KALININGRAD, December 3. /TASS/. Russia’s legendary windjammers Sedov and Kruzenstern will sail off for a round-the-globe voyage from Russia’s westernmost port city of Kaliningrad in the morning on December 7, as follows from a press statement posted on the website of the Baltic State Academy of the Fishing Fleet, the ships’ operator, on Tuesday.
The expedition, to last from November 2019 to December 2020, is dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctic by the Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, known in Russia as Faddey Bellingshausen, and Mikhail Lazarev and the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazism.
Another sailing vessel, the Pallada, set sail from Vladivostok in the Russian Far East on November 1.
"The ceremony to see the Kruzenstern and the Sedov off for the round-the-globe voyage will take place at Kaliningrad’s fishing seaport at 10:00 local time (11:00 Moscow time) on December 7," the press statement reads.
It is the first-ever expedition involving the three Russian training windjammers. They will call at more than 40 ports in North and South America, Africa, Europe, and on Pacific Islands to meet near the Island of South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean for joint maneuvering and a memorial race. In all, the three ships are to cover a distance of about 100,000 nautical miles.
About the windjammers
The Kruzenstern
The Kruzenstern, a four-masted barque, was constructed in 1926 at Geestemunde in Bremerhaven, Germany and was given the Italian name of the Padua (after the Italian city). She was handed over to the Soviet Union in 1946 as war reparation and renamed after the early 19th century Baltic German explorer in Russian service, Adam Johann Krusenstern (1770-1846). The world’s last classical sailing ship originally built as such, she is still in use, mainly for training purposes, with her homeports in Kaliningrad (formerly Koenigsberg) and Murmansk.
The Sedov
The Sedov barque, originally named the Magdalene Vinnen II, was launched in Kiel in 1921 at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft. She was used as a cargo ship voyaging from Europe to South America, Australia, South East Asia and Oceania. In 1936, the Magdalene Vinnen II was sold to Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen and renamed the Kommodore Johnsen. The new owner modified it to a cargo-carrying training ship, and apart from its permanent crew, the ship was to have 50 to 60 trainee officers aboard on each journey. She came under Russian state ownership after the surrender of Germany, in December 1945, when the British handed over the ship to the Soviet Union as war reparation. In the Soviet Union, she was converted into a sail training vessel of the Soviet Navy. She was renamed the Sedov after the Arctic explorer Georgy Sedov who died during an Arctic expedition in 1914.
Today, the Sedov is a sail training vessel. The barque has been entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest traditional sailing ship in operation. The 117.5-meter-long ship has sails more than 4,000 square meters in area. She holds the official world sailing ship's speed record of 18.32 knots.
The Pallada
The Pallada, a three-masted training vessel, was built in Gdansk in 1989 and was designed for students of maritime schools to undergo practical training, for representational purposes and participation in international regattas and festivals. Over the years of her history, the Pallada has made over 100 voyages, covering a distance of more than 320,000 nautical mines and calling at more than 70 ports in 22 countries.
The Pallada is registered with the Guinness Book of Records as the world's fastest sailing vessel of this type. The ship is capable of developing a speed of more than 18 knots an hour. She boasts victories in international regattas.