Boat "Saint Nicholas" as a catalyst for the creation of the Russian Navy by Peter I

July 12 2023 1

The creator or, as historians often call him, the "father" of the Russian Naval fleet considered the king of all Rus' and the first emperor of All Russia, Peter the Great.

However, not many people know what exactly aroused the interest of the then young king in shipbuilding and served, so to speak, as a catalyst for the aforementioned reforms.

According to the documented memoirs of Peter I himself, in childhood he found an old boat (a small sailing or sailing-rowing vessel, boat), which was gathering dust in the barn among other junk.

The vessel, presumably of Dutch manufacture, was called "Saint Nicholas" and belonged to the grandfather of Peter I, Mikhail Fedorovich, the first monarch from the Romanov family.

Having learned that the “miracle ship” is capable of sailing even against the wind, the young king wished to see this in practice. The small boat was repaired and launched into the water of the Millet Pond in Izmailovo.

This was the beginning of the passion for the future founder of the Russian Navy in shipbuilding.

By the way, about the latter, already in 1688 Peter I decided to build a "funny fleet" on Lake Pleshcheyevo. So, according to historical according to references, among the order of a hundred ships, it included the boat "Fortuna", which the tsar built with his own hand, taking the boat "Saint Nicholas" as the basis for his grandfathers.

Tellingly, in 1783, the entire "amusing fleet" of Peter I was destroyed by a strong fire. In fact, almost destroyed. Boat "Fortuna" somehow miraculously survived.

However, it didn't matter anymore. Indeed, back in 1696, the tsar created a full-fledged Russian navy with combat multi-gun ships.