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Kruzenshtern signs up to take part in The Tall Ships Races 2010

The second largest sail training Tall Ship in the world, Kruzenshtern, has signed up to take part in this year’s Tall Ships Races, making a total of 76 to date. The Russian Class A Tall Ship is a regular participant in The Tall Ships Races and will be taking part in the event from the start in Antwerp, Belgium, to Kristiansand in Norway.

With several more months to go before the event starts, it is expected that more Tall Ships will enter this year’s race to once again make an impressive fleet of sail training Tall Ships. The event will start in Antwerp, Belgium from 10-13 July from where the fleet will race to Aalborg, Denmark, 21-24 July. A cruise in company will then take the fleet to Kristiansand, Norway, 29 July-1Aug, from where they will race once again across the North Sea to the port of Hartlepool, UK, where the event will finish with a four day festival from 7-10 August.

The Tall Ships Races are an annual event that bring together a large number of the world’s sail training Tall Ships so that young people can experience the fun and excitement of sailing together in friendly competition. A key rule of the event is that 50 percent of each vessel’s crew must be aged between 15 and 25 years. The sail training experience allows young people to understand the need for teamwork and find strengths they didn’t know they had when faced with the challenge of sailing a Tall Ship. The combination of in-port activities, cultural exchanges, sailing with like-minded young people and friendly competition makes The Tall Ships Races a favourite adventure activity.

Kruzenshtern

Three Other Events

This year the organisers of The Tall Ships Races, Sail Training International, are also holding three other events that start in April and end in August, providing a full summer of sail training activities.

The first race of the year is the Garibaldi Tall Ships Regatta, an event that is being arranged to mark the 150th anniversary of of Giuseppe Garibaldi’s successful expedition from Genoa on the north-west coast of Italy to Trapani on the north-west corner of Sicily in the south. The event will take place between 8-19 April and is sure to offer the participating Tall Ships an interesting and warm welcome to the Mediterranean.

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The second event is the Historical Seas Tall Ships Regatta, which will take place between 9 May and 7 June and involve four ports new to hosting Tall Ships events. Each of the ports has its own charm and character that will ensure a new experience for ships and crews alike. The route will take the fleet through the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosphorus into the Black Sea and back through the Cyclades, visiting ports in Greece and Bulgaria as well as the exotic city of Istanbul.

After The Tall Ships Races in July and early August, the fleet are invited to take part in a final race of the season, the North Sea Tall Ships Regatta. This event will link The Tall Ships Races with Sail Amsterdam. The race will differ from other races run by Sail Training International in that the ships will be offered a number of waypoints around which they can navigate instead of going straight from the start to the finish. The race will be over six days – 11-17 August – and the ship that has covered the greatest distance in the six days, taking into account their time correction factor, will be declared the winner.

All four events will offer anyone with a sense of adventure a fantastic experience and many ships still have places available on each of the events.

Source: Sail Training International

March 15, 2010 | admin

TALL SHIPS SAIL ATLANTIC TO CELEBRATE BERMUDA’S 400TH ANNIVERSARY HISTORIC LIVE LINK UP TO SPACE STATION

Press Release
13 June 2009

A fleet of Tall Ships have just raced across the Atlantic to Bermuda and are now berthed alongside in Hamilton, the capital of Bermuda, to celebrate the island’s 400th anniversary of settlement. The fleet of 23 Tall Ships with some 1200 crew members are enjoying the warm Bermudian hospitality before embarking on the third race of the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge series to Charleston, USA, 800 miles away.

The transatlantic race, which took the fleet from Tenerife to Bermuda, had to be called short because of the lack of wind, but the challenge and personal achievement for all those on board the ships, many of whom were young people under 25 years old, cannot be diminished.

The fleet ranged from the 115m Russian Tall Ship Kruzenshtern, one of the biggest Tall Ships sailing today, to the 13m yacht Xsaar from Belgium. Also taking part were ships from Romania, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Bermuda and the UK, including Rona II and Jolie Brise, two UK vessels that were crewed by young people all under 25 years old.

“The arrival of the Tall Ships fleet has been eagerly awaited by the people of Bermuda and the excitement has been building,” says John Wadson, Chairman, Tall Ships Bermuda Limited. “Ever since they were last here in 2000 to celebrate the millennium, we have been planning for their return and they are certainly one of the highlights of our 400th anniversary celebrations. It’s a real honour to have our own sail training vessel, the Spirit of Bermuda, participating in an international Tall Ships race for the first time,” he added.

Space Link

In a unique and historic link-up, a number of the young crew members who had just crossed the Atlantic together with some school children from Bermuda, talked to astronauts on the International Space Station in a live telephone conversation.

