted the canoe with its mast, rudder, oars and seats. I n late November 'Gli Gli' was transported to Marigot, just north of the Carib Territory, where final touches were made in preparation for her launch. A ceremony was held on November 30th, with speeches of support from Carib Chief Hillary Frederick and Venezuelan Ambassador Pedro Camacho. Afterwards the canoe was blessed and anointed with coconut water and gommier smoke, before finally meeting the sea. I t was a satisfying moment for all of those who had worked on her to see 'Gli Gli' catch the wind and sail gracefully out into the Atlantic.