For the second time, the title of Sailor of the Year was not awarded

For the second time in the 52-year history of the Jury of Honor Awards "Voyage The year" and "Silver Sextant" did not give, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the title of Sailer of the Year, the highest Polish sailing trophy. On the other hand, two Honorary Awards were awarded Voyage The year 2021.

Meetings of the Jury of Honor Awards "Voyage The year" and "Silver Sextant" traditionally held in the commandant's living room anchored in Gdynia by the school fregata "Dar Pomerania", but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the two last meetings were unique. It was discussed, partly online, at the Naval Museum in Gdynia.

The 52nd meeting was chaired again by Rear Admiral Czesław Dyrcz, and was attended by the winners from previous years, Jerzy Jaszczuk, Hubert Latos, Eugeniusz Moczdłowski, Roman Pashke, Jerzy Rakowicz and Jerzy Wąsowicz, Vice President of the Polish Sailing Union for Maritime Affairs Bogusław Witkowski, Grotmast of the Brotherhood of Caphornists Marek Padjas, representative of the city of Gdańsk Leszek Paszkowski, project coordinator Aleksander Gosk and the secretary of the jury and maritime publicist Tomasz Falba.

This body decided, for the second time in history, to depart from the traditional division of distinctions and not to award the Silver Sextant – Cruise of the Year and the title of Sailor of the Year for 2021. It was stressed that the pandemic also imprinted on sailing. Relatively few projects were planned and implemented, as the jury dealt with only 10 sailing projects and voyages. There were nine of them last year.

2nd Honorary Award Voyage In 2021 he was awarded Dutch captain Bouwe Bekking, who led the crew of the yacht "Sailing Poland" in the regatta The Ocean Race Europe – European edition of The Ocean Race. After nearly fifty years, the boat with the Polish flag took off in the edition of the European regatta on the Lorient – Cascais – Alicante – Genoa route. The unit competing under the flag of YKP Gdynia ranked second in the bet of seven yachts in the VO65 class.

III Honorary Award "Voyage In the year 2021", she went to Captain Zbigniew Gutkowski, who took part in the 42nd edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race in Malta on the Trimaran "Ultim’Emotion 2". The race route around Sicily at a distance of 600 Mm defeated in 40 hours 13 minutes and 27 seconds reaching the finish line as the fourth unit and setting the Polish event record.

Three Honorary Awards were also awarded. Their winners were Captains Waldemar Mieczkowski, Adam Wiśniewski and Edyta, Adam and Kalina Jakubczaków.

Mieczkowski led the anniversary Baltic voyage Scout schooner "Zavisz Black" on the Gdynia – Copenhagen – Stockholm – Tallinn – Klaipeda – Świnoujście route (1798 nautical miles). The expedition was organized on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the sailing boat and 25th anniversary of the Polish-Canadian Sailing Club Zawisza Black.

Wiśniewski is the originator and founder of the Ocean Dream Foundation and the author of the Youth Sailing Education Programme, which is aimed at youth from Children's Houses and endangered environments. Over 10 years of maritime training and cruise activities organised and financed by the Foundation have been attended by over 1,100 participants.

Edyta and Adam Jakubczaki, on the other hand, abandoned corporations and had been on a yacht for twelve years. Sailing is the content of a family adventure, and the area of exploration is the Mediterranean waters from Croatia to the North African coast. Their 14-year-old daughter Kalinka conducts on Polish Radio Children's broadcast "Captain Kalinka at sea".

The special prize of the Polish Sailing Union was awarded to the 84-year-old captain and husband who died in June 2021 by Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz Wacław Liskiewicz for all sailing achievements. In 1967 he commanded the yacht "Swarożyc III", which was the first in the history of Polish sailing (probably also world-wide) to reach Spitsbergen. He also constructed famous yachts "Maria", "Mazurka", "Dar Przemyśl" and "Copernicus". He is commander of the Academic Maritime Club in Gdańsk.

Special Prize of the President of the City of Gdańsk „Bursztynowa Rosea WindThis" was honored by the Gdańskian Zbigniew Gutkowski for his consistently built position in the elite club of the best regatta sailors in the world.

In addition, the Kaphornov Brotherhood Chapter decided that the traditional Caphornovian Brotherhood Grotmaszt Award, Captain Alexander Kaszowski, for a good sailing work, was awarded to Captains Andrzej Górajek and Pavel Pelc for double sailing Spitsbergen and the entire Svalbard archipelago in one season with the yacht "Ocean B".

The last person to receive the title of Sailor of the Year, Silver Sextant and First Prize Voyage The year, was for 2019 Joanna Pajkowska. It was distinguished for the third time – previously in 2009 and 2017.

Since 2009, the patron of the "Rest of the Year" is the President of Gdańsk, while the "Silver Sextant" is the prize of the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Inland Shipping.

The first "Silver Sextant" was awarded in 1970. This distinction was awarded to the captain and lawyer Andrzej Rościszewski, who sailed around Iceland on the Śmieły yacht in a pioneering cruise from the west to the east.

The awards ceremony is held annually in Gdańsk on the first Friday of March. This date is related to the sailing by the "Dar Pomerania" of Cape Horn. It was the first unit under the Polish flag to do this feat. It will be 85 years since this event. On the night of 1st to 2nd March 1937, "Dar Pomerania" commanded by Captain Konstanty Maciejewicz cut the trawlers of Cape Horn.

Source: PAP