Sergey Aprelev saw great potential in the festival as a successor of maritime and cultural traditions, the development of patriotism and spirituality among young people, the revival of maritime consciousness and the expansion of ties between countries. Every year, the festival allowed professionals to share their experience and extraordinary shooting, inspired directors and delighted the audience, raised current issues of our time and made them think about how beautiful our world is and how important it is to protect it! The greatness of the sea power, its cultural heritage entirely depends on the consciousness of its citizens, on the understanding of the exceptional importance of preserving culture and traditions and passing them on from generation to generation.

    Preparations for each new festival were carried out  for a whole year of hard work at the cost of sleepless nights, endless letters and negotiations, painstaking work on translations and film dubbing, solving numerous organizational issues.

    For Sergey, a real sailor and seafarer, the call of the sea was truly all-embracing. He spent over 30 years serving in the Navy. Upon graduation in 1973, VVMU them. M.V. Frunze  served in the Northern and Baltic fleets, participated in eleven autonomous campaigns, going from navigator to commander of a submarine. From 1981 to 1985 he performed the tasks of a special mission in the Algerian People's Democratic Republic, leading the instructor group of submariners, and since 1984 -  a group of Soviet military specialists in the west of the Democratic Republic of Korea.

    In 1988 he graduated with honors from the Naval Academy. Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union N.G. Kuznetsov and served in various academic positions until his transfer to the reserve in August 2004.

   He took part in the international sailing regatta "Cutty Sark" (1996, 1997 and 1998) and the round-the-world voyage of the barque "Sedov" in 2012. He took part in international conferences on international maritime law and military history (Arkhangelsk, Monte Carlo, Ajaccio, Cordova, Tunisia ...).

   Fluent in foreign languages and being a specialist in military history, Sergei wrote articles for the foreign press and was a consultant in Hollywood on the filming of the film about the sinking of the nuclear submarine K-19.

   Sergey Aprelev was a member of the International Maritime Law Association (Paris) and the Naval Press Association (St. Petersburg). He was active in the position of vice-president of the regional public organization "Polar Convoy".

   Romantic appeal "The Sea Calls!" responded to Sergei's activities as a filmmaker and writer. On account of his documentary films: "To the evergreen island" (1998), "Arctic allied convoys" (2000), "Hiroshima Hollywood" (2003), "Pauline, 20 years later" (2007), "Profession - gondolier" (2010 ),  and works: “Under the rustle of our diesel engines” (Publishing house “Nika”, 2005), “To Cape Horn on” Sedov ”. Around the World as the Purpose of Life ”(Publishing House“ Vetrov Rose ”, 2014), as well as numerous translations and articles. In addition to journalism and cinema, Sergei was very fond of photography and painting. I must say that he did it very well. A man of exceptional erudition, love of life, with a bright sense of humor and rich in word, with a unique charm and charisma, he made every event a holiday.

   Sergey Vyacheslavovich Aprelev has always been and will remain in our hearts an extraordinary person, a great romantic and a real naval officer.

   Sergey put his heart and soul into the festival and we sincerely believe that his brainchild will live and prosper for many, many years in the memory of its founder, for the good of the country and for the joy of Petersburgers and guests of the city!

 

Inga Apreleva