On October 3, 2017 the Mir sailing ship left for a regular training voyage. Navigational training for new 132 cadets of Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping will last for two months.

During this period children will undergo training in maritime navigation, operation of ship power plants and shipboard electrical equipment, and automation equipment. Boys and 12 girls will learn the art of sailing aboard the legendary frigate. But the sea does not cut anyone some slack. Children have to pass thousands of nautical miles, take power of endurance, define spirit, gain experience and get the secrets of the art of sailing.

Upon completion of the voyage children will receive a document confirming navigational experience. But acquired knowledge and the skills, maritime toughness, the skills to work and live under the rules of the real crew will become the valuable asset.

The sailing ship will make the first stopover at the French seaport of Bordeaux where the frigate is planned to arrive on October 27. Bordeaux is the city rich of its history. Bordeaux was known in classical antiquity under the name of Burdigala. In former times it was the capital of ancient Gaul.

The Mir sailing ship is a training three-master ship (it is considered “a frigate” under the classification of training vessels or “a ship” under rigging – a full-rigged ship).

The Mir was launched at the Gdansk shipyard “Stocznia Gdanska” (the Republic of Poland) in 1987. The same year under the USSR flag the frigate left for its first voyage to the port of registry – the seaport of Leningrad.

Throughout the years the sailing ship won victories in the most prestigious sailing regattas. The anterior wall of the vessel's sea pilot house is decorated with the symbols of the regattas in which the sailing ship took part. The sea-line with the colors of different competitions run from the main deck of about fifty meters up to the top of the mainmast. The Mir won honor of the fastest sailing ship on the planet in these regattas. Officially the registered maximum speed of the frigate under the sails makes up 21 nautical knots (38,9 km/h). In 2010 the Mir made record of half speed at 11.3 nautical knots.