Greetings to the participants of the Expedition
Aleksey Gordeev
Deputy Prime Minister Of The Russian Federation
On behalf of the President of Russia, the Year of 2020 was declared as the year of Antarctica in our country. Therefore, this year we are launching a unique event - under the flag of Russia and white sail of Peace, the training sailing fleet of Rosrybolovstvo will make a round-the-world expedition in honor of the 200th anniversary of Antarctic discovery by Russian seafarers under the command of Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev and the 75th anniversary of Victory in the great Patriotic war. Such a large-scale project provides an opportunity to show the greatness of the history that many Russian generations grew up with, to feel the spirit of romanticism and pioneering, to learn the lessons of courage and bravery, to study the blanks on maps and globes.
The world tour of the Sedov, the Kruzenshtern and the Pallada will be a significant international event for all admirers of sea and sails, especially for youngsters. The crew of the ships will be made up of cadets of Maritime universities of Russia. Future seafarers, overcoming the power of the seas, learn the true possibilities of their strength and spirit and practice will understand the essence of seamanship. The sailing route around the Earth will clearly show the scale of our planet and the fragility of its enviromental balance.
Russian sailing vessels will also act as ambassadors of peace: events dedicated to the liberation of countries from fascism and the feats of Soviet soldiers will be held in foreign ports and Russian hero-cities.
We are expecting an exciting and emotional time full of empathy to all participants of the round-the-world expedition. I am sure that the noble goals of this anniversary sea voyage will attract public attention to significant historical dates and will recruit more young sailors to the Russian fleet.
Crowd sail to your dream and Godspeed you!
Dmitriy Patrushev
Minister of agriculture of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the preparation and conduct of the world expedition
The round-the-world expedition of the training sailing ships of Rosrybolovstvo - the Sedov, the Kruzenshtern and the Pallada starts this year in honor of continent discovery and the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic war. It will be finished in the year 2020, which in accordance with the instructions of the President of Russia is declared as the "Year of Antarctica".
I wish good luck and fair wind to the participants of the expedition.
Bon voyage and get there safe!
Dmitriy Patrushev
Minister of agriculture of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the preparation and conduct of the world expedition
Ilya Shestakov
Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Russia – Head of the Federal Agency for fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo)
I sincerely welcome all those who are interested in the history of great discoveries, who feel the spirit of adventure and adventurism, who strive for reaching new horizons and have enough courage to make their dreams come true.
We will witness and participate a unique project: round-the-world expedition of Rosrybolovstvo’s training sailing fleet. The project is dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica by Russian seafarers and the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory over fascism.
The whole world (without exaggeration) will watch the sailing of our vessels . Even now, in the age of satellite technology, when the routes of the first Russian explorers have long been sсrutinized, the sea remains an unpredictable power that goes on challenging and educating true seafarers. In the year of the 200th of Antarctic discovery 700 cadets from Maritime colleges and universities of the Federal Agency for fishery will take practice on board of our training sailing vessels.
Several foreign ports will be called by the ships for the first time. At each moorage the ship will welcome guests and visitors.
Maneuvering of all the three sailing vessels in the closest to the Antarctic point of the Atlantic - off South Georgian islands' coast is going to be a culmination of the expedition. An impressive sight indeed, guaranteed.
The next important mission that is uniting our training sailing fleet is to remind the world about the Victory over fascism and pay tribute to the memory of the Great Patriotic War heroes. The sails of the Russian ships will symbolize Peace and Goodness. Russia's peacekeeping position has remained unchangeable throughout our history as well as Russian priority of protecting its territory and support to other countries which are unable to respond to the aggressors.
Having said so, we welcome "Sails of Peace" campaign and urge different institutions and countries to support it. The expedition is open to all the sailing ships which share the concept of the project and want to join the legendary ships for a part of their route.
Certainly the circumnavigation will be of great interest, people from all continents, cultures, religions and traditions can get the news browsing the Internet -- the seas have no borders! Journalists, writers, scientists, cadets and crew members will keep diaries and make video footage from the vessels. An interactive chart at the circumnavigation web-site will allow you to track ships' positions in real time.
I am sure we will succeed on our purpose and add a glorious page to the history of Russian navigation. Let the crew members bring home unforgettable impressions, new insights and professional competencies.
I wish you good luck. Let the fair wind, love to the sea and spirit of discovery accompany you.
THE SAILING VESSELS - PARTICIPANTS OF THE EXPEDITION
EXPEDITION INFO
The expedition of Rosrybolovstvo's sailing vessels is devoted to the 200th anniversary of Antarctic discovery and the 75th jubilee of Victory in the Great Patriotic war. It will be held "Under the flag of Russia and the pennant of Rosrybolovstvo".
The year 2020 will make it into the history of Russia as a year of significant, but yet very different anniversaries: it is in 2020 when Russia is celebrating 200th anniversary of Antarctic discovery and 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Both events predetermined the course of history and marked Russia's position in the modern world. The year 2020 was declared in Russia as the "Year of Antarctica" in honour of the 200th anniversary of the expedition to the shores of the most southern continent headed by F. Bellingshausen and M. Lazarev.
