Plymouth to welcome the ‘I LOVE POLAND’ race yacht on its sailing debut

13th November 2018

Britain’s Ocean City has been chosen as the desired destination for the sailing and cultural debut of the ‘I LOVE POLAND’ racing yacht. The yacht and her crew set sail from Gdynia, Poland on 6 November and the yacht is expected to arrive at Mayflower Marina, Plymouth on the 13 or 14 November.

Plymouth has been selected as the perfect geographical ‘pit-stop’ for the crew, who are en-route to their winter training base in Lisbon, before they head across the Atlantic in February to begin a series of races in the USA and Caribbean. The yacht is VO70 footer, originally built in New England in 2011-2012 for the Volvo Ocean Race. The ‘I LOVE POLAND’ yacht is to sail to New York in May 2019 to undertake an ambitious record breaking attempt to sail from Newport to Lizard Point in under 6 days, 22hr and 8 minutes. The yacht and her crew will then return again to Plymouth in May 2019 ahead of a racing event in Sweden.

The crew, whose ages range from 21-52 years, are skippered by experienced, competitive sailor Jarosław Kaczorowski.  Mr Kaczorowski has taken part in a number of high level races including The Race 2000 and Mini Transat 2006. The crew are also supported by Grzegorz Baranowski who is the current Vice World Champion in ORC (Offshore Racing Congress) and a previous World Champion in match racing.

The ‘I LOVE POLAND’ yacht is an educational and sporting project funded by the Polish National Foundation. The project aims to support young Polish sailors who are launching an international competitive sailing career, particularly in ocean regattas and to promote Polish sailing worldwide.

Filip Rdesiński, Chairman of the Polish National Foundation Board says “I am thrilled that I LOVE POLAND, the yacht that is traveling around the world to promote our country, has called at Plymouth, the first foreign port on its international voyage. It was no accident that we chose this beautiful English city and port to stage our event. Plymouth is home to plenty of Polish highlights. It is a sister city to Gdynia, the first port built by the newly independent Polish state, and the hometown of our skipper and four crew members”.

Whilst in Plymouth the crew will be undertaking a variety of vibrant educational visits and promotional events to promote Polish sailing and culture to a wider audience. The week-long visit will see presentations to local schools, young sailors and cadets. There are also talks about Polish history and culture by Historian Martin Hazell and Patrick Ney at the Royal William Yard’s, Ocean Studios on Friday 16 November. The crew will also be hosting a series of organised open deck visitations whilst berthing at Mayflower Marina.

Charles Bush, MD of Mayflower Marina says “We are delighted that the Polish National Foundation have chosen to berth their VO70 yacht ‘I LOVE POLAND’ at Mayflower Marina during their forthcoming visit to Plymouth.

Over recent years we have forged links with a number of Polish sailors and most notably this year, Szymon Kuczynski returned to Mayflower Marina in May following his record breaking 270 day, solo, non-stop circumnavigation in his 23ft yacht Atlantic Puffin. In September, Polish skipper Asia (Joanna) Pajkowska set sail from Mayflower Marina in her 40ft yacht Fanfan on a solo non-stop circumnavigation. If successful, Asia will be the first female Polish sailor to complete this voyage, and she’ll cover at least 21,000 nautical miles and will be at sea for around 200-220 days!

Whilst ‘I LOVE POLAND’ is berthed at Mayflower Marina there will opportunities for local school children and members of the Polish community to visit the boat and celebrate the particular relationship between Plymouth and Poland. We are very pleased to play our part in facilitating the visit.”

As part of the yacht’s visit to Plymouth, Polish Ambassador for the UK, Arkady Rzegocki and Filip Rdesiński, Chairman of the Polish National Foundation Board will join yacht skipper Jarosław Kaczorowski in laying wreaths at the RAF and Allied Forces Monument and Polish Navy Memorial Plaque on Plymouth Hoe on Sunday 18 November. They will be assisted by representatives from the RAF, Royal Navy and Plymouth’s Lord Mayor, Councillor Sam Davey in honouring Polish sailors and airman who served in World War 2. Filip Rdesiński, says "By visiting Plymouth and attending the events held on this occasion, we wish to express our gratitude to the local community for coming to the aid of our compatriots 70 years ago, for the help they given to our sailors, and for the hospitality they have shown us."