Yacht "Odessa" seeks support for 'round the world race (01/10/93)

Yacht "Odessa" seeks support for 'round the world race

by Lerea Goldthwaite

TAMPA, Fla. - A Ukrainian yacht that will compete in the 1993-1994 Whitbread Round the World Race has finished the first phase of construction (hull, deck, rudder and keel) and is beginning the first leg of its journey aboard a freighter of the Black Sea Shipping Co. bound for Tampa.

Construction of the "Odessa" began in the summer of 1991, after months of fund-raising by the ship's captain and crew from the Odessa Yachtsmen's Association. The sailboat, which represents a new class of vessel in the Whitbread and is a showcase of modern technology, will arrive in Tampa in early to mid-January to be outfitted and sea tested.

Anatoly Verba began to build his dream of a Ukrainian entry that would bring well deserved attention to his homeland after gaining world circumnavigation experience in the 1989-1990 Whitbread, on board the only Soviet entry ever, the "Fazizi."

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many months went by while Capt. Verba struggled to finish the yacht's construction. Through persistence and stamina, he was able to find funding and complete the first stages of the yacht, now truly a Ukrainian national effort, with an all Ukrainian crew. Capt. Verba entered into a joint venture with a not-for-profit U.S. company, established solely to help accomplish the completion of the Odessa and its entry into the Whitbread.

Now, with the sponsorship of the Black Sea Shipping Co., the yacht is on its way to the United States. Much help is needed to complete and outfit the yacht and to get it to the starting line in the fall of 1993.

Capt. Verba and the Odessa Yachtsmen's Association are asking for the help and support of Ukrainians throughout the United States and the world. Funds are needed to help house and feed the crew while it is in Tampa.

Capt. Verba has been offered an opportunity to participate in the Atlantic City International Sail Boat Exhibition on February 4, 5, 6 and 7 in Atlantic City, N.J. This will be an excellent opportunity to showcase the yacht and to attract major corporate sponsorship. Help is needed to fly Capt. Verba and his U.S. partner from Tampa to Atlantic City and to house and feed the two of them near Atlantic City for four days, from February 3-6.

Please consider helping make Capt. Verba's dream of a Ukrainian entry come true. No offer of assistance is too small.

If you can help financially or could offer to be a host, please contact this writer, president of EOS Inc., a Florida non-profit corporation, founded to help publicize and raise money for the "Odessa," at 101 S. Dakota Ave., Tampa, FL; telephone, (813) 254-5001, or fax, (813) 831-4054; or Nancy Spencer, (410) 296-0701 (day), (410) 435-0048 (evenings), or fax (410) 321-8049.

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