General news

The Mir arrives at Bordeaux Port

The Mir sailing ship arrived at the French port of Bordeaux on October 27, 2017. The ship will stay in one of the major French ports till November 7. For this time the frigate will hospitably open its board for residents and guests of the city. The sailing ship crew members will conduct excursions on the ship for all comers. They will help the guests get acquainted with the ship’s construction and the style of life on one of the smartest and fastest frigates. For their part, the cadets and the crewmembers will be able to go sightseeing inthe city.

On October 3, the frigate left the home port of Big Port St Petersburg with 132 cadets of Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping aboard. The cadets are undergoing training aboard the vessel. During the voyage, the cadets will be trained in selected specialties and in keeping the sailing and steering watch.

During the passage of the ship in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea, the weather conditions were rather favorable. The crew and the cadets were able to successfully train life boat drills and laying aloft. By passing the straits of Kattegat and Skagerrak the sailing ship put to the North Sea where it was caught up by the storm of force 8 at the wind speed of 26 m/s. The storm did not last for long. A day later the wind failed and did not get up until later ship had entered La Manche. Several days later Ophelia Hurricane hit the eastern area of England. The opposing wind and high waves did not allow the ship to leave the English Channel. The frigate had to change the course and move to the coast of France to Seine River bay. On October 25, the Mir successfully left La Manche, entered the Bay of Biscay and moved to the city of Bordeaux. Training in the raging sea provides an excellent opportunity for cadets to try their power of endurance and firmness, and to acquire skills to work in a team.

The Mir sailing ship call at the port of Bordeaux has big significance for cultural exchange relations between Russia and France and for promoting the sailing fleet. In June 2018 Bordeaux will accept big sailing ships during The Three Festivals Tall Ships Regatta 2018. Sailing ships taking part in the Tall Ships Regatta will arrive here upon their stopover in Dublin on their way from Liverpool.

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Bordeaux is situated on the shores of Garonne River, which heads in the Pyrenees and runs into the Bay of Biscay of the Atlantic Ocean. This is the city rich of its history, and it is known from Classical Antiquity as Burdigala. In former times it used to be the capital of Gaul. From the XI century the city played an important role in developing French trade as the port was located very conveniently. In the XVIII century the city reached its grandeur and became the largest port in the Atlantic. These days the seaport of Bordeaux accepts 1.600 vessels and services about nine million cargoes every year.