russian yachting federation

How to Go from Zero to Hero in One of the Toughest Fleets in the World

December 21, 2015

Vladimir Prosikhin’s Team Nika won both the RC44 2015 World Championships and the season tour, a feat that has never been accomplished by any other boat. One season ago, Team Nika was struggling mid-fleet. Now Prosikhin is the 2015 Russian Sailor of the Year by Yacht Russia magazine and the Russian Yachting Federation. Here’s how he did it.

Vladimir Prosikhin’s Team Nika became the first RC44 boat in the history of the fleet to win both the season title and the World Championships in the same year when he sealed the deal this past October at the Virgin Gorda Cup. Prosikhin is relatively new to premiere one design racing having only joined the fleet five years ago and struggled mid-fleet despite strengthening his crew and learning the challenges of competing in such a competitive grand prix fleet. Now, as the World Champion, he says the secret to this season’s success is in his new Quantum sails and their speed experts.

The RC44 was designed in Slovenia by five-time America’s Cup winner Russell Coutts and naval architect Andrej Justin. The fleet is unique in that all the boats travel together from race to race, on a 40-foot flat rack organized by the class association. This simplifies logistics for a series that moves from Sweden to Malta to the BVIs as well as keeps the costs down for the owners.

The idea was to make a complete boat package so that it was easy for people to join the fleet. When Prosikhin made the decision to join in 2005, he bought one of the original 2007-built boats. “I gave them a call and they sold me a boat with a full crew. It took two weeks after making the decision to buy the boat that I went to the first regatta.”

Competition in the RC44 fleet is fierce. “At least six or seven boats can win every regatta,” says Prosikhin. “When you have a boat that’s strong and doesn’t break, speed is crucial. It’s a huge advantage. This is what we do have at the moment.”

The Fine Tuning

Despite teams having almost exclusively North Sails inventories, Quantum-powered teams have had great success in the RC44 class fleet racing, including high ranking Aqua and Valentin Zavadnikov’s Synergy , which has also won the match racing season title multiple times. Their performance gave the class confidence to use Quantum Sails for the class heavy weather and match racing spinnaker which was designed by Quantum's Brett Jones.

Prosikhin was unhappy with Team Nika’s performance and overall standings. Wanting a change, he made the decision to move from North Sails to Quantum, picking up Quantum sail designer Brett Jones as head coach. Jones coached Team Aqua for several years winning a number of season and world titles. Now with a full Quantum setup and a sail designer as coach, Team Nika is in a class by itself.

The RC44 may be a one-design class, but Prosikhin says the fine-tuning of the sails is where you find the speed, and that is in large part thanks to Jones, a sentiment that is echoed by the Team Nika crew. Reinforcing Quantum’s goal to not only have the best sails, but also the best support behind them.

“The experience of working with the designer is the number priority, and the number one thing that counted toward our success,” says mainsail trimmer Tomaz Copi.

Pit crew member Sean Clarkson says at this point, the Team Nika could write the book on how to sail the RC44 with Quantum sails based on how much development was done, and that’s where they found their speed. “The baseline of sails for the 44 class were pretty good. It was more about getting the sails to fit our style of sailing, our mast, the luff curves and the set up we have, and just slowly developing the sails.”

Dean Barker was originally signed on to serve as tactician this season, but scheduling conflicts resulted in Team Nika sailing with three different tacticians over the five regattas, which is unheard of at this level of sailing. Ed Baird sailed the final regatta in Virgin Gorda. Not to diminish the contribution of the tactician or the challenge of constantly changing the guy in the position, but Prosikhin says when you have boat speed, tactics are easy.

Baird agrees. “The sails are great quality, but it’s not just that. There’s a network of support around and behind the product that helps to not only set the boat up correctly and get the sails looking good on the rig, but also working with the team on coordinating the sail trim and boat handling to make us the strongest on the water as possible,” says Baird.

“We were definitely the fastest boat there by a lot, especially at the World Championships, no one could touch us,” Clarkson adds.

A Tiebreaker

The season standings were decided in the last seconds of the final race in Virgin Gorda. Heading into the final race, Prosikhin’s close friend and rival Vladimir Liubomirov’s Bronenosec Sailing Team needed only to finish ahead of Team Nika with one boat finishing between them. Instead, they ended up tied on the leaderboard, and Team Nika winning in the tiebreaker to win the season.

“In a fleet of very strong one design boats, 0.5% difference in speed in most cases is everything,” says Prosikhin.

Prosikhin was recently named 2015 Russian Sailor of the Year by Yacht Russia magazine and the Russian Yachting Federation and he’s also been nominated for Sailor of the Year in Monaco, too.

