Three in the boat: Women on how to become a captain of the yacht
Although yachting is becoming an increasingly popular outdoor activity., around him remains a halo of luxury, inaccessible to mere mortals. And this is not the only misunderstanding about sailing, which is still perceived as a burdensome romantic hobby (and not as an exercise requiring training and constant practice), and as a “unmarried affair” (although the gender balance in the yachting community is little, but straightened).
We talked with three captains who had studied at the Wind Power school: Anna Planina, head of the Internet direction in an international advertising agency, interior designer Maria Oleynikova, and architect Svetlana Kravchenko.
Dmitry Kurkin
How to start
Anna Planina: Yachting for me started by chance, in 2014, when I was invited to the regatta. At that time I had no idea what the boats, the sails, and all the more some races for them were. But the regatta was in the Caribbean, and I agreed.
It is better to start with a cruise on a yacht under the management of an experienced captain, to see how this happens, try to spin the winch yourself, "tuck in". I think external factors that could repel interest simply do not exist. Relationships in the crew may not develop, it can rock much, but the person will still have a chance to fall in love with the sails, waves and the wind no matter what. Another may "not go" with the perfect combination of all external factors - just do not like it, that's all. It looks like love, not very predictable.
Maria Oleynikova:The theme of the sea and ships has been around me all my life: there are fathers stories about youth in Vladivostok, and life in St. Petersburg, and friends who began to try sailing in different ways. I was called to join several times, but for the first time I decided to go to a training regatta to Malta in May 2017, and it was one hundred percent hit.
Fears of all newcomers are about the same - seasickness, a long life together with a team of strangers and a salad of new and incomprehensible terms. With the necessary training, the level of stress can be greatly reduced: read the literature on the topic, stock up on dramina (one of the names of dimenhydrinate, a drug used to prevent and relieve motion sickness. - Note ed.), get acquainted in advance with the team or even bring along a couple of like-minded friends with whom you feel comfortable. Usually from the first time it becomes clear whether this suits you or not. And if it fits, then everything will be, there will always be a desire in the sea.
Svetlana Kravchenko:For me, sailing began with a large cruise regatta. Then it consisted of eight boats, not fifty, as it is now. That is, it was not a sport, not an expedition, but a simple cruise, with parties, an aperol on deck, chatter in crossings. I went, I really liked it, then, unexpectedly for myself, I went to learn theory and pass on the rights.
I do not consider yachting something so difficult to carefully and carefully approach the beginning of classes. This is either yours or not. I have a couple of girlfriends who were strongly swayed, for example, on the first hike, and yet now they are fans and always go with me on the boat. There is someone who first tried sports yachting in Nut. And also walks. There is a girlfriend who first stepped on the boat, going to take the captain. And also walks. And there is someone who visited the beautiful warm sea for the first time, completely without problems, and did not go again. This is similar to the situation "on which day of the week it is better to go to a new city to like it." Drive to any! Either like it or not.
Time, money and energy
ANNA PLANINA:In order to obtain a license, in principle, it is enough to complete a seven-day or fourteen-day course (theory and practice), and you will be given a crust. It will cost about a thousand euros, without flights and accommodation. But with such an approach it will not be easy to go far on your own. I did practice after two regattas on cruise yachts (these are the ones in which you can live), after that I went to sailing training for three months in the Nut. When it became obvious that I liked the role of captain, I passed the theory, passed the exam and got the rights. After that, she once again went to sea as a sailor, and only after that she took the yacht on her own.
I try to go at least once every three months at sea, in the summer, during the season I study in the Moscow region. Anyway, every time you step aboard a yacht, you realize that you don’t know something as well as you would like.
MARIA OLEYNIKOVA:You need to understand what yachting is for you: from time to time go to regattas with friends, or choose yachting and pump racing, or learn to be a captain. A lot of options, it all depends on the desire. For myself, I chose an intensive, but smooth mode: I went like a sailor to regattas, each time I learned something new, then I tried sports training in the Nut in the summer - and it was the coolest summer near the water in the company of friends. Then she graduated from the captain, assembled a team and joined the regattas "Wind Power" in a new capacity. Last autumn, on my birthday, I made an independent exit in Turkey around Fethiye Bay. As for skill, I think, here, just like on a bike, I sat down, went. Only every time you learn something new in the process of driving and each time everything is less scary.
SVETLANA KRAVCHENKO: In yachting, you can invest from zero to all the money that is on hand. You can download free textbooks, read them during the lunch break and be the undisputed winner of the cup in Nut - or you can immediately buy a boat and not win anything.
With practice, everything is more straightforward - it is needed both in sports, and in expeditionary, and even in cruising yachting. Every hour on the boat is a chance to learn something that may be needed in a critical situation. And it can be anything, anything that did not happen in the first week or in the first five years. Can I go to sea without practice? Yes of course. I constantly go. Is it possible to say for sure that in this case everything will end well? Each time I hope that my chances for this increase.
