speeds and subtract minutes. what are they doing with you know still lingering on the top gallant sails your. little. game we need twelve knots ok that's 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's why all of the engines to shut down five minutes before the start that's the rules. so with us from central control the mechanic that's the way the plane right 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 blow for.

this it was 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 take the lead the polish sail boat. behind. the four sails of the largest of all the lower one is as large as two hundred eight square metres before mast and some others bear a great number of sales themselves the same is true of the mainsail mast all the sails of them are interchangeable let total of two hundred fourteen square meters the only exception is the main sail mast of the. nikolai. abram of is not just the

ship's bo's'n but also a former sub-mariner abramoff a spend the last thirty years making sales. 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 or chop a damaged sail. sails are torn fairly often specially by strong winds you might even say they're 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 and it took the cadets some four hours to get a new one back up all that happened mid 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 we didn't go very far on the last occasion. and then we have 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 properly which usually i remember the ship being caught up in a vicious storm near here during

a race. sail in the gym gripped. the guys had to be sent to the far end of the bow each with safety equipment. was so big. under the water several times. because some trainees are divided into shift teams each for hours 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 bored but sometimes they have to. listen or watch. for our. team. feels. feels.

feels through each truth you. feel a. thank. you very quickly it's more like. when you just. this isn't me oh. he's. you know so on. the first exchange of communications with race officials. today.

an hour later. participants are informed of how they're doing. with mobility and for them what's the poor going to report we've got a science places in accordance with an updated coefficient of those 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 sailboats 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 but make way thank. you so where do you. think you

would abolish all the show must go on the. we didn't know people are. always there we're. very good about sixteen ok back to work. politically if you wish to stop the tourists want to take our picture just because. they don't see that many sail boats. the cruise liner sails off followed by the sun sliding behind the horizon the first night of the race his second face sets in the nervous tension from the start fades away life onboard 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 comfort that the sailboat is heading towards another victory. wealthy british style. that's not on the. market why not come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy

with mike's concert for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to kaiser report on r t. v. there will. be. yamin him. 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 a leg. just like 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 up on it but we couldn't the wind is

tuesday. wrong it's simply too strong the crew gets control of the sails amid picks up speed to fifty knots the ship is tilting heavily support a difficult turn for the ship still lies ahead. of us all of the 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 with 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 literally. the polish boat is only a short distance ahead all mans 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 a 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. as we've got to shells 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 a fellow had of them in the morning but 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 cruiser. taking care of the must see i will most no work to do they decide to hold more competition and try to reduce the stress brought on by the common condition. was that if you. have that right new sign up. ready. ready. was was you will with the help of this instrument where enable to see the constellation of the stars in the sky think of all normally you see this from below but right now i

am looking at it from above because what was you she was your own ship this is happening to you 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 is mandated. you know inside the age of g.p.s. satellite and internet communications these seamen to talk how to do six times determine a ship's coordinates by observing stance. 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. 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. you don't really cool was the foresail mosque team is victorious meanwhile reports of the over all race positions of the ship start coming in as for me there is no wind in sight yet. listen for the information about the voyage first july twenty second monday lord nelson is nine 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 so in such places. like detroit to make the first tasty during a race we normally cook food separately when you have a tilt economy good health or would be burned 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 sail boats pushing to get back 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 did i 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 quarters 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 may mean race hangs in the balance the atmosphere here is just as calm as it always is. 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 lead usury 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. cool 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 both defeat 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. out of it just it was a fair race after all it is foolishness the captain says. well well bound to win the next time. and they're disappointed no less by. getting to this point i think will do better the next leg of the race. with good good 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 say was heading to town. and. the crews of all race competitors get together at parties on lounge with snacks drinks and dance and their wives at sea shake hands secretly hoping they will emerge victorious next

time and receive such congratulations on the victory. last. today this is the last stop for me she will later join thirty other sailboats returning to portugal and 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.

syria's rebels declare civilian airports are their latest target and warns that international flights shouldn't stray anywhere near the country's two largest cities. rage against turkey's recent push for a no fly zone over syria sparks rallies in germany by both pro and anti assad groups. actions speak louder than words and that israel appears to be gearing up for war with iran launching a massive propaganda campaign along with emergency drills. plus anger at the london paralympics a key sponsor of the games is accused of humiliating disabled people as part of the government's attempts to cut welfare benefits. and live from our studios in central moscow this is r.t.

good to have you with us civilian airports in syria are in the crosshairs of the country's largest rebel group of the free syrian army in a statement to on its facebook page the group said that the airports in damascus and aleppo were hosting military flights as part of an alleged arms smuggling network for the government earlier this month of the rebels were handed dozens of lethal u.s. made anti air missiles the delivery thought to have been carried down by the rebels western backers of the of turkey strong condemnation the editor of the independent website syria tribune 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 their 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 their support when the international community says they're able slaughtering people civilian people in the street and throwing them from the roof

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 at 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 endanger the lives of many syrian people. any foreign military intervention in syria would spell total disaster for the peace effort in the country that is according to u.n. peace envoy to syria lakhdar brahimi who made the statement just a day after taking the baton from his predecessor coffee anon and as artie's a kind of boycott reports it's a position echoed by moscow. russian foreign minister officials have already commented on this latest development the deputy foreign minister get out a good deal of sad that perhaps like these is a direct result of you responsible to arm syrian rebels in the mean time you watch

russia's foreign minister. talking to you. off thank you once again reiterating that if international players are really interested in trying to put an end to bloodshed they should apply pressure on both sides of this conflict. with any of those demanding the capitulation of just the government forces in syria while at the same song urging continue for it seems it's this position is based on the feeling that these forces are ready to pay an extra price which will be a huge number of human lives to go abroad he also sad that when it comes to goals international goals in syria russia has absolutely no disagreement with the west russia also wants to see syria as a 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 the recent push at the u.n. security council for a human accord or in syria which could lead to to military intervention has sparked protests in germany in the country's financial capital frankfurt about a thousand demonstrators gathered demanding an end to foreign interference in the soon conflict artie's peter all over who was at the rally reports. 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 thirteenth syrian flag and also bearing signs with the face of president bashar al assad they've been shouting their slogans in favor of the president and his boss policy however there is a small number of and see as sides. protest is just over there now there was some heated cautious only on between the two groups 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 to run for it to start opinion. so we're here to expose the lies about syria that the being showing to the rest of the. of the dead that are being sued by terrorists. when you know if you could these points of my name to the u.s. i phone and. also i think and you can stand today with all of the details appear all over twitter stream peter writes how it's not only syrian ex-pats who are demanding an end to interference in their homeland but also the people of neighboring states as well go to his twitter feed for the latest developments.

the choice of sponsors for the london paralympic games is being called into question it has emerged of that the u.k. government employs one of them to assess disabled people's rights to benefits the french company is accused of wrecking the lives of thousands of disabled people by unfairly forcing them off welfare and as artie's laura smith reports many of them think the firm is trying to polish its image by attaching itself to the london games. the paralympics are the ultimate troy adversity a showcase for people who overcome disabilities and achieve something amazing but hanging over this event is a shadow cast by may just toss. the government to assess disabled people's ability to work but it's blamed for humiliating the vulnerable and forcing people off benefits as part of the.