Ukrainian ship to participate in OpSail (04/09/00)

Ukrainian ship to participate in OpSail

KYIV - The Batkivschyna schooner will have left Ukraine on April 7 for its latest destination: America. The 90-foot, two-masted vessel, with its unique cement hull design, will sail through the Black and Mediterranean seas and the Atlantic Ocean on its way to San Juan, Puerto Rico, by May 25, in time to join the OpSail fleet.

OpSail 2000 - the largest maritime event in history - will bring ships from over 60 different countries, including Ukraine, to selected ports along the eastern coast of the United States. The tour will culminate in New York Harbor for a historic July 4 Independence Day celebration.

Captain Dymytrii Birioukovitch - who also helped invent the lightweight concrete bottom design utilized by the gaff schooner - hopes, by sailing abroad, to increase the general public's awareness of Ukrainian history, culture, sovereignty and geopolitical and economic potential. He is a retired engineer and lifelong sailing enthusiast who, for the past two years, has pursued his vision of a five-year world tour.

"Our mission," he says, "is a straightforward one. We wish to acquaint Americans and Canadians with our people and our ship, and with business opportunities to be found in our country. We are now 52 million Ukrainians living in a country the size of France. For years, nothing was heard about us, but that is changing. Ours is a proud culture and we will travel a quarter of the way around the world to shake hands with other proud peoples."

Formally invited last year by King Juan Carlos of Spain, Capt. Birioukovitch and his Batkivschyna traveled 3,600 nautical miles through the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara, through the Mediterranean Sea's unfriendly weather conditions, and through the Straight of Gibraltar, into the Atlantic Ocean en route to El Ferrol, Spain, where the crew took part in the 500th anniversary celebration of the Spanish Armada.

This year's trip has an added feature. A special project organized jointly with Kirk Middle School in Wilmington, Del., will connect the school and the ship via special satellite and Internet link. Each day for 20 minutes the ship will give an update and a lesson on the students' homepage. The subjects will include geography and history.

Also, a film crew will be on board to record a television series. The "Discover Ukraine" project coordinators are also continuing discussions with Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry to have Ukrainian diplomats make presentations aboard the ship about Ukraine's economic and geopolitical potential while it is in harbor at various ports, including Miami, Norfolk, Va., Baltimore, Wilmington, New York, New London, Conn., Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Portland, Maine.

As the Batkivschyna was ready to depart, Capt. Birioukovitch issued a call to Ukrainian Americans and others to join the crew at various points along the way. "For those who wish to join us," he explained, "we have room for 11 crew members during our sails across the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and our cruise along the East Coast of North America. One of the very special moments that takes place in each port will be the traditional Parade of Sails. On those occasions we can have up to 60 sailors-in-training on board."

For additional information on this historic undertaking, visit the "Discover Ukraine" website at http://www.discover-ukraine.kiev.ua or the Batkivschyna website at http://www.teachout.org/sail/sched.html.

| Home Page |