Rosrybolovstvo is organizing a regatta in the South Atlantic to commemorate the 200th anniversary of discovery of Antarctica

Sailing vessels from all around the world will be able to take part in the international 200-mile regatta that will be held during around-the-world expedition of Agency's training sailing fleet. The regatta was announced at a press conference by Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Russia – Head of Rosrybolovstvo Ilya Shestakov.

In the very beginning of this media event the Head of Rosrybolovstvo highlighted that the year 2020 was declared the year of Antarctica as 200 years ago an expedition lead by Russian seafarers Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev discovered the ice continent.
"At the end of this year we are starting a unique expedition of our training sailing fleet: for the first time, the three sailing vessels are meeting at the point closest to Antarctica to make joint manoeuvring. We are organizing an international regatta in this area, so we would like to invite sailing vessels from all over the world to join it," says Ilya Shestakov.

According to the plan this two hundred mile regatta is going to be held in February 2020 in the South Atlantic, the training sailing vessels of Rosrybolovstvo are taking part. The starting point of the sailing race is the meeting area of the Sedov, the Kruzenshtern and the Pallada - 350 nautical miles from the Islands of South Georgia.

The expedition of training sailing vessels of Rosrybolovstvo, dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, as well as to the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The expedition is starting in November-December period of 2019. The sailing vessels are putting to sea from Vladivostok, Kronstadt and Kaliningrad. The Sedov and the Pallada will be making a circumnavigation, and the Kruzenshtern is going to cross the Atlantic.
The schedules and routes have been previously agreed; more than 40 calls to the ports of foreign countries have been planned. The vessels are going to welcome visitors at each port of call and arrange cultural and educational events.
The main missions of expedition’s first part are to remind about the role of Russian pioneers, to demonstrate the level of training of young Russian seafarers and to show continuity of generations.

The Head of Rosrybolovstvo focused on the fact that the circumnavigation was timed to celebrate another significant event of a global scale – the 75th anniversary of the Victory over fascism. "We have named the expedition "Sails of Peace". We offer other sailing ships from all over the world to join us at different points of the world and for different periods of time." So, the expedition is open to all those who support sailing ideas," said Ilya Shestakov.

The route of circumnavigation of the sailing training vessel Pallada is going to be more than 27 thousand nautical miles. The voyage it will take more than 220 days. The barque Kruzenshtern is going to sail 29 thousand nautical miles within 273 days. The Sedov is making her longest voyage. To her 100th anniversary the vessel is going to sail more than 40 thousand nautical miles within 371 days.

The tall ships function as sites of sea practice for cadets and ship's boys. The practice is aimed at cadets from Rosrybolovstvo's educational institutions, also a quota for other Maritime Universities of Russia and foreign countries is provided.

“We are primarily focused on safety of navigation – this is our key criterion. The sailing vessels have been overhauled, renovated and repaired inside and outside. They will be able to represent our country in a commendable manner abroad", - said Ilya Shestakov.

The Head of sailing and training department at Baltic State Academy of Fishing Fleet (BSA RF) Mikhail Novikov informed the audience about a large-scale repair of the vessels. There was an overhaul of machinery and equipment, renovation of accomodation and office facilities, troubleshooting; side shell repair and painting carried were out under the supervision of Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.

Before the press conference, the circumnavigation website (http://russiansails2020.ru/) was launched. The rector of Kaliningrad State Technical University (KSTU) Vladimir Volkogon (the Kruzenshtern and the Sedov are managed by KSTU) presented a new web resource devoted to the circumnavigation. The portal contains comprehensive information about ships, their routes, life and training of cadets and crew, photos and videos. Upon the expedition start it will be possible to track the vessels via the website, count their mileage and days at sea and also get news about the circumnavigation from different points of the planet.

Source: The press office of the Agency, photos by Gabriel Grigorova (TASS)