More than 8 thousand visitors of the Open Sea Festival held on June 28-29 in the Kaliningrad Sea Fishing Port visited the Mir frigate. During these days, residents and guests of the westernmost region of Russia got acquainted with the legendary sailing ship, participated in master classes and presentations held on the shore, listened to live music.

A tour around the deck of the sailing training vessel Mir was the main part of the festival program. The greatest influx was observed on the first day of the festival, when a queue lined up to the frigate. Nevertheless, everyone had time to get on board, learn the construction of the vessel, and even hit the ship's bell.

The guests were welcomed on board by the crew and cadets of the Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping, who are currently undergoing sailing practice on the Mir sailboat. Besides, the students competed with future sailors from Kaliningrad Marine Fishery College who came to the festival. At the sports and athletic contest they tugged rope and competed in lightweight throwing.

Many visitors to the Open Sea Festival saw the three-masted frigate up close for the first time, and its beauty impressed them really much.

“My husband and I were struck by the number of ropes of different sizes and colors and the main deck. On ordinary ships it is straight, but here it goes to the bow in a smooth wave. When you go up, you feel like you rush forward, and it is so exciting. Only after stepping on the Mir, you can truly feel its character and scale!” Natalia Vasilyeva from Moscow said.

The guests also noted the wide informative program of the festival, in particular master classes from cadets of the Admiral Makarov SUMIS.

“Their stories about the ship and maritime professions impressed everybody, my son as well. The cadets taught the children how to tie sea knots, read the semaphore alphabet, and told them about the history of ships. And, of course, I was stunned by the sailing ship itself - its beauty and technical condition are beyond praise. It is the pride of Russia!” Marina Walter from Kaliningrad said.

Andrey Orlov, the captain of the frigate, who has been working on the ship since 1994, addressed the visitors from the main stage of the festival. Under his management, the crew of the fastest sailing ship in the world has repeatedly won prestigious international regattas.

Andrey Orlov answered the questions of the festival guests, telling them how one can become a captain and sharing his love for the maritime profession.

“On sailing ships, people usually work for a long time, you get used to the sailboat, and it is difficult and sometimes impossible to leave it,” he noted.

The frigate's captain added that next year the Mir sailboat would be moored in the seaport again. “Our crew likes Kaliningrad very much!” Andrey Orlov emphasized.

The festival was organized by the Open Sea Autonomous Nonprofit Organization. As part of the program of the event, there was also a sea market on June 28 and 29, featuring author's works made by Kaliningrad masters, master classes, presentations and prize drawings. In addition, artists Vasily Urievsky and Nikolay Grinko performed on the main stage.