The youth historical patriotic yacht cruise “Black Sea Memory Sails” started on August 7 on Grafskaya quay in Sevastopol.

Admiral Igor Osipov, commander in chief of the Black Sea Fleet, took part in the opening ceremony and launched the cruise. Representatives of the FSUE “Rosmorport” Crimean Branch also attended the solemn ceremony.

Rescue tugboat SB-5 and communications boat KSV-67 of the Black Sea Fleet, sailing and motor yachts Hermes, Fiolent and Junona of the Nakhimov Black Sea Higher Naval School, Sevastopol, cruising yachts Spasibo and Uspekh of the Federal State-Financed Educational Institution of Higher Education “Admiral Ushakov Maritime State University”, as well as schooner Svyataya Tatyana of ICC Artek went off on the voyage from Sevastopol.

The training sailing boat Khersones, being on a training voyage, joined the participants in the cruise on August 9 in the water area near ICC Artek.

All in all, there are 335 participants of the cruise. They will follow the route Sevastopol — Artek — Feodosia — Novorossiysk — Kerch — Sevastopol. During the port calls, the participants are going to attend sports events, visit memorable places and museum complexes related to the cruise theme and lay flowers at memorials and monuments.

On August 10, the cruise participants held a wreath laying ceremony at the place of shipwreck of the sanitary steamboat Armenia. Andrey Filchakov, director of the FSUE “Rosmorport” Crimean Branch, attended the ceremony. The steamboat Armenia was sunk by German aircraft 18 miles off the coast of Crimea on November 7, 1941. By various estimates, the death toll ranged from 4 500 to 10 000 people. In 2020, the vessel sinking area was discovered by a Russian expedition.

The memorial event was organized by the regional branches of Young Army and DOSAAF of Russia in Sevastopol, the Black Sea Fleet, as well as the Sevastopol Young Army Sports Club.

The cruise official closing ceremony will be held on August 22 on Grafskaya quay in Sevastopol. The training sailing boat Khersones is planned to join the participants once again at the final stage of the cruise on its way to Sevastopol.