The 20th anniversary of the successful completion of Cap. Georgi Georgiev’s sail around the world onboard the Cor Caroli yacht is marked on Dec. 20. Captain Georgiev is the first Bulgarian to complete a solo sail around the world. Today the Cor Caroli Foundation in Varna, named after the emblematic yacht, presents its annual Golden Globe Awards to the best sailor and yachtsman during the year. Today the award goes to Dr. Vassil Kurtev from Kavarna for his sail around the world. He is a dentist, but has become a big name in Bulgarian sailing thanks to his skills as yacht builder and sailor. On August 5, 2015, Dr. Kurtev sailed from Kavarna as the skipper of the Odessos Yacht in his trip around the world.

Almost two years later - on May 19, 2017, he returned to Kavarna. It took Odessos 645 days to sail some 26,000 nautical miles and do a full circle around the Earth. And a curious detail - on January 22, 2017, in the waters of the Bay of Bengal, Dr. Vassil Kurtev marked his 80th birthday alone. He is a fiery follower of Cap. Georgi Georgiev - the seafarer, whom Dr. Mariana Krasteva, head of the Naval Museum in Varna, told us more about:

“Cap. Georgi Georgiev is a legend in Bulgarian sailing and is a very significant person in Bulgarian shipping. His name should be popular among young people who love freedom and would become sailors, too. Cap. Georgiev faced alone all the difficulties and tribulations related to seafaring. He was the first Bulgarian to have completed a sail around the world onboard a yacht. In December 1976, he departed from Havana and completed his voyage on December 20, 1977 again in the port of Havana. His sailing is calculated on the basis on days spent in sea – a total of 202. For this sail he had been preparing for his entire life. As a young man he became involved in sailing. He is a native of Kardzhali, but his whole conscious life passed by the sea. Georgi Georgiev was the sailor, chosen to present Bulgaria at the OSTAR international sailing competition - a very prestigious single-handed transatlantic regatta, which starts from Great Britain and finishes in Plymouth, USA. This was the first big international participation of Bulgarian sailors and results were very good. That is how Georgi Georgiev confidently started his journey around the world. The entire Bulgarian maritime community followed closely his sail. During the voyage, he had difficult moments like his yacht needing repairs, getting stuck in shallow waters and others but he overcame them. His success is a great achievement for Bulgarian sailing and the recognition he received is quite deserved. An annual award for the best sailing achievement is named after the "Cor Caroli" yacht."

These days the Cor Coroli Yacht is on display at the Naval Museum in Varna. The museum also owns the Guinness Book of Records, which includes the achievement of the Bulgarian adventurer as the fastest sail around the world onboard monohull yacht. This record is another reminder that Captain Georgi Georgiev is part of history of the most glorious sailors in the world.

English: Alexander Markov