Two centuries ago, Russian seafarers plotted a new continent on maps, charts and globes, having completed the era of great geographical discoveries on the planet Earth. The Russian names were assigned to newly discovered Islands and territories. The glorious heirs of the explorers driven by the same uncrushable spirit and courage defended the territorial integrity and freedom of Russia 125 years later and saved the world from fascism.
Within the period from November 2019 to December 2020 a big sailing event will be carried out in honor of these significant jubilees. The training sailing vessels of Rosrybolovstvo – the barque Sedov and the frigate Pallada will carry out circumnavigation of the world, whilst the barque "Kruzenshtern" will make the transatlantic crossing. New generations of Russian seaferers are about to take on the roles of pioneers and visit non-traditional sailing areas rarely called not only by transport vessels but also by sailing ships. This will help the young people to broaden their mind and to get a better idea of their profession by discovering the diversity of the world, by having a chance to experience cross-cultural communication and learn human values of all continents.
During ships' moorages at different ports residents of other countries will be welcomed on board of the vessels. The guests will have an opportunity to be acquainted with our country, get an insight into its rich history, traditions and marine heritage.
It is for the first time when such a significant event of both national and global scale is being undertaken. The expedition is nation-wide. It is aimed at the development of communication, cultural and educational programs boost, maintenance of existing cooperation and establishing new ties with the entire peace-promoting community of the planet.
In the year of the 200th anniversary of the Antarctic discovery by Russian seafarers (commanded by F. Bellingshausen and M. Lazarev) we set an ambitious task cocurrent with an intention to follow the route of glorious 1819 circumnavigation. The task itself is challenging: within the framework of sea practice cadets from Maritime training institutions and cabin boys from nautical clubs will make extraordinary expeditions to pay the tribute to the memory of their forefathers in the 21st century. They will discover the planet not only at the level of geography, but also at the level of history by visiting historical sites and seeing must-visit places and monuments associated with the events of the Second World War.
Each participant of this large-scale voyage will become a co-author of the Expedition Diary while being on board of the sailing ships.
From the history of the discovery of Antarctica
The discovery day of the sixth continent of the Earth is considered to be January, 28th (in the Julian calendar – January, 16) 1820.
In those days Captain II rank F. Bellingshausen and Lieutenant M. Lazarev on board of their sloops Vostok and Mirnyy were proceeding around Antarctica at latitudes from 60 to 70 degrees. They irrefutably proved the existence of the land near the South pole. Solid ice and dense fog prevented Russian seafarers from checking the nature of their discovery. They were not sure either it was a group of Islands covered with an ice blanket or a continent. The scientific community of the first quarter of the 18th century recognized the existence of Antarctica and importance of an outstanding geographical discovery made by Bellingshausen and Lazarev. However it was only in the middle of the twentieth century when the continental nature of Antarctica was finally confirmed thanks to sophisticated technological research.
In spring of 1820 the location of the expedition and the scene of events were shifted to the tropical part of the Pacific ocean. The expedition discovered a group of islands in Paumotu archipelago. Bellingshausen named this group the Islands of Russians. Each of the islands was named after a famous Russian warlord, general or seafarer. The island Vostok discovered within the group of Cook Islands was named after the flagship. Two of Fiji Islands were given names of our compatriots. One of them was called Mikhailov island and the other- Simonov island.
The second attempt to storm Antarctic latitudes occurred in the autumn of 1820. The sloops double-crossed the Antarctic Circle. In the beginning of the next year (1821) a large island was discovered. It was named after a founder of the Russian fleet Peter I, a week later the land with a mountainous shore was named after Alexander I. Alexander I Island (also called Alexander I land) still remains insufficiently explored. This discovery finally convinced Bellingshausen that the Russian expedition approached the unknown world of the southern continent. The expedition described two archipelagos of the Southern Shetland Islands. They were named after the victories of the Russian army in the Patriotic war of 1812.
The circumnavigation was finished in summer of 1821 at the Great Kronstadt roadstead. Bellingshausen and Lazarev with their brave crew sailed more than 50 thousand nautical miles and spent 751 days at sea. The results of the expedition cannot be overestimated. 29 new Islands and a coral reef were plotted on world maps, on top of that valuable information about the nature of the southern hemisphere was collected. Thanks to the discoveries, astronomical reckoning of geographical coordinates and maps appeared to be much more accurate. Unique scientific observations of sea currents and waves in the Antarctic latitudes were conducted along with ice and icebergs distribution monitoring. The expedition laid the foundation for a new science - Oceanography which had been at embryo state before. According to magnetic observations F. F. Bellingshausen calculated the coordinates of the magnetic pole in the Southern Hemisphere for 1819-1821.
The work of national pioneers was successfully continued by Soviet and then Russian scientists who firmly took their leading positions in the study of Antarctica. Today Russia is returning to its former glory in the exploration and exploitation of Antarctic resources.
NEWS
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