“Yachting is a very organic and natural sport for Ukraine – we have the Dnipro, the seas, and a lot of other water bodies. And when the Cossacks used to sail on their chaika (“seagull”. – Ed.) boats, it was also yachting of sorts,” Oleksandr VOITENKO, commodore of the Stugna cruising yacht club, says to The Day. There are lots of races, regattas, and long-distance cruises under his belt. “I am 63, and I have been in yachting for almost all my lifetime – ever since I was a student if not earlier. I’d read so much of Hemingway, Jack London, and other adventure books in childhood and signed up for a sailing society at the Kyiv Palace of Pioneers. First I would sail on small Olympic-class yachts, then on the cruising ones, and, as time went by, I acquired a cheap yacht of my own. I’ve sailed on it across the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmora, down the Dnipro, and even to Bulgaria more than once…,” the Stugna commodore says. “I like this sport very much.”
Today, children either read less or read entirely different books – anyway, practically nobody wishes to go in for sailing sport.
“There are several varieties of yachting, such as Olympic sailing events and cruising yachting which involves long-distance cruises, cruises for several days and nights, and tourism as such. As for the Olympic events, one should begin doing them in childhood. There are several sailing societies in Kyiv, which admit kids. But there are very few, if any, of those who wish to do this,” the yachtsman says. Likewise, there seems to be no special interest among adults either. It’s a pity, for it is a beautiful, romantic, and, undoubtedly, aristocratic sport accessible to everyone.
“There are several yacht clubs in Kyiv, where you can do yachting almost for free. All you need is a desire. Then you should come to the club, sign up for a crew, and show that you really want to be an active member of it. It is not just about taking a ride – this also includes yacht maintenance, cruises, regattas, and races. You pay here with your spare time, and far from all are prepared for this,” Voitenko says. Nevertheless, people prefer to watch races, regattas, and competitions from the bank, relishing the beautiful spectacle and filming it of their cell phones.
Not only a white sail and water
The Stugna cruising yacht club, founded in 1979, is located on the Dnieper’s right bank in the mouth of the river Stugna, 30 kilometers downstream from Kyiv, in a small town of Ukrainka. There all the conditions here for practicing sailing, so there are as many as two yacht clubs in the town.
“Only a very small part of those who come to our yacht club remain behind perhaps because the first impressions – a white sail and water – are followed by quite a few duties to be done. So people drop this, go to charter yachts, or simply disappear,” Voitenko explains.
Besides, there sort of a stereotype in Ukraine today that yachting is an entertainment for the rich and ordinary people cannot afford it. But it is totally wrong, Voitenko says. “High-class yachting – expensive yachts and the French Riviera – is, indeed, an unattainable level for an average individual. But it is just a tiny part of yachting. What is very widespread and rather inexpensive today is charter yachting, when people can spend ten days on a good yacht in Croatia or Turkey for 500 to 600 dollars. There are also yacht clubs, where one can regularly do this sport at a very low cost,” the sportsman explains.
On the new opportunities and the loss of priorities
“In the Soviet era there seemed to be more opportunities, on the one hand, but much fewer, on the other. There were restrictions, difficulties with long-distance cruising… But now, if you have a passport and a desire, the borders are practically open. This year, two of our yachts sailed to the Sea of Marmora, many people competed for the Middle Dnipro Cup – a two weeks’ sail from Ukrainka to Svitlovodsk and back. There are also weekend regattas, for example, on Ukrainka Day,” Voitenko says. Incidentally, Ukrainika is marking its 45th anniversary on September 7-9. There is also a sailing regatta on the Town Day program, which starts at 2 p.m.
Although there are more opportunities now, yachting is rather slowly developing in Ukraine. “Conditions for development have been created, but there still is a scope for development. I would even say that conditions have deteriorated in the past few years, especially after we were put under the Education Ministry’s jurisdiction. There is no clear-cut structure, and priorities are being lost,” the Stugna commodore explains, only to add optimistically: “I think thing will be OK some day.”
