Round the World

Ruben Norikovich Bayatyan is quietly honoring the 300th anniversary of the Russian fleet by building a boat and sailing around the world... via Cleveland.

Bayatyan and his crew of four set out from St. Petersburg in their 49 foot, steel-hulled sailing ship, Aira-II on June 22 (having left the ship’s home port of Volgograd on May 9).

After a stop in England for equipping with donated sails and navigation equipment, Aira-II sailed across the Atlantic. On August 31, ship and crew arrived at St. George Harbor in Bermuda. At press time, Aira-II was docked in Bermuda waiting out hurricane Edouard.

What makes this trip unusual is that Bayatyan’s route around the world goes right through the heartland of the US. After arriving in New York (docking at the Intrepid Museum), Aira-II will motor up the Hudson river, through the Erie Canal, across the Great Lakes, through the Illinois Waterway and along the Mississippi, with stops along the way in Cleveland, Chicago, Memphis and New Orleans.

Bayatyan’s first voyage across the Atlantic, aboard his self-made Aira in 1992, was  harrowing. The ship’s mast broke in the Mediterranean, was replaced, then the engine went, and the crew crossed the ocean with three sails and no engine. In all, it took 102 days to sail from Volgograd (Bayatyan hails from Volzhsky) to its sister-city of Cleveland.

After traveling through the US, Aira-II will sail on through the Panama Canal, then cross the Pacific and transit the Suez Canal, sailing through the Sea of Azov and up the Volga, home to Volgograd.

The boat was built and equipped with the sponsorship of the Volgograd Regional Administration, and through the sponsorship of a charitable fund established in the US. For more information on the voyage or the fund, contact David Cook at 216-333-0031.