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“Fantasy. We have a sailboat of astonishing beauty when it unfolds its sails, a unique sight. How can you not admire it?” – said Delfi on Friday evening, a young family with two children came to the center of Klaipeda from the sleeping areas especially for this event.
“Of all the quarantines and fears, such a sight is a refreshment to the heart and soul,” said the elderly couple who were nearby.
A platoon of youths withdrew their phones and began to commemorate the sailing ceremony.
In total, the Meridian has 14 sails with a total area of almost 700 square meters. meters.
Meridian, which has become a historic open-air maritime heritage exhibition, is reveling in its sails for the eighth summer in a row.
On this occasion, the sails sewn last year are hoisted, which are special because they repeat the historical map of the Baltic Sea region from 1751, the original of which hangs in the “Meridiano” cabin company.
This year for Meridian is twice a jubilee: it is exactly 50 years since this sailboat was moored on the embankment of the Dangė River in July 1971, and on October 1, the Meridiano restaurant will celebrate its anniversary and will continue to receive guests.
It is true that the history of Meridian before its appearance in Klaipeda is quite colorful: 60 years ago, in 1961, Meridian made the most distant and perhaps most impressive sea voyage, which included exotic West Africa and, from the perspective of the Soviet times, behind the Iron Curtain of former Great Britain.
It is known from various sources that in 1948-1955. The Meridian training sailboat of the then Klaipeda Maritime School was mainly sailing in the Baltic Sea. Later, a platoon of Baltic training ships was established in Riga, which also included Meridian and several other training barges based in the Baltic Sea ports: Tropikas, Mendeleev, Kropotkin-.
The Meridianas sailboat welcomes the Jubilee season of mooring in Klaipėda, which has been partially renovated. Last fall, this sailboat, which had become a symbol of Klaipeda, had returned to the pier for repairs for several weeks, where it was cleaned, repaired, painted and other works were carried out, as well as the obligation to carry out periodically. The technical inspections of the dock were carried out. Several different repairs were also carried out while the ship was standing at the berth.
The largest displays at the Meridian maritime expo are also worn out – sails. Several sets of them have already been used in eight seasons.
Students from the Lithuanian Higher Maritime School traditionally participated in the candle-raising ceremony that took place on Friday evening. Of course, the original purpose of the Meridian was a training sailboat. During the 20 years from 1948 to 1968, many famous sailors and captains gained experience on the high seas while sailing on this sailboat. This association continues to this day.
By the way, another Meridian sailing ceremony is planned to be organized in the summer, which will be dedicated to “Klaipeda – European Capital of Youth-2021”. For the first time, the young people of the port city took this title not only to Lithuania, but also to northern Europe, although an initiative of this type of youth capitals began more than a decade ago. In total, the European Capital of Youth program includes about 70 events, debates, initiatives and actions that will take place throughout this year.
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