The 2016 season looks bright for Team Nika . Baird has signed on and Jones will be back as head coach, along with most if not all of the crew. “Now we’re the target; everyone wants to beat us,” Prosikhin laughs. It’s not a bad position to be in.

The Discussion

This website uses cookies and collects usage statistics. Privacy Policy

Us, too. We pour that passion into each of our newsletters to help you enjoy sailing even more.

OLYMPICS: What happened to Russian dominance?

Published on May 1st, 2013 by Editor -->

Georgiy Shaiduko, senior vice president of the Russian Yachting Federation, member of the Executive Committee of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) and silver medalist in the Soling at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, discusses what happened to the Russian Olympic program:

The St. Petersburg Yacht Club, which will celebrate its 150th anniversary next year, was Europe’s first. Back in Soviet times, we were leaders of the Olympic sailing movement. Team USSR won seven gold and 28 silver medals, but the collapse of the Soviet Union and the difficult 1990s dealt a serious blow to sailing as a sport. Virtually the entire infrastructure was destroyed and many talented sportsmen emigrated.

But the past five years have seen a revival of sailing as a sport in Russia. Last year, we pushed through legislative amendments that have opened our territorial waters to yachtsmen from all over the world. They had been closed since 1939, on the orders of Lavrentiy Beriya [the Soviet chief of the secret police under Stalin]. Further liberalization of our waterways is in progress, which will allow us to host major racing regattas, develop coastal and inshore water tourism and bring big benefits to our economy.

Competition that we could only dream about has already started to emerge among sportsmen. Three hundred people, mainly juniors, competed in the most recent Russian championship. It’s on the young people that we will be betting for the next Olympics. We have completely changed the training process, beginning this year, by inviting a foreign coach – the Greek Olympic champion Sofia Bekatorou. We hope this will bear fruit.

In my opinion, at Rio we stand a chance in the following disciplines: Laser, Laser Radial, windsurf, 470 and catamaran. Let’s hope we are successful in at least one of the classes. One or two medals at Rio would be considered a success, but, at the Olympics after that, we will certainly count on winning some more. At the 2020 Olympics we will see Russia’s sailing at its best.

Source: Russia Beyond The Headlines

Tags: olympics , Russia

Related Posts

Olympics rules for Russia, Belarus →

IOC suspends Russian Olympic Committee →

IOC ban continues for Russia and Belarus →

Tokyo 2020: One year out… →

© 2024 Scuttlebutt Sailing News. Inbox Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. made by VSSL Agency .

• Privacy Statement
• Advertise With Us

Get Your Sailing News Fix!

Your download by email.

• Your Name...
• Your Email... *
• Comments This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

• Bahasa Indonesia
• Slovenščina
• Science & Tech
• Russian Kitchen

Russian sailing team eyes success at 2020 Olympics

Georgy Shaiduko: "I might say that sailing is becoming increasingly popular in our country". Source: AP

Georgiy Shaiduko, senior vice president of the Russian Yachting Federation, member of the Executive Committee of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) and silver medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, tells RBTH in an exclusive interview about the state of sailing as a sport in Russia, the chances for Russian Olympians at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and development of the sport in Eastern countries.

“I’ve been sailing for around 40 years,” says Georgy Shaiduko, senior vice president of the Russian Yachting Federation.

Russian crew sails around the world on a catamaran

In pictures: Russian sailing vessel Sedov reached Vladivostok

“I’ve noticed some progress in our sport’s development recently. I might say that sailing is becoming increasingly popular in our country: Sailing apparel is becoming fashionable, and more and more Russians are choosing to spend their holidays under a sail, either abroad or in Russia," he said.

"A huge number of projects not limited to just the Olympics have sprung up – children’s sport, tourism, offshore races, business regattas… We are also witnessing development of sailing in Russia’s regions,” Shaiduko added.


RBTH: Does Russian sailing have glorious traditions?

Georgiy Shaiduko: Russia has something to be proud of: The St. Petersburg yacht club , which will celebrate its 150 th anniversary next year, was Europe’s first. Back in Soviet times , we were leaders of the Olympic sailing movement.

Team USSR won seven gold and 28 silver medals, but the collapse of the Soviet Union and the difficult 1990s dealt a serious blow to sailing as a sport. Virtually the entire infrastructure was destroyed and many talented sportsmen emigrated.

RBTH: Is this trend still going on?

G.S.: The past five years have seen a revival of sailing as a sport in Russia. Last year, we pushed through legislative amendments that have opened our territorial waters to yachtsmen from all over the world. They had been closed since 1939, on the orders of Lavrentiy Beriya [the Soviet chief of the secret police under Stalin].

