From April 28 to May 2, 2019, the unique Gulden Leeuw (“Golden Lion”) training tall ship arrived at the Northern capital of Russia. The Dutch three-masted schooner entered St. Petersburg for the first time and brought ashore 60 cadets from 15 countries who are studying sailing and maritime science under the international Class Afloat program. Ship agency services were provided by Universal Forwarder.
The ship moored at the Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment, opposite the 18th and 19th lines of Vasilievsky Island. The tall ship particulars: LOA is 52.37 m, maximum draft: 4.2 m, total displacement: 711 tonnes; height of mast: 40 m, sail: 1400 sqm. The Gulden Leeuw was built in 1937 as an ice-class ship for the Danish Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Initially, the ship was used for hydrographic survey in the Arctic and Antarctic. In 2007, the vessel was transformed into a fast three-masted topsail schooner, and since 2010 she has been participating in the Class Afloat educational program. The crew of the Gulden Leeuw consists of cadets trainees 15 to 20 years old, teachers and professional sailors.
In the 2018-2019 academic season the sailing route includes calls at 22 ports in Europe, Africa, North and South America. St. Petersburg is one of the final piers on the route. The crew visited the Central Naval Museum, the State Hermitage, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. During her anchorage, on May 1, students of the Marine Club "Junga" of the St. Petersburg City Palace of Youth Creativity boarded the ship with a friendly visit. The crew gave the guests a tour of the sailboat and spoke about their training program. The cabin boys who also demonstrated good sailing skills, showed their interest in the organization of life on the ship, and shared their experience of sailing at sea.
The first visit of the Gulden Leeuw to St. Petersburg was organized in cooperation with the Association of training sailboats of Russia. The arrival of the ship is timed, among other things, for the Tall Ships Races, one of the leg of which is scheduled to be held in the Northern Capital in the summer of 2021.
