In the year of its twentieth anniversary, FSUE “Rosmorport” becomes the general partner of the Cup of the Optimist Class Association – the sixth and final qualifying children's sailing regatta for the Russian championship in 2023. The regatta takes place from August 5 to 11 at the Smolenka port of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club.

“As a leading enterprise of the Russian maritime industry, FSUE “Rosmorport” conducts and actively supports activities aimed at popularizing maritime professions among children and youth and spreading maritime culture in Russia,” said Sergey Pylin, General Director of FSUE “Rosmorport”. – “In this anniversary year, we are happy and proud to be the general partner of the Cup of the Optimist Class Association. On behalf of our team, I wish the regatta participants unforgettable impressions of the race, valuable experience, new friends and self-confidence!”

The races are organized in the waters of the Gulf of Finland on children's sailing yachts of the Optimist class – this is the most massive class of yachts in the world. The regatta, held as part of the St. Petersburg Sailing Week, brings together almost 200 athletes from the Kaliningrad, Moscow and Samara regions, Krasnodar Krai, Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Four sets of medals are at stake in the competitions among boys and girls under 16 and 12 years old. The results of the race will determine the owners of 15 vouchers for the Russian championship in the Optimist class of 2023, which will be held from September 4 to 10 in the Samara region.

During the opening ceremony of the competition, which took place on August 6, the director of the Northwest Basin branch of FSUE “Rosmorport” Alexander Strelnikov said parting words to the participants:

“The participants of the Cup of the Optimist Class Association are very young boys and girls, but they are already sailors. Time flies fast. We are waiting for them at our enterprise. I hope they will lead our fleet, becoming captains of the largest icebreakers!”

Vladimir Lyubomirov, President of the Cup of the Optimist Class Association, noted in his speech that regatta in St. Petersburg is traditionally gather the strongest young athletes from all over the country:

“The most important thing is that you guys are already becoming sea captains at the age of 8-9. You make your own decisions: change your course, build the sail, steer and choose where to go. FSUE “Rosmorport” helped us to organize this regatta. The activity in the ports of our country is carried out by these wonderful people, great professionals.”

Due to the design features of the Optimist class yachts, the wave always plays an important role in the success of the vessel's management and the victory of the crew in competitions. It is believed that wave in St. Petersburg is often “broken” and quite difficult to manage with, and the water area of the Gulf of Finland is traditionally distinguished by a variety of weather conditions and unpredictability of wind directions. These circumstances fully allow the sailors to show their technical skills.

Photo and video of the Optimist Class Association