The second stage of the Premier Division of the Russian J/70 Sailing League was just completed off the seaport of Sevastopol on the southwest corner of the Crimean peninsula. In the regatta were seven teams from Sochi, Moscow, Tuapse and Sevastopol. Those crews were KOREG Sailing Team (Artem Avetisyan), QPRO Sailing Team (Sergey Avdonin), Calypso (Vladimir Shishkin), Neptune (Yuri Bozhedomov), PAKETA Team (Tatyana Timokhova), Varvara Team (Ilina Sventonovskaya) and the AYA team (Valeria Zubkova). Over the three-day event, 15 races were held. The winners were the local Sevastopol team Neptune with helmsman Yuri Bozhedomov. They won eight races on their way to a convincing victory over their rivals with just 26 points total. Taking second place was Moscow’s QPRO Sailing Team led by skipper Sergei Avdonin. They posted five seconds in their scoreline and won the final race, accumulating 44 points overall. The battle for third place on the final day was between another Sevastopol team—AYA skippered by Valeria Zubkova and the KOREG Sailing Team skippered by Artem Avetisyan. Both teams traded off second and fourth places just about every race. However, in the end, it was Zubkova’s AYA team that took the bronze with 53 points, while the KOREG team settled for fourth place with 59 points. Rounding out the top five was PAKETA team skippered by Tatyana Timokhova. “The format of the races is such that teams are constantly chasing different boats,” explained the Chief Judge of the competition, Eduard Yurchenko. “The format is attractive, and judging the competitions is a pleasure. Plus, in Sevastopol the large, enclosed bay is a very convenient sailing area, and the weather allows sailors to race in different conditions. We had a good combination of stormy winds and light to moderate breezes with chop over the weekend. Plus, the racing was so close to shore, we had a lot of spectators.” Neptune’s helmsman, Yuri Bozhedomov, said, “At this regatta, we were chasing well-trained crews around the race course. It was very interesting for us to keep pace and learn fast. Yes, we were lucky with the weather. In short, the best impressions all around for our first regatta. We will strive to continue to participate in the Premier League stages and hope to make it to Moscow.” For more information, visit the Russian Sailing League Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/russiansailingleague.