Instead of the foreword
Huge gratitude to Sergey Sinitsyn and Regatta for friends for having realized the cherished dream of traveling to Baikal.
Contents
Day 1. Sunday.
On July 31, at 12:00, all the expedition members met at the Komsomol shopping center, each crew went to the store for food that the captains did not have time to buy. At about 13.00 a white Mercedes with a breeze took us to a meeting with Baikal. It was one of the very successful decisions in the organization of the trip. We drove 3 hours by car from Irkutsk and boarded yachts on the Small Sea, and not in the marina of Irkutsk on the Angara River, thanks to which we found ourselves in different places every day, even on the way back.
On the way to the Small Sea, we stopped at a place of power on the highway, reinforced our strength with blueberries and strawberries.
On the way from Irkutsk to Baikal, the landscapes suddenly changed, the usual forest suddenly became taiga, the steppe turned into picturesque meadows, and the highway into a country road …
At about 17.00 we arrived at the Small Sea, where we met the captains. Vitali commanded the Bride of the Wind, Alexander commanded on the Nike, and Vladimir led the Nordic Duck into battle.
After a small crossing, we moored overnight at an old barge on Olkhon Island. The barge serves as a pier for the comet, but for the time being it is plowing Baikal, a pier for yachts and boats. Our company used the barge as a common platform where the first general meeting was held, and after that we played games and had fun. Party meetings, as I called them, creative tasks and common gatherings have become our nightly tradition.
Day 2. Monday.
It all started with the resettlement of nations. The Bride of the Wind got into the nets and could not go on; the crew of 2, with their full complement, moved to the Nike, and for one day we were aboard especially lively and fun. It is said that on the first day on board you need to “tuck in”, get used to living on a yacht, but instead we cleaned 5 kilograms of potatoes, fried pancakes for eleven people, then learned from the captain to clean the omul, so we didn’t even feel newbies But it was surprising to find that there was enough space on the yacht so that we could all be placed so that it was convenient for everyone.
The weather was excellent – sunny, light wind – the most suitable to look at Lake Baikal and read on the deck.
Almost a fifteen-hour transition was completed in Chevyrkuysky Bay, Zmeinaya Bay. It was already completely dark when we landed on the shore, but we immediately ran to bathe in hot gray-hydrogen springs. Why no one was frightened by the snakes promised in the title is still a mystery. After the hot healing baths it was surprisingly joyful and easy to enter Baikal (about 18 degrees). The next morning, someone said that it was impossible to do that.
Day 3. Tuesday.
The most peaceful day of the expedition. In the morning we were joined by the boat “Harmony”, replacing the “Bride”. Crew 2 moved again, but we got so close that we continued to run the common household, had breakfast and dinner together. We went to agree on a bath with the nearest hostel, tried their sagutai, smoked omul and other local delicacies.
In the afternoon we went for a walk, swam, the crew of the “Ducks” bravely went to the taiga for mushrooms. In the evening they steamed in the bath, drank fragrant tea and ate omul belyash.
Day 4. Wednesday.
Having woken up slowly, we got ready to go and headed toward the Zolotornaya Bay, around the midday, wild bears. When we came out of Snake, Baikal took a quadrocopter from us, and we also worked man-overboard.
The rest of the transition was easy and unnoticeable, on the way to Zavorotnaya the sun cut through the clouds, spotlights lit the mountains, it became clear that we were in some highly artistic film about wildlife.
On the shore, we were met by the master of the taiga, he owns so much land there that it is impossible to remember. He put us in an old loaf and drove upstairs to watch the sights and listen to the silence. Before the road they praised their bears, he has one bear at each kilometer. In Zavorotnoy there are houses, a pier, a road and some other mild signs of civilization, because in Soviet times there was a mine where an abrasive was produced for the defense industry. Now nature has almost everywhere won her back, but the owner supports the road. When we climbed a small plateau in the gorge, Baikal was ahead, behind the mountain. It was one of those places for which you want to go on the road, one of those who will stay with you forever, no matter how far you are from them.
On the way to the boats they took water in a rejuvenating spring, the water temperature in it was as much as 3 degrees.
Day 5. Thursday.
Early in the morning we headed back towards Olkhon Island. It was a very picturesque transition. On this day, our creative task was kites. We painted them and launched them into the air along with the desires written on them. On the way to Olkhon, we made a small stop on a desert island, a place of power. At the top there is a stupa, patient tourists go around it in circles, who are clockwise, who are against. Nothing can be carried away from the island, you can only leave it there or stack cairns as a sign of a desire to make it. Another pleasant stop was the village on the Small Sea, where we replenished stocks. It turned out that sweet was needed most.
When we reached Olkhon, it was decided to stick to the same barge, where we left the Bride of the Wind.
Day 6. Friday.
The Nordic Duck began a rescue operation and took the Bride in tow. We watched with bated breath all day long as both boats sailed through the waves. In the evening we arrived at the village of Goloustnoye. She turned out to be similar to Switzerland. Modest, well-kept houses, cows and horses on the slopes, stunning sunsets and delicious postures (local manti).
Day 7. Saturday.
The journey was coming to an end. We entered the Angara, stood in a picturesque place, where we could fish and swim almost all day. Olya caught a pike “with such an eye.” Serezha tried the wing for scuba diving.
Late in the evening came to the yacht club of Irkutsk.
Day 8. Sunday in Irkutsk.
At nine in the morning they made a farewell photo and freed the yachts, although in fact they sat for a long time, drank champagne and could not part.
We spent the night in the city in a house with an angry, but very fluffy dog. But Irkutsk is a completely different story, and here we will not tell it.
