The International Seven Winds Sailing
Regatta marked its official Lake Baikal sendoff on
July 30, 2008. Featuring cruiser yachts, the
event was organized by the Fund for Protection of Lake
Baikal with the help of the Irkutsk Region
Yachting Federation and the Cruiser Varyag
Charitable Foundationin support of the Russian
Navy (Moscow). The race included skippers from
Britain, Germany, France, Japan and Russia. The 17 crews
staged their Lake Baikal race according to international yacht
racing rules. The regatta was split among three classes:
single-masted yachts that stand shorter than 10 meters;
single-masted yachts that are longer than 10 meters; and two-masted
yachts.
The first stage of the race started in the village of Listvyanka
and finished by Olkhon Island. After passing 154 miles along
Lake Baikal, the yachts turned around near a little spot called
Tankhoi and charted their course toward the southern tip of Olkhon
Island.
The second stage of the race began on the morning of August
2. Race participants faced a 52-mile voyage between Zagli
Bay, Cape Khoboi (the northern tip of Olkhon Island) and Turka
Port. Seven crews had abandoned the race by that stage: their
yachts were damaged in a storm that tore apart some of their
sails.
On the night of August 2-3, propelled by a
favorable wind, the yachts arrived at Turka Port several hours
ahead of schedule. The referee boat met the contestants in a
fog, with the yachts only managing to navigate their way to port
with the help of shoreline bonfires.
The International Seven Winds Sailing Regatta
victory ceremony was held on August 3 within the
frameworks of Baikal Day celebrations, which were held in the
Pribaikal District of Gremyachinsk.
Head of METROPOL Group of Companies, Chairman of the Guardianship
Board of the Fund for Protection of Lake Baikal, and President of
the Cruiser Varyag Charitable Foundation in support of the Russian
Navy M. V. Slipenchuk awarded the regatta winner a
cash prize of one million rubles – an unprecedented sum for Lake
Baikal regattas.
