Khersones Sailing Ship Sails Hoisted After Restorative Maintenance

Official ceremony of hoisting sails aboard Khersones sailing training ship was held on August 12, 2016 on Grafskaya quay of the city of Sevastopol.

Temporary Acting Governor of Sevastopol Dmitry Ovsyannikov noted that hoisting sails aboard Khersones frigate after oblivion and decay is a significate event in Sevastopol’s life.

“This wonderful sailing ship launched over a quarter a century ago loyally served the important thing – training the best sailors. Practice of further voyages developed mutual supportiveness among cadets of maritime educational institutions, feeling of fellowship, ability to promptly make decisions in difficult situations, take responsibility.

Having passed the kindergarten combat, they confidently went to sea as captains and navigators of other modern ships and vessels”, - the city head pointed out.

He thanked FSUE “Rosmorport” and “Zvezdochka” shipyard for giving the second life to the sailing ship and returning it to the Russian fleet.

According to Dmitry Ovsyannikov, this fact that the frigate hoists sails in Sevastopol makes it a real city symbol, which two years ago also returned to the native quay – to the Russian Federation.

The FSUE “Rosmorport” General Director Andrey Tarasenko, in turn, reminded that Khersones has achievements which haven’t been overcome so far. Among them there is the won over Horn cape. The Rosmorport head expressed his hope that the new generation of sailors and cadets which are passing and will pass practice on the frigate will add new records to the existing ones.

Andrey Tarasenko also thanked the Russian Geographic Society which supports development of the Russian Sailing Fleet. In particular, SCF Black Sea Tall Ships Regatta, which starts on September this year in Constanta (Romania), will be held with its support.

In the book of honorable guests there were made notes by the Commander of the Black Sea Fleet Aleksandr Vitko and the First Vice-President of the Russian Geographic Society Artur Chilingarov.

All FSUE “Rosmorport” sailing ships – Mir, Nadezhda and Khersones – will take part in the race. For Khersones, which will take part at the Novorossiisk-Sochi stage, it will become the first races after many years of standby time and repair.

After the end of the official ceremony, the guests saw over the sailing ship and feasted eyes on defile of the Sevastopol Sailing Sport Federation yachts.

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Three-masted Khersones Sailing Frigate was laid in Gdansk shipyard (Poland) in 1987, in 1989 it was launched. The frigate is built according to the prototype of sailing ships of the early XX century and has a complete sail rigging of the “ship” type.

After commissioning the vessel made international voyages with cadets on board under control of the Black Sea Detachment of training vessels. From 2006 it was decommissioned with crew reduction.

Khersones Sailing ship is the only vessel in the world, which in 1997 under sails and the engine turned off rounded Cape Horn, which is still considered dangerous even for sailors.

According to the maritime tradition, a captain passed the constantly rough Drake Passage under sails is called “albatross”, and the vessel is automatically accepted to the “albatross” club.

In 2013 Khersones rounded the Cape of Good Hope under sails, which is also considered high professionalism among sailors.

In June, 2016, at the opening in Saint Petersburg XX Petersburg International Economic Forum FSUE “Rosmorport” and the Sevastopol Government entered into agreement on cooperation when operating Khersones sailing training ship.

Within the agreement a joint work on improvement of the educational and material, and cultural and leisure basis is planned, as well as cooperation of parties when organizing and conducting different cultural and patriotic activities with participation of Khersones sailing ship.

Parties expressed their confidence in the fact that implementation of the signed agreement will contribute to revival of popularity and prestige of the Russian Fleet, straightening patriotic education and respect to the historical past of the country as a maritime power.

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