The Bermuda Sloop Foundation and the Bermuda Sail Training Association are hoping that the freedom schooner will sail into Bermuda next year.

The tall ship is run by the Amistad America Corporation, a non-profit educational organisation that aims to improve racial and cultural relations.

The ship is a replica of the original and the programme focuses on the history of the original vessel, which was used for the slave trade.

Many people have seen the Steven Spielberg version of the story in his movie ?Amistad?. But the movie was not completely based on historical fact and had a lot of inaccuracies, according to the Amistad America Corporation.

On board the replica, visitors learn the true story and the importance of understanding different cultures.

The was a vessel that illegally captured and transported men, women and children from Sierra Leone. In 1839 the Africans aboard the vessel revolted and killed the captain only to be captured by the US Navy. A trial was held to determine who the Africans belonged to.

The judge agreed with leading abolitionists that they were not slaves because they were free men in their home country and had been illegally captured. This decision meant that they were freed and allowed to go home.

Over 90,000 people have been on the tall ship since it was launched in 2000 and the organisation is hoping that Bermudians will get the opportunity to experience the ship as well. Chris Cloud, a delegate from the Amistad organisation, is currently in Bermuda. He met with Premier Alex Scott recently to discuss the trip.

If the replica comes to Bermuda, the public would be allowed to have tours of the vessel when it is dockside. Students would also be invited to partake in sails that will be approximately three hours long. This will allow Bermudian students to get hands on experience and a brief glimpse of what life is like on a tall ship.

Mr. Cloud said the organisation is interested in visiting Bermuda because the Island has ?such a wonderful maritime history ? particularly black Bermudians?. Mr. Cloud also says that the programme tells ?a story of freedom? and that it promotes ?cooperation between races?.

The organisation already has the support of The Bermuda Sloop Foundation and the BSTA and hopes that Government will also help. If this happens Mr. Cloud said it would come to Bermuda in 2005, 166 years after the original ship docked at our ?enchanting Island?.