The circumnavigation expedition of the Tomsk Regional Branch of the Russian Geographical Society left the shores of Fiji on August 13. The catamaran went to the archipelago of New Hebrides, where the Republic of Vanuatu is located. The Russian travelers are going to reach these islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean in a week.
According to the head of the expedition, Evgeny Kovalevsky, a lot has been done in the three days spent in Fiji. The team carried out routine maintenance on the vessel, replenished water, provisions, and fuel for the engine, and also visited local attractions, collecting rich material for a film about the circumnavigation.
A schedule for further movement has been agreed with the coastal center of the expedition. At the end of August, the catamaran should leave Vanuatu for Australia, along the shores of which the vessel will be moving in September and October. Then they will sail to Bali. By the new year, it is planned to reach the island of Phuket, which belongs to Thailand.
During their stop in Fiji, the Russians held a meeting with local sailors. More than 300 people visited the catamaran of the circumnavigation with excursions.
“We left behind a good impression about Russian sailors. We impressed everyone with the new experience of circumnavigation of the world and even prepared an article for the famous Dutch sailing magazine,” said Evgeny Kovalevsky.
On July 1, 2021, Siberian travelers Evgeny Kovalevsky and Stanislav Berezkin set off along the route of the first Russian round-the-world expeditions of the 19th century: Ivan Kruzenshtern’s (1803-1806), Yuri Lisyansky’s (1803-1806), Otto Kotzebue’s (1815-1818, 1823-1826), Vasily Golovnin’s (1817-1819), Fedor Litke’s (1826-1829), Faddey Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev’s (1819-1921). The international project of the Tomsk Regional Branch of the Russian Geographical Society "Following the paths of Russian explorers" is dedicated to the 250th birthday anniversary of Krusenstern and the 200th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica by Russian sailors. These events for a long time determined Russia's leadership in the development of the oceans and the discovery of new lands. You can learn more about the project and provide all possible assistance in its implementation on the website of the expedition.