Sailing Season in Russia not long. According to our rivers and lakes you can swim comfortably on the force for five months. But the beautiful and expensive ships at berth yacht clubs are becoming more and more.
Berry riffs! Reefs take it, do not sleep! - Sergey Moiseev, shouting at the guy and girl who are trying to cope with the sails. Young couple slightly worried. They came to Moscow from Perm. There were a theoretical course in absentia and now, first took to the water on this boat. Sergei Moiseyev - Head Sailing School Captain Polo. He is not surprised that learn to operate the yacht to him coming from afar. There were also students from Yakutia, and in Novosibirsk. What surprised if yachting has long ceased to be a hobby only athletes and millionaires.
Sail or motor? This is an original line of division between "real" and "unreal" yachtsmen. In Russia, unlike Europe, motorboat win a clear advantage. Sergei Moiseyev finds that his explanation - say, the buyers of yachts had not met him, but the dealer: "The dealer, of course, more profitable to sell a motorized vessel. Because it is more expensive times of 4-5, requires constant repair, maintenance. And a person buys a boat first, then another, larger, and then suddenly discovers that the sailboat that comes with a parallel course, is not inferior to him in speed, fuel is not burning, no emissions, no vibration. And then learns that the sail - it's not scary: to learn to manage it - the case of two or three hours ».
Sergei long talks about the advantages of sails before the motors. We are sitting in a small cabin on his yacht Jeanneau 32i, bought recently for a sailing school. Narrow table, two sofas on each side of the bed-lorry behind a partition. Cramped. Trying to imagine in such a situation, Roman Abramovich, well, or, at worst, Mikhail Fridman, but does not work. And I understand why, with all the advantages of sailing yachts, most wealthy people choose motor.
They do this based on their own ideas about comfort and being guided by considerations of prestige. "Well, can not be a top manager of the bank to ride on some of the Volkswagen Golf," - said once on this Andrey Lomakin, CEO AG Marine, distributor of most yacht brands of premium class. Vendors are fond of comparing yachts with cars.
As there are high-class cars, so there are yachts, which must correspond to the status of the owner. How It grows to a car with a personal driver and up to a yacht with a hired crew. When you have children, reputable business partners that you would like to invite to the yacht and provide a cabin, a choice you will still be done in favor of a spacious motor vessel.
Question, why you to Pirogovskoye reservoir boat, which may in a few days to cross the Atlantic Ocean, in this case is secondary. A dealer will try to have it you do not have arisen. And it has its reasons. "This is a good savings on warranty service - on condition of anonymity, shares his thoughts employee of the company that sells expensive yachts. - Client will buy a yacht, put it on the Klyazma, swim almost will not. Hence, the repair is not needed. And if he will ascribe it to Malta so will sail to America, and the yacht had broken middle of the ocean? That there should be there to send specialists, often - helicopter ... »

Lake or ocean?

; However, people for whom sailing is not a question of prestige, but a serious hobby, indifferent to the motors. Sergei Kileinikov, managing director of Russia Partners, a board member of the Moscow Whisky Club, includes his laptop and shows me the photos - sailing yacht goes through the ocean waves. Earlier this year, Sergei 8 people in a team led by Fyodor Konyukhov has moved across the Atlantic. Rafting, Free-Ride, he was a few years ago set about trying to conquer the ocean.
Friends often invited him to ride on their own yachts in Moscow area. Not impressed. "It's so far from each other things - says Sergey impressions. - Sail - a free, caught wind of it. And with the engine you feel like a chain attached - depends on the fuel from possible breakdowns. I know people who are themselves piloted aircraft. So they, when they tried to manage a sailboat, said they have experienced with almost the same feeling of freedom, as in the sky. An unforgettable experience.
And in the ocean, these emotions are amplified. On the one hand, you realize the fragility of your position: billions of cubic meters of water are all around you, 6-7 kilometers beneath you and you speck of dust on the surface of this move. And while you're free to do anything - turn the steering wheel to the right, left, choose a course ... »
Over 16 days - to America and back. This path was Sergey and 7 other people who were not professional yachtsmen - biologist, the host plant to produce plastic sheets, an analyst with the consulting firm ... Of course, such ekstremalschikov bit. But also to feel the adrenaline is not necessary to go across the Atlantic.

in Russia is good too

; fast boat capable of crossing any body of water near Moscow in 5-10 minutes. But this does not mean that the rest of the time you get bored on the deck. Yacht owners have learned to arrange their own holidays. One of them - the race.
«You can, of course, and the Aegean Sea jerk (we, by the way, twice a year, get out there, we arrange the race), - says Sergey Moses - but Moscow is well that here is easily accessible. He graduated from work, sat down on the car and went. Evening in the yacht club is going great hangouts. And I can tell you that during the race, a man transformed, is delighted when someone, even a meter bypasses. Still, the competitive spirit in a man laid down initially. And for these races do not need large water areas - near Moscow, it is suitable ».
Moscow water reservoir - not a closed system. Through the locks, you can go to the Volga. The point is simple, but tedious - Passage gateways can take 12 hours. Therefore, wealthy yacht owners are sent a boat with a team run gateways, and themselves in a car driving up to the spot.
Along the Volga can go down to the Kazan, Astrakhan, to go fishing. You can get up to Lake Onega. Boat for these trips are very suitable. Throwing an anchor where you want, do not depend on the service of provincial hotels. Sailing yacht, by the way, here is more practical than the motor. Outside the Moscow region there are practically no gas stations to yachts and boats. Fuel accounts or to take a reserve in cans, or enter the ports, buy it on some barges, ships, which are on the roads.

