Sedov ahoy! 91-year-old Russian vessel docks in Manila harbor

The STS Sedov was imperious even from afar. Docked in pier 15 in South Harbor, Manila, the 91-year old training ship's figure loomed over the harbor, its giant masts starkly patterned against the greying sky. 

 

Sedov is, according to one of its crew, the world's biggest sailing vessel, and one of the oldest sailing ships still in service.

 

With its wooden masts, rolled-up sails and flags flapping in the wind, the ship had the look of a relic, fitting better in a world of swashbucklers and scallywags in the age of exploration, than in this day of coast guards and luxury ocean liners.
 

   

Aboard the ship, the old world dream continued, though the fixtures looked polished and new. The deck was done up in wooden planks, the The window frames and the stairs leading to the upper deck shone with a golden sheen.

 

Even the ship's wheel had golden inlays engraved with the vessel's former names. According to the Sedov website, it was originally called Magdalene Vinnen II when it was first launched in 1921. It became the Kommodore Johnsen in 1936 after it changed owners, and finally was named Sedov in 1945 when it came under the ownership of the Soviet Union. 

 

There was also rope of all weights and colors strung taut between masts, coiled in big piles on the floor, or running through the deck like vines crawling up old buildings. There was even a giant rusty anchor resting on one of the walls.
 

On such a ship, it's easy to imagine eye-patched pirates drinking rum on the upper deck, a long-haired sailor yelling "land, ho!" from the crow's nest, a devious wench being sentenced to walk the plank, or blood being spilled on deck in an intense swordfight.

 

Actually, the ship is a training vessel for cadets from the Murmansk State Technical University. According to the “Voice of Russia” website, the ship is "retracing the route of the first Russian round-the-world expedition" with Captain Nikolai Zorchenko at the helm.

 

It set out for a 14-month round-the-world expedition from St. Petersburg, Russia in May 2012, arrived in Manila Thursday morning, and opened for public viewing on Friday. 

 

It will be heading out to Vladivostok, Russia on Saturday, continuing its epic journey around the world and surprising many with the fact that even in modern times an old world fantasy can still stay afloat. – KDM, GMA News