«Rotary Sails»: 12th International Black Sea Regatta starts in Mykolaiv

Darina Melnychuk
•
16:15, 14 September, 2025

The 12th regatta starts in Mykolaiv «Rotary Sails». Photo: NikVesti

On Sunday, 14 September, the International Black Sea Regatta starts in Mykolaiv «Rotary Sails 2025». For the twelfth year in a row, the city has been gathering yachtsmen competing for the Rotary Cup.

This was reported by the correspondent of NikVesti.

The competition traditionally combines sport and charity: all participants' contributions are donated to children's sailing schools in Mykolaiv to support young athletes.

Artem Vashchylenko, President of the «Rotary Club of Mykolaiv», reminded that the tradition of holding the regatta dates back to 2014. According to him, the main idea of the event is to showcase Mykolaiv as a sailing centre and support the development of children's sailing schools.

«The City Day is an additional occasion, as this is the 12th regatta, and this tradition has been started since 2014. The idea is to showcase Mykolaiv as a sailing centre. The colleagues who are here, the Rotarians, represent almost all regions of Ukraine. Previously, there were a significant number of international guests at the competition, but now the security situation prevents them from coming to us. This regatta is also charitable: the athletes make charitable contributions, and we donate all these funds to the needs of children's sailing schools in Mykolaiv,» says Artem Vashchylenko.

He said that yesterday the children's races started, and today is the second day of the regatta — the cruising yacht races and the awarding of the young winners. According to him, this year's competition is taking place in limited conditions due to the war, with fewer yachts able to take to the water.

«Yesterday, together with the mayor, we launched the first day of the sailing race «Rotary Sails». It was a children's stage: 56 yachts took to the water, and today 12 winners will receive prizes from the Rotary Club as part of the «Rotary Sails», as well as prizes in the Mayor's Cup. Today is the second day of the competition, the cruising yacht race for the Rotary Transitional Cup. The war has made its own adjustments to sailing, as there are restrictions on small craft. That is why this year 15-17 yachts will be entered. Many vessels cannot go out on the water. For example, those in the Inhul water area cannot get here because the passage under the bridges is blocked,» said Artem Vashchylenko.

The 12th Rotary Sails Regatta starts in Mykolaiv. Photo: NikVesti

The captain of the yacht «Dragon» Svitlana Harnaha noted that this year's regatta «Rotary Sails» was the first since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. In 2022-2024, the competition was not held due to the security situation, but in 2025, we managed to resume the tradition.

«We are the women's crew of the yacht «Dragon», the crew of the Mykolaiv Yacht Club. Some of us have been training for a long time, others have joined quite recently, but we are all united by our love of sailing. Many of us have children who go sailing, and some of us have been doing it since childhood. That is why we always support the events of the Mykolaiv Regional Yacht Club, and this regatta is special for us because it is charitable,» said Svitlana Harnaha.