Competitor profile

Name    Igor Zaretskiy
Born    September 11th 1951 – Yroslavl, Russia
Domicile    Yroslavl, Russia
Country of entry    Russia

Born and bred on the banks of the River Volga running through the Russian city of Yroslavl on its way to enter the Caspian Sea, Igor Zaretskiy is one of Russia’s most experienced international sailors. He has twice won the Russian ¼ Ton championship, competed in multiple RORC Caribbean races, and such classics as the Fastnet, Newport-Bermuda and Middle Sea races. In 2010 he won the Jester Challenge singlehanded transatlantic race, a feat that won him Russia’s Yachtsman of the Year title.
He says of the GGR:  “Sailing around the world has been a dream since childhood. I knew about the first Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in 1968/9, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to take part 50 years later.”

Boat
Name            Esmeralda
Type            Endurance 35 Masthead ketch
Race No        11
Designer        Peter Ibold
Builder        Vicente Belliure (ESP)
LOA            35.00ft / 10.67m
LWL            26.67ft / 8.13m
Beam            10.75ft / 3.28m
Draft              5 5.75ft / 1.75m
Displacement     18550 lbs/ 8414 kgs
Sail area        736sq. ft / 68.37sq. m

Igor Zaretskiy has selected the Belliure Endurance 35 ketch Esmeralda to compete in the GGR. Supported by the magazine Yacht Russia, his team spent the 2017/18 winter preparing the yacht in the warmer climes of Spain. They took delivery of a new rig in February and planned to relaunch her at the beginning of March ready for Igor to sail first to the Azores before heading north to Falmouth as part of the yacht’s sail trials.