Sevastopol

A short sail from Yevpatoria has brought us to Sevastopol [equal emphasis on each syllable], a truly beautiful city situated around a magnificent harbour. It was a closed city, even to other residents of Crimea, until1996 and the Russian navy has a lease of the port until 2019. Devastated during WW2 the inner city has been restored faithfully in the style of earlier days and new construction, now, is in the same vein. There are thousands of monuments, some huge heroic Soviet style, mainly celebrating their glorious achievements during the Crimean War and WW2. We are berthed at the Russian Navy yacht club only a short walk from the city centre. It is wonderful city to visit at this time of the year, as the trees and flowers along all the wide avenues and in the many parks provide a magnificent setting. A visit to the panorama, an extraordinary work of art painted on the inside of a large domed building is an eye opener. It portrays the scene from the highest point of the city during the siege of the Crimean War, and the three dimensional effect achieved by the artists is remarkable. And we have been left in no doubt that the locals regard themselves more as Russians than Ukrainians. Sergei, the yacht club manager, suggests that the issue will become a problem similar to that of the Basques in Spain, a time bomb ticking towards explosion. We have been overwhelmed by the hospitality of the local club members.