Surprisingly, with the constant saturation of the program, the WindMaster Regatta remains a holistic event, where everything is subordinated to the idea of maintaining traditions and developing sailing. Even after the end of the regatta, the discussion of the results and the mass of impressions that WindMaster Regatta gave to its participants and fans will continue with a long aftertaste. The participants will carry this mood through the entire sailing summer to meet again on the Kyiv water in the fall.
It is difficult even to list how many initiatives were implemented in the eighth season of the WindMaster Regatta. For the first time, the regatta was held in two cities over two weekends; for the first time yachtsmen from 8 countries took part in the races; for the first time, two charitable projects to support a children's sail were implemented at once; For the first time, two monotype fleets of Sportboats of international classes SB20 and Platu25 took part in the regatta. At the same time, the regatta committee did not deviate from the previously declared principles of a fair fight in accordance with international rules and a strict selection of participants. It would be superfluous to say that the regatta turned out just great.
The first stage of the WindMaster Regatta, where Zvezdny class crews took part, took place on May 10-12 in Sevastopol. The southern "Mecca" of the Ukrainian sail pleased the participants with excellent summer weather with moderate wind strength. 5 boats took part. The victory went to the crew of the President of the Ukrainian Sailing Federation UKR 8247 V. Gureev / V. Kushnir. Further, the baton of the WindMaster Regatta competition was transferred to Kyiv.
If the first thing you hear about the Kiev stage of the regatta is the phrase “little wind”, do not rush to evaluate this factor negatively. Yes, unlike some previous seasons, all the masts remained in their places. But there was no lack of sports passion. As the chairman of the organizing committee of the regatta, the skipper of the RnB yacht, Igor Yushko, said, “one must be able to sail in different winds.”
And these skills were appreciated. Every day the weather set more and more new tasks for the participants and the referee committee of the regatta. With a wind strength of no more than 7 knots, the air currents constantly changed direction. As a result, no race was like another - with each change, a change in distance followed, which implied a change in the role of the coast and the current to the propulsion of the yachts.
We can say that every day was literally won back from the hot air of the "Kyiv Sea". 5 races each in the Bigboat and Sportboat divisions, 7 races each were held by the junior fleet of the Cadet and Optimist classes, and the SB20 fleet recorded 4 successful starts in the table.
The allocation of places on the podium was pending before the finish of the last race on 19 May. In the Bigboat and Sportboat divisions, the contenders for the silver medal could not finish their rivals. The OrionIV yacht lost the second step of the podium to the crew of the MG yacht, and in the sports fleet Vladimir Kulinichenko changed places with Evgeny Nikiforov. The winners in these divisions of the stage are the crews of Igor Yushko "RnB" and M24 "Hooligan" Yuri Udovitsky. In the subgroup of sports yachts of the Platu25 class, Evgeny Nikiforova from Yekaterinburg finished the regatta in first place.
The fleet of international class sports yachts SB20 made its debut on the Kyiv water with four crews at once, most of which were non-professional sail lovers. This factor led to the frequent change of the leader at a distance and the high excitement of the races. The victory went to the Kiev-Sevastopol team of Maxim Barabash.
In the children's fleet, already experienced athletes celebrated the victory, who had previously won prizes in the WindMaster Regatta and other major competitions. In the Optimist class, Anastasia Pushchinskaya, a member of the Ukrainian national team, a pupil of the Vodnik club, won the first place. In the Cadet class, the winners of the Pivdenny Regatta 2013, the Kyiv crew of Igor Lvov and Vladislav Yamenko, were out of reach.
At the solemn closing ceremony of the regatta, the winners and prize-winners received prizes from the hands of honored athletes and representatives of the business and diplomatic establishment of the country. The Consul of the Republic of Belarus promised to expand the representation of his country's yachtsmen in future seasons of the regatta. The winners of the children's fleet received prizes and valuable gifts from the hands of the chairman of the Savings Bank of Russia, the head of the organizing committee of the regatta, Igor Yushko.
The traditional drawing of a brand new Optimist class yacht was held by Vladimir Kulinichenko, a participant in three round-the-world races. Our world-famous fellow countryman now lives in the USA, therefore, the children's yacht played by him was named "Florida".
The President of Lion’s Club Ukraine, British businessman and yachtsman Martin Nunn, announced the successful launch of the Races for Charity project. According to him, even through the efforts of the crews of two yachts, they managed to raise an impressive amount to help the children's sail. This experience will be developed in the next seasons of the regatta.
Although the end of the regatta is a somewhat sad event, it is worth remembering that the sailing season in Ukraine has just started. There are many competitions and victories ahead, which means that in the fall we will meet again at the WindMaster Regatta to compete and share our impressions of the hot sailing summer!