Further liberalization of our waterways is in progress, which will allow us to host major racing regattas, develop coastal and inshore water tourism and bring big benefits to our economy. Russia has a lot of promising water routes, such as those from St. Petersburg to Moscow , around Scandinavia, the Volga River, the Black Sea basin, the Caspian Sea and Vladivostok .

RBTH: What is your assessment of Team Russia’s performance in London? Our team did not win a single medal. 


G.S.: I’ll admit that we did a poor job. The team demonstrated its average level. We were close to a single Olympic medal for Ekaterina Skudina’s crew in the women’s match race, but we were out of luck. We aren’t going to give up though.

Competition that we could only dream about has already started to emerge among sportsmen. Three hundred people, mainly juniors, competed in the most recent Russian championship. It’s on the young people that we will be betting for the next Olympics.

RBTH: What can we expect from those juniors at Rio de Janeiro 2016?

G.S.: We have completely changed the training process, beginning this year, by inviting a foreign coach – the Greek Olympic champion Sofia Bekatorou. We hope this will bear fruit.

In my opinion, at Rio we stand a chance in the following disciplines: laser, radial laser, windsurf, 470 and catamaran. Let’s hope we are successful in at least one of the classes. One or two medals at Rio would be considered a success, but, at the Olympics after that, we will certainly count on winning some more. At the 2020 Olympics we will see Russia’s sailing at its best.

RBTH: The Australians had a huge advantage at the 2012 Olympics in London. How would you explain this phenomenon?

G.S.: The Australians, British and New Zealanders are island people. Communicating with the sea and sails is in their DNA. This is an entire culture passed down from generation to generation. Half of those countries’ populations are interested in sailing.

RBTH: Does sailing as a sport receive state support?

G.S.: We receive some support – but clearly not enough. Children’s sport has been shifted on to the shoulders of regional children’s sports schools and their parents. There are also many questions about the yacht club situation, children’s sports sections, building the infrastructure and coaches’ low salaries. Unfortunately, sailing sport is assessed on the basis of the number of Olympic medals rather than on the impact we could have as a sport.

RBTH: Is sailing considered an elite sport? Is that why it is developing so well in oil-rich Eastern countries?

G.S.: Sailing is called a royal sport. Many royals have taken part in regattas: the royal families of Greece, Spain, Denmark, the U.A.E. [United Arab Emirates]… Many affluent people too – millionaires, billionaires.

Yet, despite being elite, this sport requires serious physical training. It’s also necessary to know a lot of rules and to be able to calculate the power of the wind. Many people don’t even understand how anything can move under the power of wind, sail, and human capabilities. People often have to fight for the survival of their crews. Of course, sailing is very romantic, but it is also very dangerous.

Modern yachts can develop speeds of up to 56 miles per hour. In the East, this sport has been developing very rapidly. They have started seeing sailing as an image thing. Plus, they have perfect climate conditions: warm sea and wind.

RBTH: So yachts can sail at speeds comparable to cars?

G.S.: Yes, of course. High-speed trimarans can now sail around the world in 53 days. This year, a Frenchman sailed around the world alone in a monohull yacht in 79 days. Can you imagine that?

RBTH: Aren’t Russians looking for such adventures?

G.S.: Russia is not standing still as far as record setting is concerned. Last year, our guys crossed the Bering Strait on a kite, making the Guinness Book of Records. This year, Anatoly Kulik from Novosibirsk completed an around-the-world trip on an inflatable trimaran. He was even attacked by sharks, but he completed his adventure heroically. Last year, the yacht Scorpius sailed around the Antarctic and the Arctic during a single navigation, rising as high as the 74 th parallel in the process.

All rights reserved by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

to our newsletter!

Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox

This website uses cookies. Click here to find out more.

We’re sorry, this site is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please try again in a few moments. Exception: request blocked

• Yachting World
• Digital Edition

Russian sailors suspended from international sailing competition

• March 1, 2022

World Sailing suspends sailors and officials from Russia and Belarus as part of widespread sporting sanctions

Following worldwide condemnation of Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine, and ensuing economic and sporting sanctions, sailing’s organising body,  World Sailing , today issued the following statement:

“Today World Sailing joined the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and global sports organisations in taking the decision to suspend participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in World Sailing owned and sanctioned competitions and events until further notice.

“By implementing these measures, World Sailing is supporting a united and coordinated approach within the global sports movement.

“This decision is in line with the IOC Executive Board’s recommendation, aimed at preserving the integrity of competitions and ensuring the safety of all participants, and has been unanimously agreed by the World Sailing Executive Board.

