The Russian sailing ship Pallada is to call at Alaska’s Sitka port on July 28-30 during an international trans-Pacific expedition, a spokesperson for the shipowner, the Far Eastern State Technical Fishing University, said on Tuesday.
Visitors will be able to inspect the ship, to watch the documentary “The Second Discovery of Alaska” and see an exhibition dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Yury Gagarin’s space flight and the 270th anniversary of discovering Russian America.
On July 30, school and university students as well as representatives of local youth organizations will visit the ship. Cadets and representatives of Sitka youth organizations will hold a concert to end the visit.
Sitka will be the Pallada’s second port of call during a four-month Pacific expedition. The ship carrying cadets from the Primorye and Kamchatka territories sailed from Vladivostok on July 1. The Pallada is to call at ports in the United States, Canada and Japan.
While in Sitka, the Pallada’s crew and cadets are to see the local tourist attractions, including Saint Michael’s Cathedral, built in 1848, where the miracle-making Sitka Icon of the Mother of God is kept.
Innocent Veniaminov (1797-1879), the first Bishop of Alaska, was eventually promoted to Metropolitan and canonized in 1977. The city runs the Veniaminov Museum where Saint Innocent once lived.
Kodiak was the first U.S. port visited by the Pallada on July 21-23.
In its 22-year history, the Pallada has sailed for 13 years, called at 101 ports in 35 countries and trained 12,000 cadets, midshipmen and students from all over Russia. Guinness World Records lists the Pallada as the fastest sailing ship in the world. It can reach speeds in excess of 18 knots.