to the moment the most difficult task is to make a careful assessment of the ship speed and direction so that she enters the stock car window exactly on time it takes some complicated arithmetic to add up speeds and subtract minutes. yet what are they doing but. still lingering on the top gallant sails your. little. game we need twelve knots of. what we've got right now sail setting aborted three minutes to go what's the distance. finally they need to shut off the engines to help the ship navigate out of port. always fail in these competitions really otherwise they would be pointless that bit and that's why all of the engines to shut down five minutes before the start that's the rules. so with us from central control sr mechanic it's the way the brain writes now u.k.

. shows the lights is about to go on that the engine is shut down the good man is now under sail we'll talk about battle for. a. bit to say what great steering we sped away from the start. mig gets off to a good start and a fair wind helps the ship pick up a speed of ten knots and take the lead the polish sailboat. pulls behind. the four sails of the largest of all the lower one is as large as two hundred eight square metres the foremast and some others bear a great number of sales them. selves the same is true of the mainsail mast all the

sails on them are interchangeable a total of two hundred fourteen square meters the only exception is the main sail mast. nicholai abram off is not just the ship's boat but also a former sub-mariner abramoff a spent the last thirty years making sails. week with this utility room here is our workshop we have one hundred sales and store all of different shapes and sizes twenty six of them are meant for masts and races while the others are kept as replacements. nicholai is the only person on board the can repair the damaged sail. sails are torn fairly often specially by strong winds you might even say they are wounded in the battle against the elements i have especially vivid memories of one rather

dramatic sail replacement that was last year when we were competing against the polish boat dharma ga we were on our way across the baltic sea from finland to poland that's when the top most sail collapsed but it took the cadets some four hours to get a new one back up all that happened amid strong winds and torrential rain. don't touch that. again is the bosun's favorite student like all the other cadets he joined me as crew three months ago that remembers only too well the terror he felt when confronted with the prospect of climbing a fifty metre tall mainsail must. my heart sank and i shivered all over although we didn't go very far on the last occasion. and then we had that time the boat was more town sites in petersburg we looked up at the top of

the mosque and wondered whether it was possible to receive his soul but now it's quite a routine thing for me to do. i remember the ship being caught up in the vicious still near here during a race. sail and jim bricked. the guys had to be sent to the far end of the bow each with safety equipment. the ways was so big. and the guys dipped under the water several times. but that some trainees are divided into shift teams each lasting four hours without doubt keeping watch on the deck is the most grueling task the crew can't predict what might happen on shift sometimes they sit around for four hours board but sometimes they have to constantly run from one end to the other. or watch. for our. support. team.

feels six. feet. below. the. field three to each student who will. feel a. thanks. just when you did it very quickly it's more like. spring for a while when you stop. this is me. and i don't want to. risk my. goodies. as you know so on. three hundred

for. the first exchange of communications with race officials comes towards the end of the day ships to. an hour later. participants are informed of how they're dealing. with a belligerent form of misstep or the report we've got assigns places in accordance with an updated coefficient of handicaps and the like as expected the polish boat. is in the lead we are in the second place both of us have an equal chance at the moment and only. the gap between the polish and russian sail boats is minuscule it all comes down to the second phase of the race then everything will depend on the wind the poles decide to seek strong winds by taking the risk of going further south into the open sea they disappear

from is view but the crew sees another vessel in its place approaching on the horizon. but make way thank. you. where do you. think or what it was all going to show marked go on the. we didn't know people are. always there we're. very good about fifteen ok back to our. political leaders if you wish to stop the tourists want to take our picture just because. they don't see that many sailboats. on. the cruise line assails off followed by the sun sliding behind the horizon the

first night of the race is second phase sets in the nervous tension from the start fades away life on board returns to normal cadet self shifts do what they can to vent all that pent. the energy ms current speed is twelve knots people in the captain's cabin a comforter at the sailboat is heading towards another victory. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm sorry welcome to the big picture.