The ten minute live link up took place in the presence of the Bermudian Minister of Education, the Hon El James, JP, MP and the Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Commerce, Hon Terry E Lister, JP, MP.

During the short window of opportunity when the International Space Station was directly above Bermuda, the crew members wished the Russian astronauts happy Russian National Day and the astronauts in turn congratulated Bermuda on their 400th anniversary. The three astronauts that took part in the telephone conversation, Russian Commander Gennadiy Padalka, Roman Romanenko and American Mike Barrett, then answered questions from the young people who were excited to talk directly to the astronauts as they passed overhead.

The questions asked ranged from the astronauts living conditions and leisure activities to muscle wastage and how they managed to wash. The astronauts answered the questions in good humour, explaining that while they had not managed to see the Tall Ships fleet as they crossed the Atlantic, they frequently looked down on Bermuda and enjoyed watching the tiny island in the Atlantic.

The astronauts explained that they were unable to surf the internet so communication with earth was not easy, but they did have an ability to send and receive messages through a mailbox system so could keep in contact with their families over the six month period they are in space.

One young Bermudian wanted to know what advice the astronauts had for the young people of the world. Commander Padalka replied that it was important to study hard, work hard and most importantly of all, to follow your dreams.

A Russian cadet from Kruzenshtern commented that on board ship it was not recommended to drink alcohol as this could have unfortunate repercussions so he wanted to know if there was anything that was best to avoid on the Space Station. The Russian Commander replied that in his opinion the worst thing that could happen for them was to stop moving because if that happened, the Space Station would fall to earth!

The direct link was the brainchild of the Russian Youth Aerospace Society “VAKO Soyuz”, which was created in 1988 to develop and implement national youth education aerospace programmes with the aim of increasing knowledge in the field of technical and human sciences, for peaceful space exploration and exploitation. Instrumental in the organisation of the link was space engineer Nathalie Pottier, a graduate of the Moscow Aviation Institute who has worked with the International Space Station and Launchers projects in Russia, United States, Netherlands, and France.

A short film of the astronauts sending greetings to the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge fleet can be seen:

The Tall Ships fleet will remain in Bermuda until Monday when they will take part in what promises to be a spectacular Parade of Sail around the island before departing in the race to Charleston, South Carolina. From there the ships will continue up the eastern United States to Boston and then on to Halifax in Canada, where a final race will bring the fleet back across the Atlantic to Belfast, where they are due for a final four days of festivities from 13 to 16 August.

The event, the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge, organised by Sail Training International, has been timed to coincide with Bermuda’s 400th anniversary celebrations and the fleet’s presence is forming part of the highlight of the year-long celebrations.

Ends

For further information and images, please contact Corinne Hiching, email: Corinne.hitching@sailtraininginternational.org, tel: +44 77641 83866.

Media & Publications Manager
Sail Training International
Direct tel: +44 1730 810437
Office tel: +44 2392 586367
Mobile: +44 7764 183866

June 13, 2009 | admin

Maritime Articles

Isle of Wight teenager to take to the high seas

Press Release
9 February 2009

An Isle of Wight teenager is preparing to cross the Atlantic on a 20.6m ketch, as part of the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge this summer. Imelda McGrath, 18 and currently at Carisbrooke High School, will be going to Tenerife in May to join the vessel Rona II to sail some 2,600 nautical miles west across the Atlantic to Bermuda.

“Living on the Isle of Wight I have learned to love the sea,” says Imelda. “I’ve tried out loads of different water sports from aqua skipping to surfing but have always wanted to improve my sailing. After a recommendation from a friend I decided to do a sail training voyage with the Rona Sailing Project and through that I won an Amory award which qualified me to attend a selection weekend for the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge.”

Imelda will be joining 17 other young women under 25 on the race across the Atlantic, together with five crew members. An all-boy Atlantic crossing will take place when Rona II does the return race from Halifax to Belfast in August. “All the trainee crews will need to work hard to get the best out of Rona II, with four hour watches day and night for the entire four week race,” says skipper Chris Wolley, for whom this Atlantic crossing will also be a first. “It will be hard work for everyone but we are also sure it will be great fun and something that all the young men and women will remember for the rest of their lives.”

The cost of taking part in the event is £1400 but all the trainees selected have been asked to fundraise half that amount through a series of activities. So far they have taken part in a London-Brighton bike ride, organised a concert and undertook a 24 hour rowing marathon at Tesco in Southampton. Before Easter they will be doing a round the Isle of Wight bike ride and then over the Easter weekend they will be sailing around the island.

