The research vessel Vityaz, which inscribed glorious pages in the history of the study of the World Ocean by Soviet scientists, made its last voyage. It made its way from the Black Sea around Europe to the Baltic, where it became eternal parking in Kaliningrad. The last trip of the veteran of the research fleet had certain goals - the study of the water basins of many seas, the Atlantic Ocean, calling at the ports of a number of countries, where friendly meetings were held with colleagues to study the life of the sea. The author, an academician, a prominent scientist who has devoted decades to his beloved work, tells about all this in a lively form.