Discover Ukraine expedition heads for OpSail 2000

KYIV - The Batkivschyna, the 89-foot Ukrainian schooner that is the centerpiece of the Discover Ukraine project, left Kyiv for the United States on April 7 on the first leg of a planned journey to sail the globe and inform the world about Ukraine. The schooner, with its 12-person crew, will pass through the Mediterranean Sea before entering the Atlantic Ocean around May 1.

The Discover Ukraine crew will take part in Operation Sail 2000, the largest gathering of sailing ships in history organized to celebrate the new millennium, which begins in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on May 25. During a two-month period some 400 historic tall ships and modern sailing vessels will cruise up the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, stopping at the major port cities of Miami, Norfolk, Va., Wilmington, Del., Baltimore, New York and New London, Conn. The highlight of the trip will be a Fourth of July tall ship parade past the Statue of Liberty and into New York Harbor.

After OpSail 2000, the Discover Ukraine expedition plans to sail on into the Great Lakes before returning to the Atlantic Ocean in early fall and traveling to South America to spend the winter.

Some 200 well-wishers and friends gathered on the Dnipro River at the Kyiv Yacht Club on a cold and overcast day to see the crew off.

The Batkivschyna will welcome visitors while it is in harbor at various ports in the United States.

Clockwise from top right: The schooner Batkivschyna leaves its Kyiv dock on April 7, beginning a two-month journey to the United States for OpSail 2000; Captain Dymytrii Birioukovitch guides the Batkivschyna away from its moorings; the skipper (right) listens as his older brother Mykola bids the crew a bon voyage; two of the sailing ship's 12-person crew in their foul weather gear bearing Ukraine's national emblem, the tryzub (trident), and their country's name, Ukraina, in Ukrainian.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, May 7, 2000, No. 19, Vol. LXVIII

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