News

Leaving the archipelago

On the night from Friday to Saturday regatta fleet “Ust-Luga Cup” spent in a moderate-size cozy seaport of Nauvo which is located on the border of the The Åland Islands. Technically, it is already Finnish territorial waters, but since it is mostly the Swedes who live there, it is probably the reason why the name of the place is frequently written primarily in Swedish - Нагу (Nagu).

Last year, when the regatta came here for the first time, the exceptional service level for such a remote area boggled everyone’s minds imagination. Just to give you a rough idea: every (!) boat at the harbor entrance was personally welcomed by the harbor master who was a small motor boat. He helped with the escort to the berth, led the way and helped with mooring.  Such an example of attention to detail to guest etiquette is the first thing that you notice in the areas where the marine culture is on the top-notch level. The further - the better. Before the boats fully completed mooring, a young man from a nearby restaurant appeared. He brought and personally handed the menu (in Russian) of the restaurant where he was working. It is clear that that evening there were no second thoughts about whether we will be the guests of this particular restaurant. This time the regatta participants arrived in Nagu on Saturday night, and to their surprise the marina designed to accommodate 120 vessels, this time was jam-packed with Finnish and Swedish boats that had arrived here for the weekend the day before. It took the man on duty some time to find a way of how host a completely packed berths with 11 more sailing yachts. Finally, it was decided to berth alongside to the same boat, board by board to each other. Meanwhile, a large, 57 foot referee catamaran was huddling in the corner of the crowded pontoon… Such excitement is rarely seen in Russian yacht ports and marinas, but for a bright summer day in Nagu this is not unusual – rather something that you are likely to witness every weekend.

After spending a peaceful night, the well-rested participants of the Cup, were preparing to go out to sea to make a voyage to Hanko. During the morning meeting, a decision to give a start to another race (en route or short distance) on one of the open sea areas along the way was made. Everything, however, of course depends on the wind, which is still far away from being as heavy as it needs to be. On departure, another sad fact came to light - yacht Dixie again failed to start the engine. However, to stay for the repair and miss the next race would mean only one thing - a waste of precious time. This might be the reason why the team RZD "Red Arrow" made a decision to set off on a journey together with the whole yacht fleet –expect this time behind the judges' boat. Today regatta comes out of the archipelago area, and this is exactly when the time for the offshore stages begins!