"I Love Poland" yacht takes part in regatta around Sicily

The "I Love Poland" yacht, owned by the Polish National Foundation (PFN), is taking part in the 42 Rolex Middle Sea Race regatta around Sicily, which starts from Malta on Saturday, as part of a programme to promote Poland worldwide.

"I Love Poland" will compete alongside 50 other sailing vessels and is of three Volvo Open 70 yachts taking part in a 600-nautical mile race, Temistokles Brodowski from the Polish National Foundation said.

The Polish crew includes graduates of the training courses for young sailors initiated by the PFN.

The "I Love Poland" programme, designed to promote Poland worldwide, was launched in Szczecin, north-west Poland, in October 2018. As part of the campaign, the VO 70 yacht, built in the US in 2011, was bought by the foundation for nearly EUR 900,000 to take part in prestigious international regattas. The PFN also created a Polish ocean regatta sailing school.

"The main goals of the "I Love Poland" programme, apart from promoting our country, is to train sailing enthusiasts of the young generation, who by participating in cruises and regattas become Polish ambassadors in the world," the President of the PFN Marcin Zarzecki said.

Before the pandemic, the "I Love Poland" team took second place in its class in the Caribbean 600 Race in February 2020 and won St. Maarten Heineken Regatta in March 2020. The Rolex Middle Sea Race around is the first regatta for the Polish yacht crew after the lockdown.