Mateusz Kusznierewicz and his crew of Polska100 heading off in June on a two-year sailing expedition around the world, where they will be promoting our country.

Warszawa, 26 marca 2018 r.

INFORMACJA PRASOWA

Soon, “Polska100”- an oceanic racing yacht, Captained by Olympic champion and sailing World Champion Mateusz Kusznierewicz, will set sail, for the first time under the Polish flag with the aim of promoting Poland abroad. During the two years trip Polska100 will visit 100 ports on five continents, and will cover more than 40 thousand nautical miles. During the voyage, the crew will take part in the most important races in the world. The strategic partner of the project is the Polish National Foundation.

The crew is coming to the end of the preparation process of this exceptional yacht, to the requirements set down by the project initiators. The project will serve as a unique global campaign promoting Poland. The Polish National Foundation as the Strategic Partner, is supporting the project both organizationally and financially as well as coordinating the work of those involved in its implementation.

The initial idea of Polska100 was conceived in the year 2015. However, only now, thanks to the support of the Polish National Foundation have we managed to make it happen - said Mateusz Kusznierewicz, one of the leaders and initiators of the project Polska100 and the founder of Navigare foundation. Currently it is the most important project of the Navigare foundation, which since its founding in the year 2007, is involved in educational programmers related to sailing, such as for example, the Pomeranian Maritime Education Program.

April 2018 , is key for our project and a very intense period of time. We are finishing the preparations and completing the formalities , soon the yacht will officially be in our hands. The acquisition of this boat, is a great joint success of the project partners. Many people have been asking us about the price of the yacht, but we felt that ,the final value will be given after the adaptation and supplementary kitting out . We are very glad that it is this particular yacht ,as it has a good past, with great results, those who know the market value of this type of yacht , will be very positively surprised - adds Paul Prus, the press spokesperson of project Polska100.

Over the next two years, the yacht will visit around 100 ports worldwide, located on five continents and will sail for more than 40 thousand nautical miles. During this time the crew will take part in the most important and the most prestigious races, such as the Sydney-Hobart, the Fastnet, Newport-Bermuda, the Giraglia and the Middle Sea Race.

For us as a Foundation it is a very important project. I am glad that thanks to us, the Polish flag will be seen around the world promoting our good sailing traditions. As the Management Board of the Foundation, we believe that the amount of three million zloty, which we intend to spend each year on this project, will serve the cause of promoting Poland abroad well. The choice of this particular yacht, was dictated by economic considerations – it was the cheapest available unit of is sort, that met our criteria available on the market. In addition, an important factor in the transaction was the fact that we will be able to pay the VAT tax in Poland -stresses Antoni Kolek, Member of the Board of the Polish National Foundation. After the end of the trip the yacht will be transferred to the Maritime Academy in Szczecin. Where young sailors will be able to use it to learn seamanship.

Polska100 is a fast, modern and proven unit, that will during the project, compete with the fastest yachts in the world. The trip will take place in stages, and the crew will consist solely of the best Polish sailors, who will be selected according to the specific requirements of the individual stages of the races or regattas. The whole team of the project Polska100 consists of 25 crewmembers and a few people responsible for running the project on land.

Patrons of the Polska100 project are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Ministry of Sport and Tourism. Professional support for the project will be provided by the Maritime Academy in Szczecin and the Polish Yachting Association. The project has been included in the Government's "Niepodległa" program, celebrating the 100-year anniversary of Poland's independence. The exact amount of the investment by the Polish National Foundation will be published after the completion of the transaction.