LAISVE LICOR 43 BAZAN 57

LICOR 43

THE RETURN OF A LEGEND

60 foot aluminum sloop was built in Spain, in Cartagena E.N.Bazan navy shipyard in 1981.

Architets: J. Coello, P. Morales.

Constructor: EMPRESA NACIONAL BAZAN (Cartagena).

She was designed and built for 1982 Whitbread Race.

She took part in the Race as Spain entreeLiquor 43.Later she was transformed to fast cruiser and used as a charter boat till 1991 in Spain.

In 1992 took part in Columbus Race to USA (4 th place ) , in 1993-5 completed a circumnavigation .In 2003-4-2025 underwent major refit and upgrades, including hull work and repaint, interior work.

The Licor 43's round-the-world voyage marked a turning point in Spanish sailing. Despite the precariousness of resources, Joaquim Coello's team paved the way for future projects to follow. The regatta was a school of thought and continued. To name a few,

Toni Guiu

, at 19 years old, was the youngest crew member, and together with Jordi Brufau they co-sponsored the Fortuna Lights in the following edition in 1985, the second Spanish boat in the regatta.

Renaissance in the Baltic

The Licor 43 was lost to trace. Its wake seemed to fade until it resurfaced in the Baltic Sea. In 1992, it was acquired by a group of Lithuanian sailors to participate in the Great Columbus Regatta.

The sailboat sailed to the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda for a major overhaul, and renamed Laisvė (‘freedom’ in Lithuanian) became the pride of the young Baltic republic in the midst of national reconstruction.

After crossing the Atlantic and achieving a creditable fourth place, the Laisvė set off a year later on an unconventional round-the-world voyage: sailing east, visiting ports with a diplomatic and emotional objective: to carry the message of the new, free Lithuania.

On December 23, 1994, the Laisvė crossed Cape Horn again, 13 years later. This time with full rigging. It was the first time in Lithuanian history that its flag had flown at the most feared head of sailing.

A third life: the Ocean Globe Race 2027

After years of formative voyages through the Norwegian fjords and the Baltic Sea, the sailboat ran aground in 2004. For almost two decades, it disappeared into oblivion. Until 2022, Aleksejs Vjuns, a classic sailing enthusiast, found the abandoned hull in Klaipėda, bought it and moved it to the Latvian port of Riga.

Today, this legendary boat wants to write the third chapter of an unrepeatable story: participation in the Ocean Globe Race, the round-the-world regatta that has recovered the essence of sailing with the protagonists of the past and many boats that competed in the legendary years of the 1970s and 1980s,

demonstrating that some boats do not age, but rather become legends. The Licor 43 is one of them.

The boat is currently in Riga which is Latvia.

The boat is registered in Lithuania Klaipeda, and currently is under Lithuanian flag.

FEFIT

MAJOR WORKS WERE DONE FOR LAST 2 YEARS

NEW INTERIOR

NEW ELECTRONICS

NEW/USED SAILS

ALMOST READY FOR NEXT ORC 2027