From September 16th to 19th, 2021, the water area of the Neva Bay in Saint-Petersbug became the main center of attraction for the country’s strongest yachtsmen.
The only stage of the National Sailing League 2021 was held here, where vouchers for the Sailing Champions League 2022 were raffled off, as well as a prize fund of 1 million rubles!
About two dozen teams, among which there were many strong teams, including Tenzor Team, ArtTube RUS 1, ZIDart Sailing Team, CALIPSO, AKHMAT, “Sailing Academy of the Yacht Club of St. Petersburg”, “Lord of the Sail Asia”, OST Legal Sailing and many others, met at the hospitable base of the Yacht Club of St. Petersburg to compete for the title of the best team in the country.
The competition program included four days. The first day was devoted to practice race, and the next three days were held in a scoring racing format. The teams raced on MX700 yachts with crew transfers and direct judging on the water.
Due to the coincidence of the dates of the NPL with the final of the Vedomosti business regatta in Turkey, where the Tenzor Team’s crew of Andrey Pushkin’s was performed, the team arrived in St. Petersburg with the following staff: Viktor Seryozhkin (helmsman), Alexander Grishunin, Nikita Ushkov and Mikhail Yatsun. All crew members have raced for Tenzor Team more than once, so they interacted well together from the first race.
All three racing days were eventful, and we were very lucky with the weather. Following the results of the first day of competition, Tenzor Team took the lead in the classification and was able to hold it until the victorious final, winning 9 races out of 16. Everything was on the way to victory: an acute struggle with strong rivals, controversial refereeing and fines, and on the final day the hole in the boat made me seriously worry about the result. It was not easy to show a high level of skill and keep cool, but the Tenzor Team crew coped, confidently leading the overall standings.
The second place was taken by the Calipso team, and the ArtTube RUS1 team closed the top-3 winners.
Viktor Seryozhkin: “For each of us and for the whole team, it was a very important race and an important victory! Therefore, first of all I want to thank Andrey Pushkin and Tenzor Consulting Group for their trust and the opportunity to take part in the NPL 2021 for Tenzor Team. The regatta was very intense, every day was held in a sharp struggle with rivals, we also experienced pressure and difficulties with judging, which, in my opinion, was very controversial and not always biased. But the main thing is that we coped and overcame all emotions. The guys supported me and our team spirit and cohesion could not be broken. In one race today, on the final day of the competition, we got a big hole in the boat and it was not possible to continue, there was a risk of actually drowning the boat. We decided to withdraw from the race. Fortunately, the judges followed the rules and restored the result to us, so that after three days we never lost the lead in the classification and won the regatta with a margin of 5 points, which, of course, is very nice, because the opponents were very worthy and strong. For me, this victory is of particular importance, because it was the first time I performed in the NPL as a helmsman. It was a big responsibility, a serious challenge. The team and me are happy for such a high result! The weather conditions were excellent – a working wind that blew from one direction, but due to the fact that the distance was close to the shore, the wind gusts were with great changes. The winds were increasing every day, from 15 to 25 knots. The sun was shining, and the main thing was that there was no rain. The water area is good, we already raced here last year on the stage of the 2020 NPL Premier Division, and the St. Petersburg Yacht Club also gave an excellent welcome to the participants. Thanks to the competitors and organizers for an excellent regatta!”.
Results: https://nationalsailingleague.com/content/stages/view?id=89