HSE-MSU Sailing Regatta Set to Reach International Level

The first sailing regatta between HSE and Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) was held in the Strogino water meadows and served as the beginning of a new tradition for student club competitions. Students from the two universities’ teams agreed to form a single team to participate in next year’s world sailing championship, which can be considered the main outcome of the regatta. And for those who are more interested in numbers, the teams were tied for most of the day, but it was MSU that won the five races with a score of 3:2.

The weather left spectators and participants much to be desired. Whereas the competitions began under calm equatorial conditions, the weather was closer to that of the Baltics by the end of the day. ‘Strong gusts of wind, heavy rain – it looked more like the northern Baltics than Moscow,’ according to Andrey Maslov, the head of the HSE Yacht Club and a Senior Instructor at the university.

But the people who withstood the capricious weather were rewarded – the suspense lasted until the very end of the competition. Before the final race, the HSE and MSU teams had each won two races.

HSE’s wins were thanks to HSE Nizhny Novgorod student Daria Startseva, who won the student yacht-class team competition among girls, and Andrey Maslov, who won among instructors and professors.

Captains of HSE’s Yacht Team:

Daria Startseva — Faculty of Informatics, Mathematics, and Computer Science, HSE Nizhny Novgorod

Dmitry Burunov — Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, HSE Moscow

Oleg Bukharov — Moscow State Institute of Electronics and Mathematics, HSE Moscow

Andrey Maslov — Department of Physical Training, HSE Moscow

MSU’s first two wins were brought by Timofei Grigorin-Ryabov, a freshman in the Faculty of Physics, and Dmitry Tyumentsev, a post-graduate student in MSU’s Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics.

The final score was determined in the last few meters of the last race, when MSU won with an overall score of 3:2.

‘The main thing is that we have established the start of a tradition for university regattas in Russia. Globally, these kinds of sailing regattas date back to the early 20^th century, and most prominent are American, English, and French universities. The programme was carried out in full, and for a yachtsman, bad weather is just another way of testing oneself,’ comments Andrey Maslov.

The HSE Yacht Club was established as part of HSE’s MIEM, but this time the team represented the entire university. There were participants from the university’s IT faculties, as well as from the international law and economics disciplines. In late August, members of the student yacht club will set off for their traditional sailing expedition on the Volga to Tver, Uglich, and Kalyazin.

This is a summer student event after which students will return as captains. Along with their diplomas, the participants will have professional yacht licenses.

The yachtsmen have already set out ambitious plans for next year. First, they would like to invite a third team from a European university to the regatta, as well as hold international competitions. Second, the current opponents – HSE and MSU – are prepared to join forces to compete at the Student Yachting World Cup (SYWoC), which takes place every year in the French city of La Rochelle.  

 

Daria Startseva, captain of HSE’s sailing team and a law student at HSE Nizhny Novgorod

Yachting is sometimes called ‘chess on water,’ as it is not just physical strength and weather that are important. After all, the weather is the same for everybody. What is most important is choosing a tactic, getting a good start, and keeping a host of different factors in mind, such as wind, currents, and of course, your opponents.

I have already participated in various races, but this one was particularly interesting firstly because you are representing your own university, and second because after racing in the Luch class, we got onto cruiser yachts. Crew coordination was especially important with these, and I believe we achieved it.

 

This project is carried out with support from the HSE Student Initiative Support Centre and Fund, as well as from the university’s Department of Physical Training.