Poland Ship FDC

Poland FDC
Name: The Tall Ships' Races "Gdynia 2009"
Date of Issue: 30 June 2009

Who knows what fate human race would have faced if it had not been for navigation. Navigation was appreciated by the ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Vikings... But for ships, there would not have been any trade development, new lands would not have been discovered, the wars would have been different. A Romans' maxim "Navigare necesse est" ("To sail is necessary") reflected perfectly the necessity of navigation. Through centuries, the sailing ships prevailed on the seas. Even though they were majestic and gorgeous and driven by the power of the wind, working there was not easy. Not until the 19th century were they ousted by ships propelled by steam power. In this day and age, sailing is, above all, sport and hobby. The training vessels are used to train future sailors.

The races of the tallest and prettiest ships attract masses of admirers of sea and all those who have dreamt of remote, adventurous sea journeys. During such events as the one in Gdynia, everybody has a chance to set their foot on board of a real sailing ship.

Regatta "The Tall Ships' Races"
The idea of the races dates back to the 30's of the 20th century. First regatta took place in 1956. Since the 70's the races have been ran annually. Aside from sizeable sailing ships, the competition is also open to smaller racing yachts. Gdynia received the races three times in 1974, 1992, and 2003. There are over a hundred of units, mainly training ones, participating in this year's regatta on the Baltic Sea. The races lead from Gdynia to St. Petersburg. The next port hosting the flotilla is Turku in Finland, and the last one Lithuanian Klaipeda. The races take place during the first and third phase whereas the second phase is devoted to cooperation, exchange and mutual meetings of the crews. Each port receiving the regatta has multitude of attractions - exhibitions, concerts, fairs, crew parades and first of all, the final Grand Parade of Sail.

New Stamp and envelope on FDC
On the occasion of the Tall Ships' Races, Poczta Polska issued a stamp in block. The stamp presents a silhouette of "Dar Mlodzieży" against the panorama of the port of Gdańsk. "Dar Młodzieży" is a frigate built in 1982 that belongs to the Naval Academy of Gdynia. The FDC envelope presents the ships as though they were observed through field glasses - equipment worth having during such an event as the races in Gdynia. The issue is accompanied by an occasional date stamp in use in Gdynia 1 Post Office.

Philately
Apart from the stamp in block, on the occasion of the races, Poczta Polska issued two sets of post cards. The first one presents 12 most famous sailing ships participating in the regatta "The Tall Ships' Races". These are the following Polish ships: "Dar Młodzieży", "Zawisza Czarny", and "Pogoria", Russian: "Sedov" (the largest sail training vessel), "Mir" (twin of "Dar Młodzieży"), "Shtandard" (a replica of tsar Peter 1 the Great), Norwegian: "Christian Radich" and "Sorlandet", German "Alexander von Humboldt" with her characteristic green sails and hull, Danish "Georg Stage", Dutch "Eandracht" and British "Lord Nelson" - the only sailing ship whose 50% half of crew may be disabled.

The other set of post cards issued in cooperation with Stowarzyszenie Żeglarsko-Szantowe (Sailing and Shanty Association) "Gejtawy" ("Clewlines") presents 7 most beautiful Polish sailing ships. These are: "Zawisza Czarny", ORP "Iskra", SV "Elemka", STS "Generał Zaurski", STS "Lwów", SY "Zew Morza" and celebrating this year the centenary of launching SV "Dar Pomorza".

The projects of the stamp and the FDC envelope was created with photographic materials: panorama of Gdynia - author Kacper Kowalski, "Dar Młodzieży" - author Tomasz Degórski, sailing ships - author Maurycy Śmierzchalski.