The sailboat of the circumnavigation expedition of the Tomsk Regional Branch of the Russian Geographical Society left the harbor of the Turkish town of Yalova at noon on July 12 and headed for the Bosphorus Strait. The three-year voyage of the brave Siberians Evgeny Kovalevsky and Stanislav Berezkin is nearing completion: in four days they intend to sail into the Black Sea and head to their native shores.
“By July 16, we plan to get to the Black Sea, enter the Turkish Sinop, and then go to Novorossiysk. And this is already the motherland!” said the head of the expedition Evgeny Kovalevsky.
During their short stay in Istanbul, the circumnavigation crew managed to do several important things. The travelers filmed video footage for a documentary and, together with the head of the expedition's coastal headquarters, Yulia Kalyuzhnaya, met with compatriots at the local Russian center.
The crew of the sailboat was also received by Senior Consul to the Consulate General of Russia in Istanbul Anton Skvortsov. He asked the crew about the goals of the expedition, the journey, and the adventures that fell to the lot of Kovalevsky and Berezkin, and also introduced the guests to the history and interior of the ancient mansion which has housed the Russian diplomatic mission since 1845.
“We shared the successes of people's diplomacy, told about all the twists and turns of a difficult journey, presented the educational project ‘Lessons from the Ocean’, invited the Russian Consulate General in Istanbul and Istanbul Russian schools to take part in another such lesson, which will be held on September 24, 2024. And of course, we accepted Anton Skvortsov as a shore crew member. Yulia gifted him our bandana," Kovalevsky said.
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Most recently, the expedition celebrated a significant date: three years since they set sail from Kronstadt. Evgeny Kovalevsky and Stanislav Berezkin told about their impressions in a special interview.
“Now it's 400 miles to Sinop, where we check out. The plan is to arrive in Novorossiysk in the period from July 20 to July 23,” 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.