Shtandart's plans for the summer season are on the site already!

Date:
11.02.2023

May 1, the Shtandart will start the season with a trip from La Rochelle to the most southern town of the French Atlanic coast – to Bayonne. There, in the dry dock, the sailing ship Hermione undergoing repairs (she is almost a sister ship to the Shtandart, an exact copy of the frigate on which Lafayette went to America and brought back the Declaration of Independence). We intend to visit the Hermione, find out what happened to the ship and why the repair is planned for several more years. We plan to return to La Rochelle on May 7. On the way we hope to visit the Bay of Arcachon (there are delicious oysters there, as we know).

May 8, we plan to leave La Rochelle for the "Week of the Gulf" festival ("La semaine du Golfe"). It will be interesting to enter Morbihan Bay (the tidal stream comes up to 8 knots, and the fairway is no wider than 100 meters in some places). It's like kayaking along a mountain river, but only on a 30-meter Shtandart. We anchor in front of Port Blanc on the 13th and this leg terminates on the 14th of May.

If the weather permits, before the festival we plan to go to the beautiful port of Concarneau (to enter there, you have pass extremely close to the stone walls of the historical fortress).

May 15-20: festival time. We assume that every day we will sail through the narrow channel with very strong tidal currents, and return back to the anchorage. The shore-leave for crew will be somehow limited, and this leg is meant more “for experienced volunteers”: plenty of hard work with sails and rig, a lot of trips with festival guests on board.

May 21 - a new group will come on board. Embarking via a dinghy from Port Blanc (which is near the town of Vannes). We are going through the strait with strong currents. Our destination is Granville. The tides in that fishing harbour are 12 meters, twice a day. Sightseeing on the way - the famous French monastery Mont Saint Michel, watch it from the sea. We plan to berth on the 26th, trainees are going home on the 27th.

May 29 from Granville we go to the most western part of France - to the Bay of Brest. We are going to stop in the small but charming town Camare-sur-Mer.
(*) there is some possibility that instead of moving to the west, Shtandart will have to go to the festival Ostend van Anchor (Belgium). The dates are the same - boarding 29.05, disembarkation 2.06.
As an advice from Captain: look at your possibilities to book two legs, including the next one – to Rouen. Arriving to ARMADA ROUEN festival might be one of the most exciting adventures in your life.

June 2023

June 2, from Brest (or with some probability from Belgian Ostend) we sail to one of the most famous maritime festivals in the world - ARMADA ROUEN. More than 6 million visitors in 10 days, more than 100 sailing ships in the port. To enter Rouen, we have to sail upstream the Seine for almost 120 km.
We berth on the 7th, disembark on the 8th of June. However, it is possible to stay on board for the duration of the festival as a crew, see the following two legs’ description.

June 8-12 and 13-18  - two festival “legs” in Rouen. "Armada Rouen" is the world's largest maritime festival, where more than 100 ships from different countries will be open to visitors. The organizers have prepared a program full of cultural, sports and entertainment events for the crew members. [taking part in these legs will include a gangway and on deck watch 4 hours a day].

June 19 - boarding in Le Havre. This is a relatively short trip along the English Channel to the city of Calais. We will cross the English Channel several times, passing around Isle of Wight (weather permitting, of course). On June 23 we berth in Calais, where a small but cozy maritime festival takes place. 24th June – crew change day.

June 25 we go to a round-trip from Calais to the Netherlands. We plan (weather permitting) to reach Texel island. We return to Calais on the 1st of July.

July-August 2023

July 2 from Calais we sail west, 250 miles to the city of St Brieuc in the Gulf of Saint Malo. The traditional sailing ship Grand Léjon celebrates its birthday in this port, on this occasion they are inviting the Shtandart as their friends.

July 9 from St Brieuc we go to the town of Granville, famous for its 12-meter high tides. For more sea-going practice, this passage is planned around the island of Ushant, the most northwestern point of France. We hope to make a stop in Camaret or Douarnenez - wonderful fishing towns in the west of France. The voyage is about 300 miles long.

The next two stages are designed for the youngest sailors (12-18 y.o.), both with or without their parents:

July 16 from Granville we go to Holland. 350 miles to the capital of the Netherlands - The Hague, the port of Scheveningen. On the way, we’ll pass the island of Jersey, Cape La Hague with its tidal current up to 10 knots, Cherbourg, the entire English Channel, and we will come to the North Sea. Crew change on July 22-23 (however, you can continue and sign up for two legs one after another).

July 23, from Scheveningen, we will sail to Dunkirk, weather permitting, with a route around the Texel island. 300 miles, North Sea (it should be warm in July). Active maritime traffic leave no time to get bored on your night-watches, it will be time to refresh the knowledge of ColRegs.

July 29 we go with the children's group "Chemodan Skazok" from Dunkirk to Paimpol.

August 6 – Shanty festival in Paimpol. Shtandart is much welcomed there. Trainees are boarding on the final day of the festival, ship goes to sea on the 7th August. The voyage will bring us to Sables d'Olonne - the town known by sailors as the starting point for international regattas, such as the Vendee Globe. We plan to berth on the 11th of August, debarkation on the 12th.

August 16, at the end of the summer season, we go from Sables d'Olonne to La Rochelle, which becomes almost our second home port. It is a short leg, 2 days only, disembarking on August 17th.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR BOOKING

Please book your adventure on the site shtandart.ru/en/frigate/application/ or at the simplified booking page in French https://cutt.ly/embarquez_shtandart. Payment could be done on Paypal, Revolut or Vivawallet also you can check for another payment option on the Contact page.