Esquire. “What It’s Like to Be Stuck in Quarantine on the Sailing Ship ‘Shtandart’: When You Planned a Two-Week Vacation but Ended Up a Sailor for Three Months”

17/06/2020

Denis Slavikovsky from Almaty experienced the real life of a sailor on a real frigate. He scrubbed the heads, stood watch, manned the helm, raised the anchor, climbed the masts, and dreamed of a simple bath.

I’ve been on the ship ‘Shtandart’ since 1 p.m. on March 15. And as I now say, ‘It’s the third month of my 14-day vacation.’

The ‘Shtandart’ is a sailing ship built and launched in 1999. It was built by enthusiasts in St. Petersburg — that’s a story in itself. The project was originally completely non-commercial. One of the founding fathers, Vladimir Martus, is the current captain.”

Captain Vladimir Martus provides this statement:

— “The ‘Shtandart’ is not a vacation. First and foremost, it’s about interacting with interesting people who are engaged in roughly the same things as you. That’s the main adventure. People come here who want to see the world and test their capabilities. And all this takes place against the backdrop of a real historical ship. The ‘Shtandart’ is an exact historical replica of the first frigate of the Baltic Fleet, built by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703. Our version was constructed between 1994 and 1999. So, this is a full-scale, accurate copy of a three-masted frigate. Completely wooden, with real sails and ropes. We sail the seas, gather like-minded individuals, and participate in festivals. For those who are interested in experiencing it with us, there is a permanent crew, a team of volunteers, and a trainees team. Anyone can become a trainee, even without any experience. People come here, and together we embark on adventures. We see what the weather is like, how everyone fares through storms, who gets seasick, and who doesn’t…

Denis Slavikovsky:

In December 2018, I was thinking about vacation and remembered that someone had told me about the ‘Shtandart.’ Going somewhere just to sit on the beach isn’t interesting to me. I wanted an active holiday and new adventures. I found a webpage online and chose the longest route that this ship could offer. More precisely, there isn’t a specific fixed route. It is planned six months in advance, depending on festivals, various races, and so on. At that time, I chose the route from Bergen (Norway) to Aarhus (Denmark). The trip was scheduled for the end of July 2019. But the day before my flight, I developed a stomach ache and ended up in the hospital. They told me, “You’re not going anywhere; you have appendicitis!” I managed to reschedule my vacation for the following year. From March 14 to 31, 2020, I was supposed to take a voyage on the ‘Shtandart’ along the route Malta – Tunisia – Palma de Mallorca. Out of the two weeks, we were supposed to spend ten days at sea. But as soon as I arrived in Malta, I was told, “As of today, we are in quarantine.” The next day, I boarded the ship, and we set sail. Meanwhile, all the ports and cities were beginning to close. We sailed at our own risk, wondering which port would accept us. We passed by Sardinia, somewhere in the heart of the Mediterranean between Africa and Italy. Then we learned that the port of Castiglione in Spain was willing to accept us, and we headed in that direction.

I realized my vacation would be a long one when… no, I started to consider that possibility back when I was told in the Maltese hotel that the city was in quarantine.

Read the full article in Esquire (The article is in Russian)