On 7 September 2016 at 8 o’clock, the Bulgarian barquentine Kaliakra set sail from the Passenger Terminal of the Port of Varna to participate in the Tall Ships 2016 Regatta. Military cadets and civilian students, boys and girls from Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy embarked on the legendary sail ship to gain some hands-on experience at sea and to defend the maritime glory of Bulgaria. They are to test their mettle in competition with other participants from the same vessel class.

The community of Varna bade a proper farewell to our glorious barquentines, the Kaliakra and the Royal Helena, with hope and conviction that they will once again do brilliantly and make a clean sweep of the prizes.

This year the Kaliakra will be the biggest attraction of the regatta again. Its start is on 8 September in Constanta, Romania, and the international competition goes on with calls in several Russian ports, with Varna the host from 1 to 4 October 2016.