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Who are we?

The goal of the Jack Strong Foundation is to save the “Guardian of the Morning” – the historic yacht of General Ryszard Kukliński, and to fulfill his will, according to which the boat is to train young people. General Kukliński’s yacht is a valuable historical monument that, once restored to its splendour, will once again successfully fulfil its mission of training young people. 

For nearly four years, the vessel waited patiently for better days, which came when the sailing ship was donated to the foundation. We are embarking on a mission to restore the yacht, which will cut through the waves and write new chapters of its history again.

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OUR MISSION:

Bringing General Ryszard Kukliński's historic yacht back to the seas and oceans, thus fulfilling the will of the General, who obliged us to train future sailing trainees.

YACHT HISTORY

The historical yacht of general Ryszard Kukliński has an interesting and difficult past. The yacht was built in 1965 at the Joseph Conrad Yacht Shipyard in Gdańsk (former name of the Stogi shipyard) as a prototype unit of the Opal series, designed by Edmund Rejewski and Wacław Liskiewicz – yacht constructors written in the history of Polish sailing. Ryszard Kukliński bought a boat from the Navy in 1980. Before that, from 1969, he was a vice-commander, and then a commander of the Atol Club of the soldiers from the Warsaw Garrison.

After Kukliński’s escape to the USA, the yacht was confiscated for the benefit of the state treasury and stored in the Central Maritime Museum.

In 1986, the vessel was bought by the Polish Yacht Club in Gdynia. Two attempts to restore the decaying unit to service have failed. In 1997, the yacht was bought and renovated by the Atlas company and a year later handed over to Kukliński during the colonel’s visit to Poland. Kukliński initially planned to move the yacht to the USA, finally he donated it as a notarized donation to the Christian School Under Sail in Gdańsk. After the renovation, for almost seventeen years it served the yachting training of youth.

The lack of sufficient funds for a thorough renovation meant that four years ago the boat had to be saved from sinking. Until spring 2021, there was no hope of returning the yacht to the sea. It was then that the idea of renovating it and creating a monument to Polish sailing arose. The Jack Strong Foundation bought the yacht to fulfill the general’s will, thanks to the initiative of business leaders.

The historical yacht of general Ryszard Kukliński has an interesting and difficult past. The yacht was built in 1965 at the Joseph Conrad Yacht Shipyard in Gdańsk (former name of the Stogi shipyard) as a prototype unit of the Opal series, designed by Edmund Rejewski and Wacław Liskiewicz – yacht constructors written in the history of Polish sailing. Ryszard Kukliński bought a boat from the Navy in 1980. Before that, from 1969, he was a vice-commander, and then a commander of the Atol Club of the soldiers from the Warsaw Garrison.

After Kukliński’s escape to the USA, the yacht was confiscated for the benefit of the state treasury and stored in the Central Maritime Museum.

In 1986, the vessel was bought by the Polish Yacht Club in Gdynia. Two attempts to restore the decaying unit to service have failed. In 1997, the yacht was bought and renovated by the Atlas company and a year later handed over to Kukliński during the colonel’s visit to Poland. Kukliński initially planned to move the yacht to the USA, finally he donated it as a notarized donation to the Christian School Under Sail in Gdańsk. After the renovation, for almost seventeen years it served the yachting training of youth.

The lack of sufficient funds for a thorough renovation meant that four years ago the boat had to be saved from sinking. Until spring 2021, there was no hope of returning the yacht to the sea. It was then that the idea of renovating it and creating a monument to Polish sailing arose. The Jack Strong Foundation bought the yacht to fulfill the general’s will, thanks to the initiative of business leaders.

1965
Construction of the prototype of the "OPAL" yacht
in Stogi Yacht Shipyard in Gdańsk of Joseph Conrad / purchase of the vessel by the Sailing Section of WKS Legia Warszawa
1969-80
The yacht goes to the Atol Club
of the soldiers from the Warsaw Garrison and until 1980 sails under the command of Col. Ryszard Kukliński - vice-commander, and then commander of the club. With time, Kukliński bought the yacht, which became his private property
1981
Evacuation of Ryszard Kuklinski and confiscation of the property
1997
Renovation of the yacht by the Atlas company
1998
Handing the yacht over to Ryszard Kukliński during the general's first visit to Poland
2001
Donation of the yacht to the Christian School Under Sail
drawing up a will according to which the yacht is to train young people
2021
Donating the “Guardian of the Morning” to the Jack Strong Foundation in order to save it
In November 2021, the Jack Strong Foundation signed a notarial deed of purchase of the "Guardian of the Morning" with the Christian School Under Sail, guided by the idea of saving this unique and beautiful souvenir with a spy story in the lead role

NEWS

PARTNERS

CONTACT

Leszek Pochroń-Frankowski
tel. +48 531 730 752
[email protected]

Together, we can make the historic yacht return to the sea. Contact us if you are inspired by the idea of saving the “Guardian of the Morning” and want to learn how to support, together with the Jack Strong Foundation team, the fulfillment of the will of General Ryszard Kukliński – a Polish CIA agent who played a key role in the end of the Cold War and became the hero of one of the most interesting spy stories in the world.

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