Nikolai Litau accepts the 2001 Bluewater Medal from awards chairman Newbold Smith. At left is the expedition’s sponsor, Dmitry Shparo.
The Cruising Club of America's Bluewater Medal 2001 was awardedto Russian sailor Nikolai Litau for a circumnavigation of the earth's major continents aboard his 46-foot steel ketch. Litau completed a circumnavigation of Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia, between 1996 and 1999, and was partway through his second, around North and South America, when he was awarded the CCA's top prize. The first circumnavigation is considered the first of its kind, since Litau sailed all four oceans, the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Arctic, the latter by sailing over the top of Asia via the Northeast Passage. The voyage is sponsored by the Moscow Adventure Club, founded by the celebrity Russian adventurer Dmitry Shparo, who led the first ski expedition from the European continent to the North Pole (1979) and across the Arctic Ocean from Russia to Canada via the North Pole (1988). This is the first time in the Club's 80-year history that the award was given to a Russian citizen. Other recipients include France, England, Argentina, Belgium, Sweeden, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Bermuda, Australia and the United States. After receiving the medal, Litau returned to Argentina and reboarded his vessel Apostol Andrei, where he will continue a circumnavigation of the Americas via Antarctica and the Northwest Passage. Follow progress of Apostol Andrei at www.shparo.com.