Laser sailor Sergey Komissarov of the Russian Olympic Committee at Tokyo 2020. © Sailing Energy / World Sailing

“We are now strongly urging our Member National Authorities, Class Associations, affiliated bodies, and all event organisers to implement the measure to suspend the participation of Russian or Belarusian athletes and officials in their respective events and competitions.

“Where this is not possible, due to short time frames, for organisational, or legal reasons, World Sailing, in line with the IOC Executive Board recommendation, is advising event organisers do everything in their power to ensure that Russian or Belarusian athletes (be it as individuals or teams), and officials participate neutrally, without national symbols, colours, flags or anthems.

“Both on and off the water, our sport is united by the values of equality, inclusion, respect and fairness.

“We are now asking our sailing family to come together as a sporting force for good by working with us at this incredibly difficult time.”

Russian Maxi yachts

This is a stronger statement than World Sailing issued yesterday, in which the organisation limited its response to: “There are no World Sailing organised regattas planned to be held in Russia or Belarus in 2022, and the Executive Board are supporting the relocation of training and education events in Russia.”

However, it remains to be seen what ‘participate neutrally’ may mean in practice given the international nature of competitive sailing.

Among the most high profile Russian racing teams is Skorpios , the ClubSwan 125 owned by Dmitry Rybolovlev. However, Skorpios carries a Monaco sail number and, like many major offshore campaigns, races with a highly international crew, including a Spanish skipper. Skorpios is currently in the Caribbean, having taken monohull line honours in the RORC Caribbean 600 . 

Its recent rival, the 100ft Comanche , is rumoured to now have Russian ownership, but is registered in the Cayman Islands and also has an international crew, with an Australian skipper. Comanche is among the early entries listed for next month’s Les Voiles de St Barth regatta.

• Find a Lawyer
• Ask a Lawyer
• Research the Law
• Law Schools
• Laws & Regs
• Newsletters
• Justia Connect
• Pro Membership
• Basic Membership
• Justia Lawyer Directory
• Platinum Placements
• Gold Placements
• Justia Elevate
• Justia Amplify
• PPC Management
• Google Business Profile
• Social Media
• Justia Onward Blog

Available Case Documents

The following documents for this case are available for you to view or download:

Use the links below to access additional information about this case on the US Court's PACER system. A subscription to PACER is required.

Access this case on the District Of Columbia District Court's Electronic Court Filings (ECF) System

• Search for Party Aliases
• Associated Cases
• Case File Location
• Case Summary
• Docket Report
• History/Documents
• Related Transactions
• Check Status

Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.

Why Is My Information Online?

Subscribe to Justia's Free Newsletters featuring summaries of federal and state court opinions .

• Bankruptcy Lawyers
• Business Lawyers
• Criminal Lawyers
• Employment Lawyers
• Estate Planning Lawyers
• Family Lawyers
• Personal Injury Lawyers
• Estate Planning
• Personal Injury
• Business Formation
• Business Operations
• Intellectual Property
• International Trade
• Real Estate
• Financial Aid
• Course Outlines
• Law Journals
• US Constitution
• Regulations
• Supreme Court
• Circuit Courts
• District Courts
• Dockets & Filings
• State Constitutions
• State Codes
• State Case Law
• Legal Blogs
• Business Forms
• Product Recalls
• Justia Connect Membership
• Justia Premium Placements
• Justia Elevate (SEO, Websites)
• Justia Amplify (PPC, GBP)
• Testimonials

Russian Yachting Federation (Q4127471)

Wikibooks (0 entries)

Wikinews (0 entries), wikiquote (0 entries), wikisource (0 entries), wikiversity (0 entries), wikivoyage (0 entries), wiktionary (0 entries), multilingual sites (0 entries).

Navigation menu

• Boats for Sale
• Russian Federation

New and used boats for sale in Russian Federation

Find your dream on TheYachtMarket today. We have brokers and sellers in Russian Federation at great prices.

Sign up to our newsletter

By submitting this form, you agree to our Privacy & Cookie Policy

Change units of measure

This feature requires cookies to be enabled on your browser.

Show price in:

Show lengths, beam and draft in:

Show displacement or weight in:

Show capacity or volume in:

Show speed in:

Show distance in:

More details emerge about Vladimir Putin’s secret sons with Russian gymnast Alina Kabaeva

Incredible details have been unearthed concerning Vladimir Putin’s two children with a Russian gymnast he was involved years after she claimed gold.

