“Dar Młodzieży” in Elcano – Second Place in a special edition of The Tall Ship Races

By Marek Grzybowski

The Magellan – Elcano Regatta is a special edition of The Tall Ship Races. The training ship “Dar Młodzieży” of the Gdynia Maritime University took second place. 

The regatta is held to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the first voyage around the world – the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastian de Elcano. The route has two legs: Falmouth – A Coruna and Lisbon – Cádiz. The first stage of approx. 400 nautical miles has been completed.

The regatta lasted almost 3 days. The first at the finish line was Fryderyk Chopin, a sailing ship from Poland. During the regatta there was a light wind (3-4 knots). The crew includes debut sailors, 116 first-year students of the Faculty of Navigation. This is the first time these students are at sea.
– Students – sailors are doing very well. They are willing to work and learn – says Cpt.  Rafał Szymański, “Dar Młodzieży”  Commander.

From A Coruna, sailing ships participating in the regatta will sail to Lisbon. On September 3, the ships will start the second stage of the regatta. The  ships will have about 200 miles to cover on the Lisbon-Cadiz route on sails. The end of the regatta is scheduled for September 7. From Portugal.

“Dar Młodzieży” will sail to the Cape Verde Islands with the new group of students,  and further towards the equator. On the equator The school ship of the Gdynia Maritime University will commemorate the 100th anniversary of crossing the equator by the first ship under the Polish flag – the training ship “Lwów”. It was a training sailing ship of the Polish Navy in the years 1921-1930.