KAZAN/PAPEETE – On November 26th, after travelling a distance of 4,350 miles during a month-long voyage along the eastern edge of the Pacific Ocean, the bark Sedov with the Universiade Flame aboard arrived at the port of Papeete on Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia.
The Russian tall ship was moored in a central place near the embankment area designated by the port authority. Despite high heat and streets that are mostly empty in the daytime, crowds of people gathered near the bark Sedov to celebrate the Flame’s arrival and to attend a Kazan 2013 exhibition which was opened aboard the ship.
Due to the absence of Russian diplomatic missions on Tahiti, captain of the bark Sedov Nikolay Zorchenko sent a ship agent to the governor and city authorities to invite them, in his own name, to visit the Russian tall ship at any time that suits them. The invitation was accepted with gratitude. The bark Sedov will stay in Papeete until November 28th and continue its voyage heading west to Samoa.
On January 25th, the tall ship will reach the port of Vladivostok where the Universiade Torch Relay’s journey across Russia will be launched.
(Source: Kazan 2013 Media Dept. – Photo by Valery Vasilevsky)