Imelda has to delay taking her final A2 exams until January 2010 because she will miss them over the summer. “But I wasn’t about to give up a once in a lifetime opportunity to take part in the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge because of exams,” commented Imelda, who has been awarded a RAF sixth form scholarship and hopes to pursue a career as an Engineer Officer in the RAF after studying aeronautical engineering at university.

“I’m really looking forward to doing some proper sailing, it’s hard to imagine how awesome it will be to race with a full spinnaker across the Atlantic,” says Imelda. “I know I’ll be very homesick being away from everyone for such a long time but then again I’m already looking forward to ringing home when I arrive in Bermuda. I guess after five week of being together with other girls on Rona II we will become very close, so I expect it will be strange not to have them around every second of the day when I get home!”

The Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge will involve some 50 Tall Ships racing across the Atlantic, including the second largest Tall Ship in the world, Kruzenshtern. The Russian ship is 114.5m long and takes 257 crew members, making her an awesome sight. The competition for the race will be strong, with all the ships vying to be first across the finish line.

“This kind of challenge may not be for everyone but I’m definitely going to be giving my all to try and win. That’s a very important part of the trip for me,” says Imelda. “I will push myself as hard as I can over the course of the race, otherwise there’s no point in taking part. It’s a race after all, not a holiday and I want to win.”

More information on the race and the vessels taking part can be found on www.tallshipsraces.org.

Ends

The Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge is open to anyone from 15 years of age upwards regardless of sailing experience. Trainees can take part in any part of the race and berths are still available on a number of the vessels.

For further information contact Corinne Hitching, Media Manager for Sail Training International.

Tel: 077641 83866

email: Corinne.hitching@sailtraininginternational.org

February 9, 2009 | admin

Sail of Hope. YOU CAN HELP!!

Sail of Hope is a Humanitarian Aid organization that sends food items and clothing to disadvantaged children, orphans and widows in Moscow, Russia. Sail of Hope was originally chartered in Moscow, Russia by a courageous woman, Larissa Zelentsova. Sail of Hope exists to help the mentally and physically challenged people of Russia. It helps widows as well. In 1992 Sail of Hope became a member of the International League of Societies for Mentally Handicapped people. They have contact offices in Germany, France, England and the USA. Over 30 chapters of Sail of Hope, spanning some 13 regions of Russia, are in existence today. Humanitarian Aid is shipped from their office in the USA to Moscow. It is their goal to fill containers with basic food items, warm clothing and winter blankets. Sail of Hope also has Consultative Status with the United Nations in New York, NY USA.

YOU CAN HELP!!

SailofHopeusa@juno.com

SAIL of HOPE – P.O. Box 488 – Monroe, VA 24574 U.S.A.

Tel. 434-384-5613

Benefits from the sale of the image above, depicting the Russian Tall Ship Kruzenshtern, will be donated by pabloavanzini.com to Sail of Hope.

Thank you for your cooperation!!