there will. be. nothing yet and you. can't. be on the second day of the race the crew in the morning shift hasn't got a single moment to spare the wind is stronger than expected the first attempt to take down some of the sails is unsuccessful one of them is caught in the hurricane force wind the sail will be torn apart unless it's fixed without to let it. just blow when it's in the back to roll up the top sail we tried to tie it to the bow so

that the wind couldn't repeat upon it but we couldn't the wind is too strong it's simply too strong the crew gets control of the sails them it picks up speed to fifty knots the ship is tilting heavily support a difficult turn for the ship still lies ahead. some of the went past the turning point one and a half hours ago now we're heading for the finish line but there are about one hundred forty miles to go the polish boat was slightly closer to that point and therefore made a turn a bit earlier than we did but now that we are on the right side of the wind we'll try to overtake it would think it was that earlier. the polish boat is only a short distance ahead all man's crew needs to do is keep a speed for the first few hours after the turning point everything's going smoothly . with little and shows where we all are when the ship began three hours or so ago

the bearing angle of the polish ship was something like one hundred thirty degrees now it's one hundred seventy in other words we have one back distance from the poles. but nature deals me a cruel blow the wind has died down and the ship speed instantly drops to five knots with a sails beginning to droop the bulky frigate almost comes to a halt like to pursue is trying to catch up with another exchange with race officials confirms that mir is now trailing behind the polish ship. we've got to show as to remedy the situation but only if there's a fair wind to help us in that case we might overtake ships with a small coefficient will follow ahead of them in the morning that the wind has driven them closer to us. the situation can't be remedy for the time being

a strong wind is their only hope the crews whose job is taking care of the musts i will most know what to do they decide to hold a tug of war competition to try to reduce the stress brought on by the calm conditions there. was that like loosen up. was ready was ready. was. was was it was the people with the help of this instrument where enable to see the constellation of the stars in the sky

a little normally you see this from below but right now i am looking at it from above because what was here she was born with this has happened to me because that's who are not lucky enough to be involved in the tug of war go to a room where they listen to lectures on astronomy they're not very popular but attendance has mandated. you know inside the age of g.p.s. satellite and internet communications these seamen to talk how to do sexton's determine a ship's coordinates by observing stars. is up is measuring how high the sun is over the horizon is easy enough for good issues according to what you learn to do it after two or three lessons but also about if you want to determine the ship's location with you need to take three different measurements at a time as it was called who. scored the problem is that the ship will cover a large distance in the five to ten minutes it takes for the contents to do the

measurements. was was for sale must team is victorious meanwhile reports of the overall race positions of the ship start coming in as for mere there is no wind in sight yet. listen for the information about the voyage first july twenty second monday lord nelson is nigh thing class and twelfth overall. and the mir is second class and second overall the pelican of london is eighth sing class and eleventh overall. the ship's galley has its own race against time when it comes to feeding almost two

hundred people four times a day speed is of the essence the cooks have to work almost around the clock during such races. destroyed to make the first tasty during a race where normally cook food separately when you have a tilt he can't make good healthy food when they burn to the other half would end up on the floor so taking in potions is much more convenient. on the second evening of the race labs team hardly has any work to do the wind is still quite weak changing the configuration of the sails is pointless cadet project going takes time out to explain why people still like sailboats pushing you but this is the only place where you can feel the thrill of the wind swaying you from side to side while you're up there hanging on to the mast also a sailboat promotes the spirit of comradeship it builds character and your ability

to stand up to the elements true it's a tough job setting sail was especially hard work would end up worn out and dead tired but not for one moment to die regret it. down in the bowels of the ship away from the deck and the elements signs of normal life can be found there are two campaigns showers and lounges here. in addition to courses for the cadets and cabins for the regular crew about one hundred fifty people spend several months together in these premises during the night when the fate of the years main race hangs in the balance the atmosphere here is just as calm as it all was. the crew on the bridge follows the coordinates of mir in the polish ship its chief rival the russian sailboat is closer to shore its crew expects to cross the finish line ahead of the polish ship the results should be clear by next morning. the

morning brings the long awaited wind that comes too late in the day the race is almost over. but there's one mile to go to the finish line the pose should dharma legendary came an hour ago mission hill and we should come second. there were closer to the line because they had been going a bit further south and benefited from southerly winds but they had a lead of several miles. on the deck is quest for the news of the defeat. or should we say three cheers for the winners will get. by. you see yourselves. to meet you. but you should take place to face and victory in your stride but when you're. young i'm upset of course i really don't know about the others but we had

a chance to win and we didn't the way that i see it today we just didn't go the right way i don't think it was the right way. we simply should have taken another route. it was a fair race after all it is foolishness the captain says. well well bound to win the next time. and it disappointed no less by. getting to this point i think will do better the next leg of the race. good news for such as mayor and josie or cold wind jammers and it's no wonder our lives are in the wind if there is no wind we go nowhere the poles were fortunate i don't know if it was a small stroke of luck or an educated guess they showed a slightly better performance than we did the wind is what matters.

