“I Love Poland” programme launched

The “I Love Poland” programme, designed to promote Poland worldwide, was launched in Szczecin (north-west Poland) on Saturday. As part of the program, a yacht, “I Love Poland”, was bought by the Polish National Foundation to take part in prestigious regattas.

As part of the project, the Polish National Foundation also plans to create a Polish ocean regatta sailing school.

“We want the Polish banner to be noticed and appreciated in regatta sailing. This is a long-term challenge. We have been investing in the skills and experience necessary to win great races and break world records. To achieve this goal, we need a top-class yacht. And ‘I Love Poland’ surely is such a vessel,” the foundation's president, Filip Redesiński, said during the inauguration of the programme.

“I believe that we will build a team which will be able to compete against the best,” he added.

The VO 70 yacht, built in the US in 2011, was bought by the foundation for nearly EUR 900,000.

As part of the promotion campaign, the yacht will first sail to Plymouth, where its crew will take part in observances marking Poland's independence centenary. In January, the yacht will reach Madeira, and in February, in Miami, it will meet with Dar Młodzieży (Gift of the Youth), a Polish sail-training ship, promoting Poland during its Independence Cruise.

Also next year, the yacht is planned to take part in a few prestigious regattas, including the Caribbean 600 Race, the Rolex Fastnet Race and the Rolex Sydney Hobart.