February 19, 2008 | admin

Maritime Articles

The Last Time Around Cape Horn: The Historic 1949 Voyage of the Windjammer Pamir

By William F. Stark

A memorable tale of adventure on the turbulent seas of the Great Southern and Atlantic oceans—on one of the most historic voyages of our time—finds its way into paperback. This is William F. Stark’s engrossing memoir of the last leg of the Grain Race, and the Pamir’s rounding of fearsome Cape Horn—the storm-tossed tip of South America just 600 miles from Antarctica—the veritable Mount Everest of sailing. In 1949, the crew of thirty-four sailors from around the world experienced the shipboard life of the seventeenth century on a four-masted vessel that carried hundreds of acres of sail. In 128 days the Pamir journeyed 16,000 miles from Port Victoria, Australia, to Falmouth, England, through the world’s stormiest seas, as Stark worked on decks awash with huge swells, and scrambled up ice-coated rigging to manhandle sails on masts that were up to twenty stories high. Contrasting romance with the realities of life at sea, and poignantly evoking the love affair he left behind to join the Pamir, while punctuating his tale with illuminating photos, maps, and details of maritime history, Stark has written a thrilling book that climaxes the fabled era begun by Cape Horn merchant sailors more than three centuries ago.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The year 1949 marked the final journeys of commercial windjammers, huge, steel-hulled, four-masted sailboats carrying cargo halfway around the world. Stark was a sailor on the Pamir, a Finnish ship, the very last windjammer to sail commercially around Cape Horn, and lived to write this romantic tale of adventure and camaraderie tempered by grueling, dangerous work. The author, who committed suicide earlier this year at age 75 after suffering from depression, had been enthralled with ships and sailing since childhood. He first heard of the Pamir’s voyage in a Zurich cafe during a year abroad as a college student in 1947. He quit school to fly to Australia to try to get a job on the ship. That trip, on a tiny, rickety charter plane, was an adventure in itself, as Stark and his seat mate, a charming Frenchwoman en route to Indonesia, were engaged in a brief but passionate affair as they braved hair-raising takeoffs and brushes with guerrilla war in Saigon. Eventually arriving at the Pamir’s port, Stark spent months working on the docks, acquiring, at the last minute, a much-coveted berth on the Pamir as an Ordinary Seaman. The four-month voyage across the world’s most stormy and dangerous seas, without engines or even a radio, challenged him not only with dangers like furling sails atop 200-foot-high masts in hurricane winds, but also with grinding work and sleep deprivation demanded by four-hour watches. This entertaining memoir seamlessly imparts sailing terms and ocean lore, and will enthrall all who have held romantic notions of life at sea. Maps, photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
In 1949 the Pamir sailed from Port Victoria, Australia, to Falmouth, England, a 16,000-mile, 128-day journey through raging seas. It was the last commercial sailing vessel to round Cape Horn, the storm-tossed tip of South America, and it^B carried 60,000 sacks of barley. On board was Stark, a 22-year-old sailor who worked on the decks along with 33 other seamen. Stark describes his four-hour watches with little sleep (he was fully dressed with clothes perpetually wet with seawater), drinking rum (a time-honored reward for hard work and a job well done), raging gales, torrential tropical rain, the sheer terror of sailing through a hurricane, and floundering around in the fog and calm off the Cornish coast. Stark’s son, Peter, wrote the introduction, a loving tribute to his father, who killed himself earlier this year. The book, with 16 pages of black-and-white photographs, is^B a fascinating account of this historic voyage. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

A Very Worthwhile Reading Experience
The author presents a very well written personal memoir of his 1949 trip around Cape Horn on an old fashioned windjammer. He was a junior at Dartmouth studying “abroad” in Europe when in pursuit of his dream he travelled by airplane to Australia in the hope of securing a deckhand position on a four masted barque. I found that the story was very well presented. Not being a sailor myself, I found that the author more than adequately presented the nautical and seafaring jargon in easy to understand layman’s terms. In reading this book I felt that I was the beneficiary of an “old timer” telling his very personal story of a great adventure just to me. You will not be disappointed if you enjoy sea stories well told.

Follow your dream!
A gem. I didn’t want it to end. The best adventure I’ve read since Stephen Ambrose’s ”Undaunted Courage.” Give it to your father; give it to your sons.

February 12, 2008 | admin

Maritime Books

The Kruzenshtern: The End of the Tall Ships?

Kruzenshtern departing the port of Cadiz

The Krunzenshtern, departing the port of Cadiz during the Quincentennial Tall Ships race in 1992.

The four-masted bark, built in 1926 as the “Padua”, is the last vessel of its kind. Built as a cargo-carrying sailing ship, she was one of the Flying P-Liners, the sailing ships of the German F. Laeisz shipping company from Hamburg.

The last Windjammer is still active today, although it has undergone a change in profession and turned training ship. Today the “Kruzenshtern” is the world’s second largest sailing ship – second to Russian “Sedov” - and, without a doubt, the most famous ship in the contemporary Russian sailing fleet.

On August 10, 1957 the “Pamir”left Buenos Aires for Hamburg with a crew of 86, including 52 cadets. Her cargo of 3,780 tons of barley was stored loose in the holds and ballast tanks, secured by 255 tons in sacks stacked on top of the loose grain.

On the morning of September 21, 1957, the ship was caught in Hurricane Carrie before having shortened sails. Pamir soon listed severely to port.

Pamir was able to send distress signals before capsizing at 13:03 local time and sinking within 30 minutes in the middle of the Atlantic 600 sea miles west-southwest of the Azores at position 35°57′N 40°20′W

A nine-day search for survivors was organized by the United States Coast Guard cutter “Absecon”, but only four crewmen and two cadets were rescued alive from two of the life boats.

The shipwreck was perceived as a tragedy around the world and received extensive press coverage. This event signaled the end of an era, that of the great cargo-carrying sailing vessels, the “Cape Horners”.

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It would seem surprising that as the 21st century dawns, amidst the surge of new technologies in the age of globalization, great wind powered vessels are still crossing the oceans based on the same principles used for more than 6000 years. Even more surprising is the fact that year after year the list of tall ships is constantly being increased with new constructions.

The Kruzenshtern departing the port of Cadiz, during the Quincentennial celebration Tall Ships Race in 1992.

Portrait of a Russian Ship

February 8, 2008 | admin

Sailing in Art