‘Johan’s Ark,’ A Replica Of Noah’s Biblical Vessel, To Sail 5,000 Miles Across Atlantic
A modern replica of Noah’s Ark, dubbed “Johan’s Ark” after its Dutch builder, will set sail for Brazil this summer on its way to the Olympics.
The voyage of Johan’s Ark will begin in the Netherlands and cover 5,000 miles across the Atlantic to the cities of Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro and other ports in Brazil. Afterward, the ship will head to the U.S. and make stops in San Diego, Long Beach, San Francisco, and Seattle.
All 5,000 miles of the journey will be live-streamed so the public can follow Johan’s Ark across the Atlantic.
The vessel was named after the carpenter, Johan Huibers, who undertook the massive project to build it according to the specifications laid out in Genesis, the Blaze reported. And the details are pretty clear.
“This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.”
Johan’s Ark is 2,500 tons, 95 feet wide, 75.5 feet high, and 410 feet long, and it has room for 5,000 passengers. It is a fully-functional ship, suitable to sail on the open sea.
According to USA Today, Huibers decided to build the ark after dreaming about a flood destroying the Netherlands province of Noord-Holland. According to the website of his organization, California-based Ark of Noah Foundation, he dreamed of the “fierce storm-tide” when he was 33.
“That dream marks the start of an exciting adventure in which Johan overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve his ultimate goal; the building of a replica of Noah’s Ark!”
Johan was also inspired to build the ark replica after he spent time in Bosnia, Albania, and Ethiopia on aid projects. His dream also presented him with a purpose for what would become Johan’s Ark — to use any proceeds to establish Ark of Hope centers throughout Brazil. These centers would provide social, educational, and practical support to impoverished people in that country.
The voyage of Johan’s Ark will be funded through the foundation, which is raising money right now. The plan is to get Johan’s Ark to Fortaleza for the 2016 Olympic Games and Rio for the Paralympic summer games.
Once in the country, Johan’s Ark will turn into an education center, where “virtual and augmented reality” will be used to tell biblical themes and stories “in an interactive and challenging way,” according to a press release. It’s described as a “Judeo-Christian, Bible-based experience for young and old.”
His name isn't Noah, but a #Dutch builder decided to build an ark of his own. #JohanHuibers https://t.co/W5hgYOBaMw pic.twitter.com/oNezO7L5ch
— Yachting Magazine (@YachtingMag) January 23, 2016
Johan’s Ark has been finished since 2012 and has been on display and open to visitors in the Netherlands since then. It’s also the second ship he’s built.
Huibers’ ship isn’t the only replica of Noah’s Ark out there, however. Ken Ham has raised $91 million to build his own version of the biblical vessel.
Ham, who runs apologetics ministry Answers in Genesis, has added his replica to an attraction that will forward a literal interpretation of the Bible and the ministry’s belief that it provides a blow-by-blow account of the creation of the universe, the Inquisitr previously reported.
His ship is being built in Kentucky and will mimic a Biblical experience in real-time (the attraction will include excited, but fake, animals, actors playing Noah, and the simulation of a storm); it will also have a petting zoo, theater, 2,100-seat restaurant, and gift store. It is slated to open on July 7, 2016.
Ham’s attraction was recently the subject of a hoax that claimed a flood destroyed it.
Ark Of Noah Dimensions from Ark of Noah Foundation on Vimeo.
[Photo by Peter Dejong/AP Images]
