Polonez

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john sefton
Posts: 1816
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:59 pm

Polonez

Post by john sefton » Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:38 pm

4.90 zi. features the Polonez, a sailing ship of regattas as well as the high seas, built in Poland at the boat yard at Stettin (Szczecin). She is adapted for single‑handed navigation. It was aboard this yacht that Krzysztof Baranowsky, Polish navigator and also a journalist, after completing a lone trans‑Atlantic voyage in the years 1971‑1973 made a round the world cruise, very successfully.
Sea Breezes March 1975.
Ernest Argyle.
Poland SG2308
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D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen
Posts: 871
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 7:46 pm

Re: Polonez

Post by D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen » Tue May 08, 2018 7:30 pm

Built 1971 by Leonid Teliga’s Shipyard, Szczecin, designers Edward Hoffman, Czesław Gogołkiewicz, Kazimierz "Kuba" Jaworski.
Bermudian ketch, displacement:12 tons, Loa:13.80m. B:3.80m. Draft:2.20m. sail area:80 sq m. hull made of mahogany, max. crew:8.
Rebuild in 2008 by Yacht Planker Service Szczecin, owner Wlodarzewska S.A. Sczcecin

The first stage of the famous Polonez trip was Captain Baranowski's start in The Original Single Handed Trans-Atlantic Race(OSTAR) in 1972. The yacht, though prepared for severe weather conditions surrounding the south pole, did very well. Moderate and light winds dominated on the way from Plymouth to Newport in USA and even though Polonez was designed to sail in strong winds Baranowski managed to finish the race on the 12th place out of 43 participants.
After finishing the race Baranowski made preparations for round the world trip. Three years earlier Leonid Teliga finished a single-handed cruise around the world as the first Pole in history. Captain Baranowski did not want to duplicate his achievement, so he decided to sail east and pass all five continents without crossing any channels. Sailing route led through areas of heavy storms in the vicinity of the Arctic zone and world famous roaring forties. On August 6th 1972 Polonez left Newport and started sailing around the globe. After crossing the Atlantic yacht docked at the Cape Town port in South Africa.

The next leg, leading to Hobart, caused a lot of problems. Strong winds and high waves capsized the boat several times and made substantial damages. Captain Baranowski managed to carry out part of the repairs on water but the rest required a longer stay in the shipyard. Christmas and New Year's Eve of 1972 Capt. Baranowski spent in Tasmania. The next challenge along the way was leading through the Pacific Ocean. It took only 45 days to travel the distance from Australia to South America. At that time it was the world record for monohull sailing yachts noted in the Guinness Book and for many years remained unbeaten.
On February 23rd 1973 Capt. Krzysztof Baranowski on board the Polonez sailed around Cape Horn becoming the first Pole to do so single-handedly. After passing Cape Horn he stayed in Falklands for a two-week stopover.
The last, longest stage of the journey led from the Falkland Islands to Plymouth - OSTAR '72 race base. On April 10th 1973 at 23.00 Capt. Baranowski closed the around the globe loop and on May 25th less than a year from departure, Polonez re-docked in the British Isles.
On June 24th 1973 Capt. Krzysztof Baranowski arrived in Szczecin enthusiastically greeted at Chrobry's Walls by a crowd of approx. 120 thousand spectators and sailing fans. He was received as a national hero and his achievement as well as the yacht permanently recorded in annals of Polish sailing history. Captain Baranowski, after returning from his journey, handed over the boat to Szczecin Maritime University's Yacht Club to serve as a training vessel for students.

At the beginning of this century Polonez, decaying in the shipyard, caught the attention of investors from abroad. The threat of slipping this historical yacht out of Polish hands was real.
A known Szczecinian sailor - Bruno Salcewicz - came to the rescue. He persuaded Marcin Marchaj (son of Czeslaw Marchaj - one of the world's leading experts on aero- and hydrodynamics of a sailing yacht) to buy the boat and invest in it's rebuild.
They planned to renovate the Polonez and launch it back on water. The plans were very costly because of it's long years of disrepair in the hangar and the loss of most parts of rigging as well as the need for a new set of sails.
The new owners of Polonez started to look for an investor who would fund the expensive renovation and allowed it's first launching after many years. Warsaw development company - Włodarzewska S.A. - came with a helping hand by paying for the repairs and reconstruction of the boat.
In the years 2005-2008 Polonez went through a solid repair in one of Szczecin's shipyards. The wooden hull was reconditioned, a superstructure added and it was refitted with a new interior. It was equipped with modern navigation devices, the engine was replaced and necessary equipment was acquired.

On 13th of June 2008 at 1300 hours during the celebration of Sea Days in Szczecin Polish flag was again risen on Polonez. Włodarzewska company, which funded boat's revival generously handed it over to the troubled teens, to serve in the Regional Programme of Maritime Education in Szczecin. Although the boat has again been used by the youth the university students have not been on board the Polonez for more than two decades.
In 2010 the yacht changed it's home port to Sopot and later on to Gdańsk. In the past few years Polonez only occasionally set sails for cruises along the Polish coast and after 2012 was again stranded on the land in Gorki Zachodnie marina. It did not serve it's purpose any more.
On March 31st 2014 renovations aimed to prepare the boat for sailing during 2014 season began. The works were carried out in particular to ready the boat to serve in Polonaise on the Water programme. Thanks to the commitment of a group of people, to whom Polonez's fate was not indifferent, the famous boat was launched again and carried out cruises as part of our campaign.
On July 23rd 2014 during a stopover in the Norwegian port of Leirvik Polonez was rammed by "Belle Poule" - a training vessel of the French Navy. As a result of this accident numerous elements of the ships rigging were broken and the boat suffered damages to the hull. After the necessary repairs in Bergen and passing the safety inspection by the Sail Training International authorities Polonez continued to sail in the Tall Ships Races 2014 and was ranked at a high, 5th place in the second and final leg of the regatta.
In April 2015 the next stage of repairs will be conducted to fully prepare the boat for struggles during the 2015 navigational season.
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polonez f1.jpg

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