Sexism
ANNA PLANINA:The common expression about a woman on the ship is no longer relevant, but the stereotype that yachting is not a “female” occupation is still alive. Explain, as a rule, "heavy physical exertion" and the need to have a "masculine mindset" in order to quickly respond and make decisions in crisis situations. However, everything that is done on the yacht through force is done incorrectly. In addition, women are usually less likely to take risks, which is also important on board.
Of course, when you moor a yacht somewhere in Sicily, in a bathing suit, all the mariners come running to the pier - they also rarely see the woman at the helm. Most actively help, make compliments. But it does not bother me: helping one's neighbor is a good sea habit, and if it is not required, then one can always say no.
MARIA OLEYNIKOVA:Despite the fact that there are not so many female captains, I have met much less often in yachting with sexism than in work, although there are now quite a few women designers and architects. At the regatta in Greece for twenty-nine boats, the captains-girls were only six, and there were about four hundred participants altogether, and many were surprised to learn that I was the captain. Sometimes guys condescendingly wonder if it’s hard for me. It is difficult, of course, but a couple of strong sailors solve this problem.
SVETLANA KRAVCHENKO: A huge number of people help me on yachting. Maybe because they are pleased that several girls will thank them (I usually have a female team), that they are stronger and can help, or maybe simply because helping others is normal regardless of gender. But, probably, they help more often than men. In any case, I don’t want to give up on it: I'm glad that someone is smiling and doing a few laps around our boat - it's just beautiful.
And even at the acceptance of the boat, you can ask for an additional blanket or a can of gasoline for a tender (light boat equipped with a motor and oars. - Note Ed.)while you are smiling at a satisfied charter employee, who wonders where we can go on this boat if we have no men in our team.
Typical and abnormal situations
ANNA PLANINA: The most memorable cases are associated with abnormal situations. For example, once we were pumping water from a friend's yacht at the anchorage — it was annoying, but still fun. I remember the transition from Tenerife to Homer in the winter of 2018 (Canary Islands), then I helped the woman captain. It was my first time in the ocean, there was a lot of wind, high waves and not much experience for both. At first it was a bit scary, but again only positive impressions remained. In a really bad situation, I, fortunately, have not yet fallen.
MARIA OLEYNIKOVA:The first exit to the sea is a thrill, delight, nothing is clear, it is impossible to forget. The first night transition is awesome. The first time to spit from the stern and finally recognize that you are not stronger than seasickness - awesome. These are all typical situations for yachting.
SVETLANA KRAVCHENKO:When I started as a skipper, at one time I was constantly changing or breaking something. The anchor fell out, it was helped by the guys from the next boat to get it. Drowned outborder (outboard motor. - Note Ed) - they also helped me get, forgotten the documents on the neighboring island - I had to return separately from the flotilla the next day. It seems that all this fit in one week. But most of all I was upset when, at the end of this week, the cosmetic bag with all its contents sank.
Community, partnership and competition
ANNA PLANINA:The yachting community is the most friendly environment possible. The fact is that a trip on a yacht - and even more so a sailing race - is an event with risks. As a rule, all participants in the process understand this; there is simply no room for a negative in such conditions. The amateur regatta in general resembles rather a pioneer camp for thirty-year-olds. There is competition in the race, between competing teams - this is natural. And on a single boat there is a subordination and with proper distribution of roles, no competition arises.
MARIA OLEYNIKOVA: For me, the yachting community is primarily about being attentive to each other, about respect, about mutual aid and about a very special understanding of freedom. Competition? I do not know. And what is there to compete for? The sea is huge, take the boat, join.
SVETLANA KRAVCHENKO:It's hard for me to even call it a community. These are just friends, a successful company, which has now become a full-fledged part of my life. We see each other, of course, not only at sea. At the same time, people change quickly, someone comes new, someone disappears, but almost all instantly become part of the close circle. I do not know what the matter is - in the general interest or in the fact that "aliens" are quickly cut off. Moreover, in my professional community, on the contrary, it is not so easy to join - but on the yachting I communicate with very different people. Different professions, different income levels, different lifestyles - and almost all I really like.
I did not see the competition anywhere: neither in competitions, nor in races, nor in the cruise - in “my” yachting there is none at all. Even if this is a race, this is a race of friends who, after the finish, are happy to discuss: "Oh, squeezed me off the mark!" I can always count on one hundred percent support. On one of the first trips, I made a mistake with the calculation of time and went after sunset on a boat with a sat down walkie-talkie. I was nervous when I looked at the map and wondered how to find a place for mooring in such darkness. And here several boats from our flotilla approached from different sides and in spite of their deeds they escorted us to mooring. Surprisingly, it was not only the boats of the "friends" - on one were the guys who were on our regatta for the first time in their lives.
PHOTO: Natalia Butova
