Across the oceans and steppes

The Day found Vadym Biriukovych in the social networking service Facebook. The guy writes that he is going to achieve his dream, a round-the-world voyage on a yacht, and is now personally finishing the vessel, forming a crew, and raising funds for the voyage. Formally, the idea of the 27-year-old Kyivite is expressed in the national nonprofit organization On Board Ukraine, which he and his two friends established in December 2012. Its goal sounds ambitious: to project a positive image of Ukraine in the world. In more concrete terms, On Board Ukraine is actively preparing for a round-the-world voyage on a sailboat. Its goal will be, above all, to practice “citizen diplomacy” aimed at establishing this country’s reputation at the global scale. “We want to show that we, ordinary Ukrainians, can really build a yacht with our own hands – not just buy one – and travel around the world on it. We want to show others that we can do everything,” Vadym says about the project’s mission.

The young man has no doubts about the success of his endeavor, for the ample proof that this is possible is the story of his grandfather Dmytro Biriukovych who took a cruise under the motto “Let the World Know Ukraine” in 2000. Vadym, 14 at the time, was also part of the crew and spent two years in travels. The expedition on board the Kyiv schooner Batkivshchyna (“Fatherland”) under the guidance of Captain Dmytro Biriukovych started in the summer of 1999 from the countries of Western Europe, reached the US shores in June 2000, and ended in April 2004 in Sydney, Australia.

It was a symbolic cruise, for the Batkivshchyna was of the same age as Ukrainian independence. “Traveling across the world, the crew always came across the fact that nobody knew anything about Ukraine. They were asked: is it Russia? Thus they hit upon an idea to show Ukraine the way it was done in olden times, when peoples came to know about one another thanks to ships. They decided to make presentation materials about Ukraine. A charity foundation, Let the World Know Ukraine, was set up to promote knowledge about Ukraine by way of citizen diplomacy. I want to continue this tradition by means of my voyage,” Vadym says smilingly.

FROM A GREAT DREAM TO A CONCRETE PLAN OF ACTIONS

Vadym first put out to sea on a yacht at the age of… one year. His parents and he sailed from Kyiv to Odesa on the yacht Tsemental which his grandfather had personally built. “Later, when I was nine, we went down the Dnipro to the Black Sea. At 12-13, I sailed with my granddad to Israel. It was just a travel for me at the time, but as soon as 2000 was a full-fledged, albeit the youngest, crew member – I would stand watch, wash dishes, clean the deck, and raise the sails. Only once, when there was a severe storm in the Atlantic, my grandpa allowed me not to stand watch,” Vadym says. “I have gained enough experience. I know the ropes, and I want to and will be sailing.”

On the New Year eve, the young man quit his job to devote himself to the achievement of his dream. Vadym offered his project for crowd funding, where everyone could invest money in this voyage. But the No.1 task is to finish the cruising yacht Batkivshchyna-2. Like his grandfather before him, Vadym is making it from ferrocement.

“Grandpa, a Candidate of Sciences (Construction), devoted all his lifetime to his hobby – yachts and civil construction. It is he who built Ukraine’s or, maybe, the Soviet Union’s first ferrocement yacht. This yacht is still in service. My father sails on it,” Vadym says. In his words, ferrocement is a relatively cheap and reliable material. “It is difficult to put ferrocement yachts into mass production, but it is a very convenient and durable material for DIY purposes. Unlike wooden or plastic boats, these can be built out of doors. The unfinished boats can winter in the open and in the snow for several years in a row. Of course, there are some downsides, but, in general, it is a handy and easy-to-access material. It is popular in the UK and New Zealand. Grandpa is handing down his skills to me – successfully, as it seems to me. I have the knowledge and the desire to finish the yacht,” Vadym says.

Vadym estimates that finishing and equipping the yacht will cost about 60,000 dollars. Additional funds are needed for the cruise itself. “We need approximately 100-120 thousand dollars to finish the construction of the yacht and mount an expedition,” Vadym says. The guy has no doubts that he will manage to raise this money, for he is getting more and more sure every day that if you are striving for something, the whole world will be helping you. “I do believe that if you are after something, you are certain to succeed. All you have to do is work, and people will help you. That The Day found me is just one more confirmation of this,” he says.

The yacht is designed for a crew of 10 to 12. Naturally, the first place in the crew is reserved for Vadym’s grandfather Dmytro Biriukovych. “During the expedition, we are sure to keep a diary and a log. There will be a special page on the website, and we will be filming a video. I think it will be interesting for people. We are planning to engage a photographer and a cameraman to record everything. Then there will be, by all means, an educative project and a photo exhibit,” Vadym says, sharing his plans.

ON THE PEOPLE’S YACHT CLUB

It is also worthwhile to mention Kyiv’s so far only “people’s” yacht club founded by Kostiantyn Biriukovych, Vadym’s granduncle, which has existed for over 45 years. “We do not have a posh yacht that costs a million, although there is a club with this kind of yachts next to ours. The idea of our club is different. The Kyiv Cruising Yacht Club is located in Osokorky, which is perhaps the only access to the Dnipro for Kyivites in this area,” Vadym says.

The club survived in the very cruel 1990s and is now living and developing. Dmytro Biriukovych notes that, in comparison to the communist past, “life has not become less cruel, but it is more logical now. Everyone has a chance – you should only be able to catch it. There had been no chances before.” Vadym also decided not to miss his chance.

The Day’s Fact File

According to the publication Kyiv Cruising Yacht Club: Heading for the Fifth Decade, the Kyiv Cruising Yacht Club was founded in October 1967 by Kostiantyn BIRIUKOVYCH.

It has 250 actual and prospective members as well as over 180 yachts.

Sport achievements

♦ participation of the sailboat Hetman Sahaidachny in the Whitbread Round the World Race;

♦ passage on the yacht Honta from the shores of Western Australia to Ukraine;

♦ round-the-world cruise of the Valerii and Natalia Petushak couple on board the yacht Lelitka from 1994 until 1998;

♦ expedition of the schooner Batkivshchyna under the guidance of Captain Dmytro Biriukovych: it started in the summer of 1999 from the countries of Western Europe, reached the US shores in June 2000, and finished in April 2004 in Sydney, Australia;

♦ round-the-world expedition of the Ukrainian yacht Kupava which rounded the globe in 888 days and passed, for the first time in Ukraine’s history, the extreme-most point of the South American continent, Cape Horn, and the Horn Islands in winter upstream the Drake Passage, and provided the first shot for Mykhailo Illienko’s film The Firecrosser;

♦ participation of the club’s alumnus Mykhailo Moroz in the expedition on the vessel Scorpius.