Moment wife told she was raped ‘200 times’

Superyacht victims didn’t drown

‘200 times’: Sick depravity of rapist husband

A newly released investigative report has brought to light new details surrounding the lives of Ivan Putin and Vladimir Putin Jr., the alleged sons of the Russian President and Alina Kabaeva, a renowned gymnast and rumoured longtime love interest.

Putin, 71, had two daughters from his first marriage to Lyudmila Putina before they divorced in 2013.

The Kremlin has denied any relationship between Putin and Kabaeva, 41, for years. However, media speculation linking the two romantically has persisted for more than a decade.

The investigation, first published by the Dossier Center before being recirculated by The Moscow Times , claims that Putin and Kabaeva began their relationship as early as 2008, roughly four years after she claimed gold at the Athens Olympics.

The report claims to offer a rare glimpse into Putin’s personal life, which has remained a mystery for years.

In 2015, the couple allegedly welcomed their first son, Ivan, at the Sant’Anna maternity clinic in Lugano, Switzerland. Four years later, in 2019, their second son, Vladimir Putin Jr, was reportedly born in Moscow.

The report cites sources close to the president, stating that the Russian president himself made the decisions about where each child’s birth would take place.

“When he was born, Vladimir Putin was so happy that he shouted: ‘Hurray! Finally! A boy!’” one of the sources published in Russian media claims.

The two boys are said to live secluded lives in their father’s mansion located in Valdai National Park, a vast and remote estate northwest of Moscow.

According to the Dossier Center, their lives are filled with the presence of nannies, governesses, and sports coaches.

The report claims that Ivan and Vladimir Jr. rarely interact with children their own age, spending most of their time alone or with adults appointed by Putin to oversee their development.

The investigation details how the children only see their parents late at night and only meet their peers during large celebratory gatherings.

Their lives, while opulent, appear remarkably insulated from the outside world, according to the report.

The family reportedly spends a lot of their time at Putin’s residence near Sochi. During the summer, they embark on long yacht trips within the “safe waters” of Russia.

Putin’s residences in Crimea are also regular holiday spots for the family.

Ivan and Vladimir Jr. are reportedly taught by governesses and teachers recruited from the website English Nanny.

One recent job posting for an English teacher promised a generous salary of €7,700 (A$12,500 per month), with paid accommodation and a five-day workweek.

However, the job came with strict conditions. Leaving the family’s residence is strictly prohibited, and candidates must pass numerous medical exams before getting the nod.

Aside from English lessons, the boys also reportedly receive music classes and German language instruction from a Bosnian teacher, Sofija Božić, who has worked with the family since 2017.

The investigation noted that teachers and coaches rarely interact with the family directly and instead make contact through numerous assistants.

Both boys are said to have an extensive Lego collection and use several iPads for games and online lessons.

Russian leader’s ‘official’ children

Putin has two officially acknowledged children – Maria, 37, and Katerina, 35, both from first wife Lyudmila Ocheretnaya.

Dr Maria Vorontsova, a year younger than Kabaeva, was born when the Russian president was a KGB spy in Germany.

She is an expert in rare genetic diseases in children and works as a lead researcher at the National Medical Research Centre for Endocrinology of the Ministry of Health of Russia.

Meanwhile Katerina is deputy director of the Institute for Mathematical Research of Complex Systems at Moscow State University.

She is a former high-kicking ‘rock’n’roll’ dancer.

Both daughters have been sanctioned by the West – unlike Kabaeva, and Mr Putin’s unacknowledged “love child” Luiza Rozova, 19.

Luiza is the daughter of cleaner-turned-multi-millionaire Svetlana Krivonogikh, 45, now part-owner of a major Russian bank, one of the country’s wealthiest women with an estimated $130 million financial and property fortune.

Many Russians saw Kabaeva as the reason for the break-up of Putin’s marriage to former air stewardess Lyudmila, 63, in 2014.

Mr Putin previously said: “I have a private life in which I do not permit interference. It must be respected.”

More Coverage

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko previously hinted that Putin’s divorce had come about because Kabaeva had “put pressure on the President”.

Meanwhile, Kabaeva is on record as saying she had met a man who “I love very much”, gushing: “Sometimes you feel so happy that you even feel scared.”

Kabaeva has kept a low profile throughout the Ukraine war – but her media company has been vocal in cheerleading for the Russian President.

A woman whose husband enlisted dozens of strangers to rape her while she was drugged has given heartbreaking testimony at trial.

Harrowing details have been revealed about the final moments of the Bayesian superyacht victims and the troubling way they perished.

A French man stands accused of recruiting dozens of strangers to rape his drugged wife. Now more details about his alleged sick secret life have beeen revealed.