KALININGRAD, February 7. /TASS/. The Russian barque Sedov participating in the round-the-world expedition of sail ships of Russia’s Federal Agency for Fishing has called at the Uruguayan port of Montevideo, the expedition’s media center said on Friday.
The round-the-world expedition "Sails of the World 2020" is devoted to the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the Antarctica by Russian explorers and the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
"The training sail ship Sedov, which is following the route of the round-the-world voyage, has today moored at the port of the capital of Uruguay. The ship will stay here until February 10," the media center said.
Before its call at the Uruguayan largest city, the barque Sedov made a 33-day oceanic transit, covering a total distance of over 4,400 nautical miles. Overall, over 60 days of its sailing, which started on December 8, 2019 in Kaliningrad, the Sedov has covered some 8,000 nautical miles, making calls at the foreign ports of Brest, Vigo and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria where it has hosted 3,438 guests. At one of the stages of the round-the-world voyage, the barque showed a record speed, sailing more than 232 nautical miles over 24 hours.
"Traditionally, like in other ports of its call, the barque will hold ‘an open board’ action, inviting Montevideo residents and guests to its deck and receive official delegations of Russian diplomats and the authorities of the capital and the port. Meanwhile the crewmembers and the cadets of educational institutions of the Federal Agency for Fishing will have a rest on the shore, make excursions of the city’s historical and memorable sites," the expedition’s media center said.
The Sedov is the second sail ship that has called at Montevideo. On February 1-4, the Uruguayan port received the Russian legendary barque Kruzenshtern, which is also participating in the round-the-world expedition, the media center said.
Russian barque Sedov and the round-the-world expedition
The barque Sedov was floated out at the Shipyard in Kiel (Germany) in 1921 and was originally named the Magdalene Vinnen II. During WWII, the vessel was part of Germany’s auxiliary fleet. It was transferred to the Soviet Union in December 1945 in accordance with a decision by the Potsdam conference on reparations and renamed as the Sedov in honor of Russian polar researcher Georgy Sedov.
The barque has been entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest sail training ship in operation. The barque is 117.5 meters long and displaces 7,320 tonnes, has a crew of 240 and a total sail area of almost 4,200 square meters.
Three Russian training sail ships are taking part in the round-the-world expedition of Russia’s Federal Agency for Fishing: the Pallada, the Kruzenshtern and the Sedov. The round-the-world expedition began for the Pallada on November 1, 2019 from Vladivostok and for the Sedov and the Kruzenshtern on December 8 from Kaliningrad. From
Along their entire route of the round-the-world voyage, the Sedov and the Pallada, also the Kruzenshtern, which is on a trans-Atlantic expedition, will make over 40 calls at the ports of countries in North and South America, Africa, Europe and Oceania, covering 100,000 nautical miles. A total of 692 cadets of educational institutions of the Federal Agency for Fishing and 56 boy seamen will undergo training aboard the windjammers during their voyages.
As their major event, the windjammers will meet near the South Georgia Islands in the southern Atlantic. In the area between the ports of Ushuaia (Argentina) and Cape Town (South Africa) where the route of the round-the-world voyage will come maximally close to the Antarctic, the barques Sedov and Kruzenshtern and the training frigate Pallada will carry out a 200-mile memorial sailing race.