If you decide to buy

To understand the yachtsman in you mind or not, not necessarily just to buy a yacht. Enough to take it out. Opportunities here weight - that the foreign waters in Russia. Depending on the size of the yacht and the date the freight it will cost you from 100 to several thousand dollars a day. Very popular yachting great company. Then rent breaks at all, and to travel in this way it becomes very profitable.
If finally decided to buy a yacht, then listen to the wise advice. Sergei Moiseyev: "In Moscow, you must have a large keel boat. Because when the number of sweeps and the big boat is a wave, a small boat will be very rock. A large keel boat will give stability. Here we are standing at the pier, and still pitching is not there, and look for smaller boats - their wobbles from side to side. Mast height should be no longer than 14 feet - this will pass under bridges and power lines. The optimal length of the hull - 32 feet (10 meters). Some go on collusion with their ambitions. Buy a yacht bigger, but as the mast does not pass under the bridges, they begin to cut it, and it all reminds wreck ».
Well, if you decide to buy a motor yacht, here limiters can be used except that the size of your bank account and the size of locks on the Moscow Canal.

100 grams overboard

: ... For 2 hours we spent on the yacht Sergei Moiseyev, the students from Perm already osovoili almost all the wisdom of managing the sails, and quite reasonably been able to dock at the pier. Teacher pleased: "Talented. Quickly learn throughout. Generally, a lot of interesting people coming. Sometimes much rejoicing. When there were children from Yakutia, poured on 100 grams before the first exit to the water area and poured into water. I ask them what it is they carry the product, but they are responsible - a tradition. We say, so always do when we go on a sleigh in the tundra, but here again the water, so water must be watered.
And I do not know a single person who would have passed on a yacht, remained indifferent. They're all businessmen disappear for days on his work, always in some circuits. And after the races on the Aegean me one businessman said: "Sergey, do not believe this, but this is the first three days in my life when I was on for a minute did not recall»!

Victor Dyatlikovich

Starshilki from the ocean
During the two-week crossing of the Atlantic Ocean Sergei Kileinikov many conversations with Fedor Konyukhov and heard from the famous Russian extremals of a lot of interesting stories. Assures that all of this - the truth. Wave killer
you watched the movie "Poseidon," which recently came out in theaters? So Fedor said that such a thing really exists. Swoops a huge wave and turns of the court. In the oceans, one or two giant waves constantly move somewhere and someone to catch up. Such a phenomenon is, but to explain it still can not.

giant octopus
Being the size of 20-30 meters. They live at depths, but at night go up in warm layers. May miss its tentacles steering tail boats, small boats and even flip them. Some sailors were subjected to such an attack, and Fyodor seen such an octopus caught from the ocean.

Pirates
In the Atlantic, or rather, in the Caribbean, their Of course, smaller than in the seas of Southeast Asia, but they are. True, the small boat they were not particularly interested in - they prey on merchant ships. We once almost jittery. It was getting dark and we saw the lights of a ship. He radioed otzvalsya not, and how we seemed to walk the course to intercept us. Then someone and said: "What if the pirates?". And we have even begun to think about where would be the two girls from our crew to hide. But when it came closer, calm down - was a regular freighter. Fedor said that recently during a single transition across the Atlantic it is also almost a day accompanied by a parallel course of the ship, which did not respond to signals. But at some point, just silently went on another course and disappeared.

How much

Keep yacht
It all depends on the size of the yacht and usage. But the average - 10% of the yachts a year.
Register yachts:
10000-30000 rubles, depending on size.
Parking:
2-6 dollars for each meter yachts in the day.
Salary team (captain + sailor): 2000-3500 dollars in Russia, 3500-5000 USD - overseas.
Fuel costs:
20 rubles./liter in Russia, 1-1,5 euros in Europe. (Average yacht eats about 30 liters per hour).
Maintenance:
2000-20000 dollars depending on the size and frequency of use.
Insurance:
1-2 % of the value of the yacht.

be captain
First Course:
basis of marine affairs and management of a sailing yacht. 6 theoretical and a practical session of 3 hours - 17000 rub.
Course skipper:
navigation, meteorology, structure and equipment of the vessel. 10 lessons of 3 hours - 17000 rub.
Practice:
In Moscow - 20000 rub. The Aegean 700-1200 euros Plots of class yachts.