The Optimists of the Northern Capital, four event youth series, has confirmed to run for the second year running at the Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg, Russia. The inaugural event during 2012 was a stunning success with 70 children competing to win the Gazprom Cup.
The first event of the ‘Optimists of the Northern Capital – The Gazprom Cup’ is scheduled for the 25th to 26th May, Gazprom has again been appointed as the main sponsor. This event is particularly important to the Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg due to a commitment for developing youth sailing within Russia.
Commodore at the Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg and Russian Sailor of the Year 2012, Vladimir Liubomirov explains the significance of this event series, “I am very proud with the massive entry we enjoyed in the first Gazprom Cup last year, it was such a joy to see so many young sailing enthusiasts from across Russia join together in such a fun competition. I am definite that we will again see a large fleet of Optimist dinghies racing for the 2013 edition of the Optimists of the Northern Capital. The Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg is the ideal facility to launch and retrieve large numbers of dinghies simultaneously and the nearby waters offer safe racing options for the youth classes”.
The first event of the 2013 Gazprom Cup will be particularly special as it coincides with not only the start of Russia’s celebrated eighty nights of sunlight known as the ‘White Nights’ when the whole city comes alive but also the high profile, ISAF Grade 2 match racing regatta, Sails of White Nights – National Congress Palace Cup. The match racing regatta is now a famed event on the international yachting calendar and has been attracting some of the most famous global names in match racing to Saint-Petersburg since 2007.
The children competing in the Optimists of the Northern Capital series will not only have the chance to win the Gazprom Cup but to also rub shoulders with their match racing heroes such as Simone Ferrarese, Eric Monnin and Przemek Tarnacki, getting to share in the excitement of watching the intricate one on one racing that match racing guarantees for spectators.
Both the Optimist and match racing fleets will be racing with one of the world’s most scenic backdrops, the Peter and Paul Fortress. Built in 1703 and now known for its bell tower being the tallest Orthodox version worldwide, the site is also home to the grave of famed founder of Saint Petersburg City, Peter the Great, a real seafarer having formed the first Russian Navy as far back as 1696.
Families and friends are expected to flock to the shores to watch the youth action with fans in their thousands having turned out last year.