we've mears crew takes in the sails before entering the spanish port town of kid is. out. in accordance with tradition at parades in front of thousands of spectators on the russian and polish ships more side by side they're like two peas in a pod. the sail boats turn into floating exhibitions open to the public for a few days anyone is free to inspect them inside out i. mean while off duty samus head into town. and. the crews of all race competitors get together at parties on lounge with snacks drinks and done so

their rivals at sea shake hands secretly hoping they will emerge victorious next time and receive such congratulations on the victory. was. today this is the last stop for me she will later join thirty other sailboats returning to portugal from their russian ship will follow a route of her own once again the wind and waves will be both her friends and foes on the way.

an.

syria rebels declares civilian airports are the latest target and one that international flights shouldn't straight anywhere near the country's two largest cities. turkey's push for a no fly zone over syria says activism rallying as far away as germany for and against the assad regime. factions i speak louder than words in israel as a country launches a massive war propaganda campaign along with emergency drills. class of the sponsor getting attention for all the wrong reasons at the london paralympics anger among disability activists as a forum which they say humiliates them as a key back on the game. you're

watching our today live from moscow it's eleven pm here let's take a look at the main news civilian a ports in syria in the cross haze of the country's largest rebel group the free syrian army in a statement on its facebook page of the group said to that reports in damascus and aleppo were hosting military flights are part of an alleged on monday network for the government truly this month the rebels were handed that. it was made and to air missile launchers the delivery thought to have been carried out by the rebels western backers via turkey through strong condemnation the editor of the independent website syria tribunals says the rebels tactics are beyond the pale. the rebels saying that they are attacking civilian airports now is just one more step in revealing that actual terrorist nature because it's against every law in

the world to attack civilian airports for whatsoever reasons i'm actually surprised they are still enjoying this support when the international community says they're able slaughtering people civilian people in the street and throwing them from their office and still support them this gives the wrong message to the rebels that whatever they do they will still enjoy this twisted support at the moment the free syrian army is not heavily armed well enough to win any battle against the syrian army the syrian official army just like what has been happening in the past months but it is definitely have really aren't enough to harm civilians and to endangered the lives of many syrian people many foreign military intervention in syria would spell total disaster for the peace effort in the country that's according to u.n. peace envoy to syria lakhdar brahimi he made the statement just a day after taking the baton from his predecessor koffi annan and has already done a boy can report the position echoed by moscow. meanwhile russian foreign minister

officials have already commented on this latest development the deputy foreign minister again not a good deal of. rats like these is a direct result of the irresponsible policy to arm syrian rebels in the meantime his boss russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov was talking to you here in moscow and you once again reiterated that if international players are really interested in trying to put and to bloodshed that they should apply pressure on both sides of this conflict as it says it's your those demanding the capitulation of just the government forces in syria while at the same time the urging the opposition continue flowing to this position is based on the fact that these forces are ready to pay an extra price which will be a huge number of human lives to go abroad he also said that when it comes to goals international goals and syria russia has absolutely no disagreement with the west

russia also wants to see syria as free democratic stable state where the main disagreement lies on the means of what shipping that goal and whether it could be done through violence and armed with this international intervention or whether it could be done through diplomatic efforts and internal syrian dialogue recent pushes for military intervention in syria by a no fly zone have mobilized both pro and crowds around the world in germany's financial capital of frankfurt about a thousand demonstrators gather demanding an end to foreign meddling in the civil war our correspondent peter all of a was at the ready. well here in frankfurt in the square in front of the opera house a crowd of around a thousand people have gathered to demonstrate against foreign military intervention in syria they have been waving the flag of the syrian government at the moment the supreme syrian flag also bearing signs with the face of president bashar al assad they've been shouting their slogans in favor of the president and

his ba'ath party however there is a small number of and see assad's. protests is just over there now there were some heated clashes earlier on between the two groups the police have now moved in to separate them but the vast majority of people as i say just around a thousand it is growing throughout the day as this protest continues here they are against foreign military intervention they are in favor of bashar al assad may have come out here today transferred to start opinion about you know. do you know i'm flooded we're here to expose the lies about syria that the being shown to the rest of the world the dead that are being shown were killed by terrorists getting blamed on the sun you know if you could they sponsored by nato the u.s. . went with us as a condition now you can stay up to date with of the details and peter's a twitter stream head there he reports how it's not only a syrian ex-pats demanding an end to interference in their homeland but also the

citizens of neighboring states full of peter's twitter feed for more. goodies. there appears to be a wolf in sheep's clothing among those who finance a london not paralympics activists angry that a firm mikey's of wrecking the lives of thousands of disabled people is trying to burnish its image by sponsoring the games laura smith reports on what exactly caused the outrage. the paralympics are the ultimate display of troy over adversity a showcase for people who've overcome their disability and achieved something amazing but hanging over this event is a shadow cast by a major sponsor at.