site.btaJune 4, 1930: Birthday of Renowned Bulgarian Sailor Georgi Georgiev

Georgi Georgiev born on June 4, 1930, was the first Bulgarian to sail around the world alone with the Cor Caroli yacht.

In December 1976, he departed from Havana and completed his voyage on December 20, 1977 again in the port of Havana. He spent nearly 202 days at sea. He had been preparing for his entire life. He was born Kardzhali, but he was into sailing as a young man, and his whole conscious life passed by the sea. In 1950 he founded the first yacht club in Sofia, Academic. In 1958 he was commander of a yacht squad at the Central Marine Club in Varna. He worked at the Navigation Maritime Bulgar state shipping company as a navigating officer, assistant marine captain and marine captain. He competed in sailing races, and was a sailing coach. He was one of the founders of the Port Varna Yacht Club.

Georgi Georgiev was the sailor, chosen to present Bulgaria at the OSTAR-76 world sailing competition, a prestigious solo transatlantic regatta, which started from Great Britain and finished in Plymouth, USA. This was the first big international competition Bulgarian sailors participated in and the results were very good. Thus, in December 1976, Georgi Georgiev confidently started his journey around the world. The entire Bulgarian maritime community followed it closely. During the voyage, he had difficult moments, his yacht needed repairs, he got stuck in shallow waters, but he overcame all obstacles. 

With a record time for the size and capabilities of his yacht - 201 days, 21 hours and 36 minutes - this was the fastest circumnavigation sailing solo in a monohull voyage at the time, covering 42,675 km. In 1981-1982, the achievement was listed in the Guinness Book of Records. 

Georgiev's success was a great achievement for Bulgarian sailing and the recognition he received was quite deserved. An annual award for the best sailing achievement was named after the Cor Caroli yacht.

He was awarded the Honored Master of Sports title and got an honorary gold medal, first degree, of the Central Council of the Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sports in December 1977. He was awarded the Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria title on December 26, 1977. He received the Georgi Dimitrov Order in 1977. He became honourary citizen of Varna in 1977 and of Kardzhali. In 2015, his bas-relief was erected in his hometown.

The Cor Caroli International Regatta traditionally held in Varna just before August 15 every year was founded in 1992 in memory of Captain Georgi Georgiev.