Russian visitors dock in Newark

By Mikhail Poboronchuk

It was the time of iron people on wooden boats. It was the time when sailors went to the unknown seas. In 1741, Russian explorers discovered Alaska and the Northwest Territory. A huge storm wrecked one of the two ships, and 31 sailors lost their lives, including Commodore V. Bering. Many adventurers have constructed replicas of Columbus' vessels and retraced his route. We are the first expedition to follow Bering's course, 250 years later.

In 1991, with the help of friends, we constructed a replica of the famous vessel, using an old Russian drawing. Saint Paul (pictured) is 50 feet long and 12 wide and only draws 4 feet, because she has no sailboat keel. She was built totally from soft white pine and has 1.25 inch planks. The entire bottom is covered by thin copper sheets to protect against worms and barnacles. She is steered only by tiller and has a diesel engine. With a tail wind using the large square sail, she reaches 4-6 knots.

We (Irene and I) left our home in Russia's largest pacific port, Vladivostok, on June 27, 1991. After sailing through the Japanese and Okhotsk seas, we departed the USSR from the Kamchatka peninsula, crossed the North Pacific, visited the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, Canada, USA, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. After crossing through the Panama Canal we have been in Columbia, sailed along the Gulf and East Coast of the USA. Saint Paul was docked in Newark this week.

Behind us are 12 countries and almost 20,000 miles. We have weathered five hurricanes, 140-knot winds and 60-foot waves. Pirates boarded our boat in El Salvador, we were robbed in the Republic of Panama, and three times were arrested in Latin countries.

You may read about our adventures in Three On Boat, Including Cat, which we'll soon publish. Many funny stories in the book will be about our salty cat Coosya. (Irene and I are pictured here with Coosya.) On a cold, rainy night he came to our boat in Seattle, a tiny, wet, skinny and hungry kitten. The USA couldn't save him and he came to Russian territory to ask for food and political asylum. Coosya has traveled with us already 15,000 miles, and he has girlfriends in nine countries.

As ambassadors of Russia we are sailing around the world with a mission of peace, friendship, culture and education. Our boat is a small wooden bridge between people. In each port we are showing our own art and slides of our travel to schools, churches, yacht clubs, museums, libraries.

We are probably the first global expedition, that has kept afloat so long and gone so far without any sponsors. We left a peaceful country, but now our motherland is in big trouble. We are still meeting many friendly people of goodwill.

You are welcome aboard to visit Russian Territory without a visa!

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