Vlad, please read the following as a proposed replacement (edited) for the Wiki Fazisi article. I am sure we will make more changes, but this seems to address much of what you and I discussed. Yes, I would like to write and add more about the Whitbread Race, as you pointed out; That was it’s shining hour!
Fazisi is an 82-foot (25-metre) aluminium-hulled racing sloop, launched in 1989. She was built in Georgia, then part of the USSR, for the specific purpose of entering the 1989–1990 Whitbread Round the World Race with a mixed nationality crew; she came 11th out of 23 entrants, despite expectations that she would not be ready to take part. She was the first and last global racing yacht to represent the Soviet Union.
After the race she took part in some international events, broke a speed record, and was used as a charter vessel. She was for some years owned by the Polish Yachting Association of North America. She was almost destroyed in a hurricane in 2017, but was recovered, bought by a private owner, and in 2025 was being prepared for restoration in Florida.
Name
Fazisi was built in the region of Phasis, where Jason and the Argonauts travelled to take back the Golden Fleece.[1]
Construction
Fazisi was the first (and last) yacht to represent the Soviet Union in the Whitbread Round the World Race![2][3] (The Whitbread Race name was changed to Volvo Ocean Race,[4] and later was renamed again to The Ocean Race.)
The FAZISI project was conceived by Vladislav Murnikov in 1986. He orchestrated it through design with cooperative Mobile and VTK. The fundraising and development were not easy processes, to say the least, but still the result was pretty darn good!
She was constructed by a team of enthusiasts under the watchful eyes of security guards[6] in Poti Shipyard, Georgia,[7] between 1988-1989. The initial major sponsor was Pepsi International.
She was considered, by some people, underfunded and poorly engineered; when she was measured she was deemed unstable, and the keel and other parts had to be altered.[5] Her hull was constructed from an alloy, AMg-5061. She was classed as Murnikov-Design Group VTK 82 Sloop Maxi, and was the first-ever entry from the USSR. Inboard power was provided by a Yanmar 120hp engine, which would propel the boat at 9 knots. Under sail she would be capable of 25 knots.
The unfinished vessel was flown to the UK to be completed. FAZISI-Pepsi was officially launched in August 1989 in Hamble, Hampshite, England. She was christened and her maiden voyage took place in The Solent.[3]
Her construction and fitting of the rigging was all completed in time to participation in the Whitbread Round the World Race 1989-90. After the Whitbread Race, Fazisi went on the USA Goodwill Tour in 1990-1992.
Whitbread 1989-90
London bookmakers were reputed to be giving odds of 100-1 that the Soviet vessel would not even make it to the starting line of the race.[8][1]
Even with sail number SR 1989, Fazisi was not intended to have an all-Soviet crew, but a mix of several nationalities – inspired by the changes brought by the Gorbachev’s Perestroika, Vlad wanted the FAZISI project to be a truly international effort, starting with the crew coming from several republics of the Soviet Union, as well as from many countries, such as USA, UK, New Zealand, France… he saw it as an attempt to bring people from different backgrounds to work together to achieve something great! And it worked despite many challenges and tribulations.
