MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Kruzenshtern sailing ship is taking part in a nautical festival in the Dutch port of Delfzijl a month ahead of her voyage round the world, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
"The barque Kruzenshtern docked in the port of Delfzijl on August 22, and took part in the nautical festival's opening ceremony," Tatyana Babushkina said, adding that Emme Groot, the mayor of the city, attended the ceremony and addressed a welcome speech to the festival participants.
According to the spokesperson, over 20 tall sailing ships participated in the festival. Besides the Kruzenshtern, Russia was represented by the barque Sedov and the frigate Mir.
"The Kruzenshtern's cadets won the first place in the tug of war competition," Babushkina said, adding that a series of excursions to a local shipyard and the Dutch city of Amsterdam had been organized for the crew.
The Kruzenshtern, one of the world's largest sailing ships, left her home port of Kaliningrad on April 19 for the International Trans-Atlantic Expedition, dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
The ship was given to the Soviet Union in 1946 as part of World War II reparations, and is currently used as a training vessel for naval cadets, with 115 cadets on board.
The Kruzenshtern is expected to return to Kaliningrad on September 4. During the second stage of the expedition, scheduled to start on September 25 and last until April 2010, the ship is due to visit South America, the organizers said.
