When life's all plain sailing

The maritime city of St Petersburg has a long tradition of greeting visitors, not least those who arrive by sea.

The city is becoming an increasingly popular destination for sailing enthusiasts from all over Europe -- from Germany, Poland, England and the Scandinavian countries.

Visiting St Petersburg by yacht is much easier now than it was 10 years ago, when the communist bureaucracy made life difficult for foreign sailors arriving from Western ports.

One of St Petersburg's oldest yacht clubs, Baltic Yacht Club, can arrange your official invitation by fax. In addition it sponsors a host of sailing activities whether you live here all year round or are just passing through as a tourist.

Founded in 1861 as the St Petersburg Imperial Sailing Club, the organization was originally set up by royal charter "for the development of sailing in Russia and St Petersburg."

For the past 20 years the club has belonged to the Baltic Shipping Company -- a joint government and private venture -- and was primarily for the company's employees. It has a stock of 50 boats of various class from schooners, yawls and sloops to cutters, kestrels and rigs.

The club is located on Primorskaya right by Kirovsky Park. Today a number of trade union societies, private companies and individual enthusiasts share the club's ample facilities, and moor their boats at its quays.

Business Manager Alexander Maximadji said, "It's becoming quite an industry now. Whereas a few years ago we could expect only a handful of boats from abroad turning up at the club, now we're seeing hundreds of boats each year from all over Europe. We have formed links with several international sailing associations such as Transocean, Danish Ocean Cruising and the German Union of Cruising Yachts.

"The club has grown in recent years and now we have over 1,000 members. Generally anyone with an interest in sailing can become a member, either Russian or foreign and we only charge an annual subscription rate of 5,000 roubles ($1).

"We also run a sailing school with special courses for both adults and children including tuition, examinations and certificates from basic crewman level to senior helmsman, skipper and captain levels," he said.

But the Baltic Yacht Club is not just about sailing and training, it's also a popular social club with its own bar and cafe, and even a shop which sells wet-suits and sailing gear.

Sailing enthusiast Alexei Batalov, who regularly uses the club's facilities, said "At the end of the sailing season we all get together and celebrate with parties and prize-giving. There is such a friendly atmosphere at the club. It's a great place to meet friends with a common interest, have a drink and talk about our adventures over the summer."

Alex is a member of St Petersburg's other principal sailing club, the River Yacht Club, a young and lively organization with many students among its members.

It has its own modern clubhouse overlooking Primorskaya which was built especially for the 1980 Olympics. The club also boasts its own yachts including eight Russian Class LIV and LVI boats. One of these, the Aurora, took part in the internationally famous Cutty Sark Tall Ships Races in 1993 when she sailed to Newcastle, England. Then it received coverage from the BBC and was featured in English independent television news broadcasts.

The Aurora is a Polish-made, 55-foot white sloop with one mast and one sail ahead of the mast, and hopes to compete in next year's Cutty Sark Tall Ships Races which will finish up in St Petersburg.

When the Aurora's nine-man crew isn't planning a long voyage abroad, she regularly goes out to various destinations in and around the Gulf of Finland.

I was lucky enough to be invited out for a sail to Kotlin and beyond the naval base at Kronstadt, one recent weekend. Kotlin is a popular destination among sailing enthusiasts, located only 30 kilometers from St Petersburg, and can be reached within four hours.

The sea was pleasantly calm, and the crew stocked up with bottles of Baltika beer before setting out shortly after midday. The Aurora, some 17 years old, comfortably sleeps eight.

"When I was a student at the University of Ocean Technology, the university paid for us to go sailing. But we had to work hard in the autumn and spring to get the boat ready for the following sailing season, so it worked both ways," said Alex.

"Now I've got a good job I can afford to go sailing more often, so it's not so hard on the pocket. We feel like a family when we're at sea, it's like having six brothers. This does tend to be a male-dominated hobby here in Russia, although in 1992 we took a female crew-member on board," he added.

Our passage from St Petersburg towards Kotlin Island and Kronstadt was remarkably calm, with a brisk but warm wind to carry us along at a good clip. For the novice the experience can be exhilarating and scary at the same time. When the boat skates along the water at an angle of 90 degrees, it's as much as you can do to keep your lunch down.

The scenery out of St Petersburg is hardly "Swallows and Amazons" -- we were met by rows upon rows of dull Soviet apartment blocks starkly outlined against the grey sky. But as we approached and skirted past Kronstadt we had a marvelous view of its Byzantine-style Cathedral, a collection of menacing-looking battle cruisers and the lush green shoreline.

And on to our destination, an abandoned old brick and granite fortress built in the 1840s to protect St Petersburg's farthest reaches against enemy ships coming into the Gulf of Finland from the Baltic.

The small island is amazing and the fort is fun to explore. You can climb to the top of the structure by means of a huge cast-iron spiral staircase and wander through the old operations and lookout rooms to see where cannon were fired through the holes in the massive stone walls.

We were not alone and were greeted by a group of ten sailors lazing around a barbecue fire until the rain forced them and us back to our respective boats.

The return trip back to St Petersburg was less calm than the outward journey and we were met by sudden squalls, choppy waves and rain showers. My stomach finally gave in and reluctantly parted with its lunch.

Sailing in St Petersburg can be a great adventure and these two clubs offer young and old alike the chance to broaden their experience and quite literally their horizons. The sea is part of St Petersburg and St Petersburg is part of the sea. Here, right on our doorstep, is the opportunity to sample the sea as an interest or hobby and learn some skills too often lacking in today's society -- teamwork, leadership, discipline and coping with danger.

What:
Baltic Yacht Club (affiliated to Baltic Sea Shipping Co Where: 5 Mezhevoy Kanal, Primorskaya How to get there: Take Metro to Petrogradskaya and then trolley bus 9 to Kirov Park Contact: Alexander Maximadji. Tel. (812) 186-3935, fax. (812) 230-7585 Cost: Cost of sailing with an experienced crew per day is $12 on a 10-meter boat or $18 for boats over 15m. Prices include use of club facilities including hot and cold water washing facilities. Catering and sauna facilities are available at extra cost

*Guided tours around the waterways in St Petersburg, the Gulf of Finland, motorboat tours through the city's rivers and canals, sailing tours around the Baltic and Black Seas, historical adventure trips in mock-Viking and Greek ships, can all be organized by the company. Phone for information.

What:
The St Petersburg River Yacht Club Where: 7 Petrovskaya Kosa Tel: 235-7217 Fax: 235-7067 Contact: Gennady Kukov Cost: Negotiable

Sailing to St Petersburg is as simple as ABC.

A) Simply get your local yacht club to send a letter requesting an official invitation to Alexander Maximadji on fax no. (812) 230-7585. The invitation will be sent within two days.

B) Apply to the Russian embassy in your country for a visa form. Send this off with a photocopy of your invitation with four recent passport-size photos, and photocopies of the first eight and last two pages of your passport. Don't forget to include a cheque for the process fee and include all the information asked on the form. Send registered post.

C) On arrival in Russian waters you will have to pass through customs at Kronstadt or at the Passenger Bay on Vasilyevsky Island at 5 Mezhevoy Kanal. Contact the club on VHF Channel 72 for advice or call the customs office at (812) 251-1877/9776. Lastly, Bon Voyage!