Sea Brothers Race at Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg overall

by Erik Brydges on 19 Jun 2012 Sea Brothers Race 2012, for the Optimist class, was hosted by Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg this weekend (16th - 17th June) near the Hercules marina in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

The event brought together seventy young sailors between the ages of 7 and 15 from all around Russia, including Moscow, Nizhniy Novgorod, Velikiy Novgorod, Tolyatti, Chelyabinsk, and the Saint-Petersburg area.

The young competitors competed in eight races spread over two days, tackling challenging conditions on the second day with wind speed reaching 22 knots. The main prize at the event was a brand new Optimist dingy fitted out to top racing specifications. The boat was a prize in a raffle, and every competitor that finished a race was automatically entered into the raffle.

The first day of racing featured the wind changing direction several times which resulted in delayed starts as the course was changed. The fleet was competitive, but a well-organized briefing before the start of racing ensured that penalties and early starts were kept to a minimum. At the end of the first day, Saint Petersburg Youth Sailing School member Leonid Pushev took first place, Saint Petersburg Yacht Club Youth Sailing School members Bogdan Golovnin and Vladimir Novoselov came second and third. The racing was competitive between the girls with Saint-Petersburg’s Anita Borkova coming first, Vyborg’s Karina Levahina coming second, and Saint-Petersburg’s Youth Sports Sailing Team Rautu member Elizaveta Borovkova coming third.

The young racers faced extremely windy conditions on the second day, with wind speeds reaching 22 knots. At first, racing was delayed because there was not enough wind, however, with the arrival of a weather front, this quickly changed. Some sailors found the weather too difficult, and decided to retire, whilst others, spurred on by the thought of winning the brand new optimist dinghy, conquered the foul weather and finished the remaining four races.

The racing concluded with the raffle of the dinghy, and young Optimist sailor Kirill Boboshko had luck on his side, not only winning the entire competition, but also winning the brand new Optimist too.

Vladimir Liubomirov, Commodore of the Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg, commented: 'It is so encouraging for the sport of sailing in Russia to see so many young and enthusiastic sailors taking to the water at the Sea Brothers Regatta. The Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg is very proud to be able to support this young talent, and we look forward to hosting them again soon.'

Winners, general category:
1st – Kirill Boboshko – Moscow
2nd – Daniel Usachev - Saint-Petersburg Youth Sports Team Rautu
3rd – Leonid Pushev – Saint- Petersburg Youth Sports Sailing Team Full Results

Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg website