Batkivschyna on the move again as it prepares for its next adventure (03/31/02)

Batkivschyna on the move again as it prepares for its next adventure

by Natalka K. Pollock

FARMINGTON, Conn. - It had always been his dream to travel down the Mississippi River in his own boat and see with his own eyes the country described by Mark Twain. Even though he was advised that the Mighty Mississippi was too swift and wide and highly trafficked to allow a small tall ship safe passage, Capt. Dmytrii Birioukovitch persisted and realized his dream unscathed at the end of last summer.

Getting into Tampa Bay and finding dockage, after crossing the Gulf of Mexico from New Orleans, was another challenge that required the help of friends, old and new, to surmount. All along his travels throughout the United States the helmsman of the Batkivschyna has depended on the kindness of strangers and the help of new friends. Despite the obstacles, he has never lost his optimism and his faith in the goodness of his fellow man and woman, as he often relates.

He called me on the eve of his departure from Louisiana, asking for the coordinates for the dock that he had been promised alongside the ship Victory in Tampa. I called the museum ship and dutifully wrote down the information, so that I could pass it on to him when he called back at the pre-arranged time. He thanked me and told me he expected to arrive at his destination in five days.

I know next to nothing about boats. The little I know I learned from having helped to organize a few welcoming events for the Ukrainian schooner, on behalf of the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund. The partnership seemed perfect for both groups last summer - the captain had an opportunity to further his mission of raising the awareness of Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians about his fatherland, and CCRF benefited from rallying Ukrainian communities along his route to organize fund-raisers and create marketing opportunities.

I did not count on becoming close friends with the captain and his crew when I began working with them as a CCRF volunteer. So when they turned to me for help, I knew I could not dismiss them. That connection to Ukraine and to my upbringing through my friendship with them was too strong to ignore. A few days after my call to Florida, The Victory's marketing director called me back. "What do you mean by free dockage next to us? What boat? What arrangement?" she said to me.

I was stunned. I pictured the captain, his wife and crew sailing into Tampa Bay in a few days and finding out that they had no place to tie up. I could not imagine what they would do. They had neither the contacts nor the funds to arrange for alternate space at the public dock. And I knew next to nothing about boats.

I pleaded their case, and the woman from the Victory reluctantly agreed to help. I was not convinced that her efforts would be enough. I had to tap all my resources. I found out through the schooner's network of U.S. friends that the reason for the captain's interest in docking in Florida was to spend the winter and participate in the Americas' Sail Regatta in 2002.

So I also called a Connecticut board member of the regatta organization, Doug Brown. Doug is the former director of the Port of New London, now enjoying early retirement in Norwich. He had met the captain when the Batkivschyna had sailed into New London for OpSail 2000. As do most port personnel, I have found out, he has a can-do attitude and a straightforward manner, both of which come in handy in a crisis situation. He became my adviser, my mentor and my support system through the next 10 days that it took to resolve the ensuing logistical morass.

The Victory had a pilot, ship's agent and port director at its behest. Doug knew one of the vessel's board members who owned a private dock as part of an exclusive waterside condominium project. The dock owner was prevailed upon to offer free dockage for a few days, and then it seemed that, with the team of professionals we had assembled onsite, we would be able to get the Batkivshchyna settled at least temporarily until more permanent space could be located.

Five days came and went, and my contacts in Tampa Bay reported no sighting of the schooner. Another day and then another, and there was still no word of its whereabouts. I was getting worried. My phone calls to Tampa were becoming more frequent. Surely they were not lost at sea as they had been for two weeks on the way to OpSail 2000 in New York? Should we ask the Coast Guard to search for them now as they did then? These thoughts were running through my mind.

Finally, they sailed into view, and were abruptly stopped by the Coast Guard upon entering the main channel in Tampa Bay - the one used by major oceanliners, the one leading to MacDill Air Force Base, which, after September 11, was being used to launch B52 bombers into flight to Afghanistan. For several hours, we had no contact with the boat. The Coast Guard, now on high alert, was not very happy to find this unannounced foreign vessel in the way. They asked The Victory team of boat people for a stateside contact for The Batkivshchyna, and by default, that became me.

So the Coast Guard began calling me on a regular basis, requesting information and giving instructions. I must say, despite the fact they are essentially government employees, they were good to work with - educated, professional, well-mannered, and with their priorities ultimately in the right place - to ensure the safety of our boat and the people on it.

Meanwhile, the Batkivschyna was required to remain anchored far offshore and out of the flight path of our country's fighter planes until a suitable location could be found for them. The temporary dockage was rejected by the Coast Guard because it would become too shallow during low tide and the boat would list, endangering its crew, so they said. Now the Coast Guard began calling me more frequently. The help promised by the Victory seemed to be evaporating and no other alternatives for dock space were materializing.

Doug called on a contact within the Office of the Tampa Mayor. I sent out an emergency e-mail to as many Ukrainians in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area as I could find, asking for information and help. No luck. After three days of being anchored out at sea in the sweltering heat, the crew was showing signs of anxiety. I had no idea if they had any food or water left, and the sanitary conditions were, no doubt, unpleasant at best. Every time I spoke with the Coast Guard, I asked them to send words of encouragement to the crew, and the Coast Guard began calling me every hour, pressing for a resolution.

There seemed to be no solution, but yet I knew there had to be one. Doug and I finally reasoned that we had exhausted every possibility in Tampa, and we should research nearby St. Petersburg. I called the Port office there at 4 p.m., threw myself at their mercy, and by 4:50 p.m. we had free dockage for The Batkivschyna for an unspecified length of time in the port of St. Petersburg.

After wintering in St. Petersburg along the University of Southern Florida's seawall and at no cost because we were able to make the case that they were an educational vessel, the schooner is now getting spruced up, in preparation for its next event - the Americas' Sail Regatta in June. Before he embarks on his next leg to Jamaica and Curacao and then back to St. Petersburg as part of the regatta, the captain hopes to find a drydock so that he can repair some damage on the small keel and take care of routine maintenance.

Shortly after their arrival in Florida last fall, the Ukrainian communities in the area invited the Captain and Mrs. Birioukovitch to a festival at the Epiphany of Our Lord Ukrainian Catholic Church, led by Andrij Slywka, director of the Kalyna Dance Troupe. Some of the new friends they made there invited them to their homes over the winter, and the staff of the Port of St. Petersburg has assisted them with their needs these past several months. One couple in particular, Ruslana and Volodya Panov, who emigrated from Ukraine just a few years ago, have devoted countless hours and resources to their new friends. As always, the crew of the Batkivschyna is dependent upon and grateful for the kindness of strangers, who more often than not become lasting friends.

After the Americas' Sail regatta, the Ukrainian tall ship will be westward ho, eventually stopping in various ports on the West Coast. Ultimately, the captain plans to visit Hawaii and some family members in Australia, before returning to Ukraine two or more years from now. This January, after several weeks of verbal gymnastics and governmental red tape, a new crew member was imported to repair the electrical system on board, thus freeing the captain and his wife to make their annual visit to their home in Kyiv. As part of this country's new security measures, they were told that no foreign vessel could be left for 24 hours or more without someone on board to assume responsibility for it. The rest of the crew had left several weeks earlier to take care of their own personal matters in Ukraine.

Mrs. Birioukovitch, 67, has been at her husband's side from the beginning of this journey, and the limitations of boat life are wearing on her, but she will return to the Batkivschyna with her husband in February to prepare for their next adventure.

Although she may not share his drive to complete this transoceanic voyage, she understands her 65-year-old husband's vision and admires him for it. As a former mountain climber, he is driven by a need to reach the next summit, she explains, and he never runs out of ideas for ways to achieve his goals.

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