SCF Black Sea Tall Ships Regatta 2014 kicked off in Varna, Bulgaria. The regatta race No 1 runs along the Varna-Novorossiysk route. The tall ship fleet will stop over at the port of Novorossiysk May 9 - 12 to participate in celebration of Victory Day observed in Russia on the 9th of May. Then the fleet will proceed on a cruise-in-company Novorossiysk-Sochi itinerary. The fleet plans to stay in Sochi between 14 and 18 of May.
Race No 2 passes along the Sochi - Constanta route. The regatta completion celebration will be held at the port of Constanta, Romania May 24 – 27.
The unique maritime event is held for the first time under the Russian flag with tall ships sailing along the entire Russian coast of the Black Sea.
The regatta is carried out under the patronage of Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of Bulgaria Rosen Plevneliev and Romanian President Traian Băsescu. The event Organizer is UK based Sail Training International, which has held Tall Ships regatta internationally since 1956, and the Russian state-owned OAO Sovcomflot as Title Sponsor.
An impressive armada of the biggest educational sailing ships from around the world, including Russian tall ships "Krusenstern", "Mir", "Nadezhda", "Sedov" will cross the Black Sea and will make calls to four ports: Varna, Novorossiysk, Sochi and Constanta. The main purpose of the regatta is a symbolic opening of the southern sea gates of Russia, promotion of marine and yachting tourism on the Black Sea, the strengthening of good-neighborly relations between the region's states, infrastructure development and making maritime jobs popular among young people.
SCF Black Sea TSR 2014 fleet involves more than 30 ships, nine of them of Class A.
"Tall Ships race for the third time come to Russia. It was held twice, in St. Petersburg in 1996 and 2009. Now, we go for the first time to the Russian shores of the Black Sea, visiting two ports - Novorossiysk and Sochi. It's unbelievable that four giant Russian tall ships will compete in the race, "Mir", "Sedov", "Krusenstern" and "Nadezhda". I would also like to note the participation in regatta of the Rumanian Navy's three-masted sailboat “Mircea” that celebrates her 75-year anniversary. This is particularly important, given that we will finish in Constanta. Among "newcomers" will welcome the brig Rah Naward from Pakistan, which participates in our race for the first time," says SCF Black Sea TSR Director Peter Newell.
The event organizer will hold open houses on board the ships for visitors.
Here is a photo release from the official opening >>>>. Images courtesy of Sochi Marine Club. Photographer - Valery Vasilevsky.