Dar Młodzieży Draws the Crowds at World's Biggest Sailing Rally
Dar Młodzieży is in Rouen, where this year's L'Armada - the biggest sailing rally in the world - has already begun. 42 frigates from around the world are involved in the event.
Ten days after it departed from its home port of Gdynia, Dar Młodzieży reached the French city of Rouen with students of the GMU Faculty of Marine Engineering, the Western Pomeranian Maritime Education Centre in Szczecin, and the National University Odessa Maritime Academy on board.
- "The journey from Gdynia went as planned and for the past week we sailed only using our sails" - said Rafał Szymański, Captain of the Dar Młodzieży. The ship docked in Rouen on 8th June.
L'Armada is second only to the Tour de France in the list of the most popular mass events in France. This year the organisers are expecting a turnout of around 6 million people. So far, the weather has been good and the waterfronts have attracted crowds of people. The queue to visit the Dar Młodzieży is getting longer by the day. Our trainees will take part in sports competitions, a trip to Paris, and a street parade of crews in the centre of Rouen. In their spare time, they will be able to visit the beautiful Rouen and other ships docked in the port.
L'Armada has been organised in Rouen, on average in four-year intervals, since 1980. Taking part in the rally are crews from 30 countries - a total of some 7,000 seafarers. Dar Młodzieży will leave Rouen on 18th June and head to Bremerhaven.
