On July 12 the winners of The Tall Ships Races Baltic sailing regatta's first leg were awarded by RF Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at the Spit of the Vasilievsky Island (St. Petersburg). The prizes for the second place were presented by St. Petersburg Governor Valintina Matvienko, for the third place – by the Race ChairmanChrister Samuelsson, PortNews IAA reporter informs.
Class А
First – Christian Radich (Norway)
Second – Sorlandet (Norway)
Third – Tre Kronor Af Stockholm (Sweden)
Class В
First - Albanus (Finland)
Second – Jacob Meindert (Netherlands)
Third – Jens Krogh (Denmark)
Class C
First – Ebb Tide – (Belgium)
Second – Ocean Spirit of Moray (UK)
Third – St Iv (Sweden)
Class D
First - Henrika (Finland)
Second - Merisissi III (Finland)
Third – Keina (Poland)
Russian sailing vessel Mir won a special prize as the yacht crossed the finish line first.
Besides, organizers noted the crew of Roald Amundsen (Germany) for cooperation in radio communication, Butterfly (Poland) – as the youngest crew, Thalassa (Netherlands) – as the most multinational crew, Sibir (Russia) – as the ship which passed the longest way. Special prizes were given by Nikolai Asaul, Head of St. Petersburg Committee for Transit Transport Policy jointly with the Race Chairman.
The Tall Ships’ Races 2009 started on June 5. The finish was reached by 75 of 98 ships. The next leg of the Races is to end in the port of Turku (Finland) on June 23.