Pre-and post-launch skipper was Ukrainian Alexei Grischenko, and co-skipper was American Skip Novak; Novak had participated in three Whitbread races previously. The yacht was transported to the UK in an Antonov 124, then the world’s largest transport aircraft.[7] This was just the hull, without mast, rigging, winches or keel; it arrived in London in July, with the race due to start in September.[6]
Some 30 crew members took part,[a] and while most were Soviet citizens, eleven were Ukrainians, three were Americans, two were Georgians, Latvians, French and New Zealanders, one Kazakh, one British and five Russian.[6] Among them was Eugene Platon, who had also been involved in the construction of the boat.[citation needed]
There were sailing disagreements within the crew, a serious lack of funding, and of support from the USSR, which itself was collapsing. At one point on the first leg, though, they were in the lead.[6] They finished the first leg to Uruguay in 6th place,[8] but tragedy occurred when Alexei Grischenko, who had been involved in the project from the start, and shouldered much of the responsibility for the problems, quit after the first leg and committed suicide (away from the boat) during the stopover in Uruguay.[6][9] There were humorous incidents, though, reminiscent of Cold War bureaucracy, such as at Fort Lauderdale, where the Coast Guard categorized Fazisi as military in the absence of a classification for “non-combatant Soviet vessels in American waters”.[10]
Crew member Brian Hancock recalled:
Fazisi quickly coined its nickname of “The Russian Submarine” as the low freeboard made for a wet and wild ride. I remember one night running hard downwind off the coast of Brazil, kite up, bow down, and the boat fully submerged after each 30+ knot surf.[11]
The whole race lasted some 9 months, and Fazisi came 11th in her class, and 11th overall in a field of 23 boats,[9] in 139 days, just 10 days behind the winners. Skip Novak, in his 1990 book about the voyage, describes how the boat was nearly lost in the Southern Ocean during a storm. He also tells how on arrival in Uruguay, they find that the boat’s sponsorship by Pepsi has been withdrawn during the race because of bad press in the USA. Even at the closing stages, key crew members were being excluded over organizational intrigue.[6] But Novak describes the adventure as a shining illustration of Glasnost, which was a feature of the fundamental changes occurring in the Soviet Union at the time.[12]
In the same race was Maiden, equally unique that year in being the first global race entrant with an entirely female crew.[13]
After Whitbread
After the Whitbread Race, Fazisi went on the USA Goodwill Tour in 1990-1992.
In 1989, she was entered into the Guinness Book of Records for the fastest 24-hour voyage (400 nautical miles).[citation needed] I have never heard of the Guinness Book of Records entry. This may need to be verified or simply removed. Fazisi did complete 384 miles in a 24 hour period, but that record was beaten by another vessel in the race later that day.
After the Goodwill Tour, Fazisi has changed ownership a few times.[11] She sailed in regattas and took people on voyages throughout the Caribbean, Bermuda, The Baltic Sea and back to the USA on several occasions.[1] She had a 24-strong crew, and four permanent professional crew. She could remain unsupported at sea for up to 100 days.[citation needed]
Fazisi in Swinoujscie, Poland, 2008
In 1999, she was owned by the Polish Yachting Association of North America (PYANA) with a registered home port of Chicago; in 2007, she took part in the Baltic Tall Ships Race,[14] finishing in Szczecin, Poland; she also docked at the ports of Trzebież and Świnoujście. In 2008, for the 400th anniversary of the first Polish colonist to arrive in North America, the Polish Maritime Foundation organized an expedition by Fazisi, planned and financed by sailors from all over Poland. It started from Swinoujscie and went via IJmuiden in the Netherlands; Saint Malo, on the west coast of France; the Azores; Bermuda; finishing in New York and Jamestown. The voyage coincided with three hurricanes: Gustav, Hanna and Ike.[citation needed]
Fazisi was re-fitted in 2014.[13] In 2015, she took part in the 39th Annual Long Island Regatta.[15] In 2017, after several voyages between Key West, Florida, USA and Cuba, Fazisi was left at anchor during the Atlantic hurricane season.[1]
In September 2017, Hurricane Irma struck the east coast of America. Millions of people were evacuated, and the hurricane caused catastrophic damage.[16] Many boats were driven ashore,[17] Fazisi among them. She was subsequently removed from Florida waters by a marine salvage company under the orders from the U.S. Coast Guard and FWC. The PYANA could not afford to rescue her, but she was bought by Yury Raulushka, who had worked on her 2014 refit. He carried out some in situ repairs while he tried to seek funding.[13][18] Sadly, Fazisi was wrecked again, but she was ultimately bought by Kenneth Mickler[b] who found her a permanent home in Florida in 2025, where a full restoration could be undertaken.[c]