Two Ukrainian naval cadets sail with Italy's tall ship Vespucci

by Peter Woloshuk

BOSTON - "Basta pasta!" (Enough pasta!) said Ukrainian Naval Cadet Andrij Tkachov, 19, a third-year student at the Nakhimov Ukrainian Naval Institute in Sevastopyl, in perfect Italian.

"Altogether too much pasta," emphasized his companion, Andrij Sydorenko, 19, of Mykolaiv, a second-year student at the Sevastopyl institute, in even better English. "In fact, we're just waiting to see when they serve it for breakfast."

This is how the two young Ukrainian naval cadets summed up their first three weeks' experience with the midshipmen of the Italian Naval Academy at Livorno, Italy, and aboard the tall ship Amerigo Vespucci, which serves as a summer training ship for the cadets. For its millennial cruise, the ship participated in Operation Sail 2000 and visited ports along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States and Canada.

Both cadets hastened to add that "the Italians have been great to us since we joined them for Operation Sail, even though at the beginning we didn't speak any Italian, and they don't know any Ukrainian."

"Until we learn enough Italian to communicate, we've been given permission to use English," Cadet Tkachov said. "This works fine with the officers, but some of the cadets don't know much English, and, as a result, we've had a little difficulty in communicating with our new classmates."

"However, we seem to be more than a year ahead of the Italians in our [naval] studies, and this has impressed them, and we all get along fine," he concluded.

Being on board the Vespucci and participating in all of the gala festivities has left the two a little dazed. "It all happened so fast," said Cadet Sydorenko. "We were just finishing our final exams when we were told of the possibility of spending three months at the academy in Livorno as part of a special program sponsored by the Italian government. In fact, in the class of 117 cadets at the academy, there are the two of us as well as two cadets from Romania, two from Bulgaria, two from Somalia, two from Tunisia, and four from Algeria."

"On the recommendation of our instructors, we applied," he said. "I think that we were chosen on the basis of our grades and because we speak English. I guess they thought that English would be essential for our port visits in America and Canada, and that the Italians would be able to understand us as well."

"Within two weeks of our selection, we were in Kyiv for our passports, visas and other documents, and we were on a plane for Milan," Cadet Sydonenko continued. "We were met at the airport by officers from the academy and were taken directly to Livorno. After three days of orientation with all of the other cadets we were taken back to the airport and put on a plane for Philadelphia."

"During the eight-hour flight, I became quite scared," he said. "I suddenly realized that I was going to America and I really knew nothing about the country. Of course, I had heard a lot about it, but much of it was negative. It also dawned on me what a big step I was taking. My first trip to Kyiv, my first trip outside Ukraine, and my first trip across the Atlantic!"

"After our arrival in America, we were taken to the Vespucci, and there our adventure really began," Cadet Sydorenko said. "Within two hours the ship was open to the general public, and it seemed that thousands of people came on board. I was impressed by how friendly the Americans were, how they well treated all of the cadets, and how surprised they were to find Ukrainians on the Italian ship."

"We were given a lot of liberty to explore the city and spent quite a bit of time trying to find other Ukrainians," he recalled. "Everyone we met was helpful and seemed to be really interested in us and Operation Sail, but it surprised me how few people in Philadelphia knew anything about Ukrainians or even about Ukraine and where it is."

The Vespucci sailed from Philadelphia and anchored 23 miles off the coast of New York City on the afternoon of July 3. On the morning of July 4 it got under way at 9:30 a.m. and was the 19th Class A Tall Ship to enter New York Harbor. It sailed past the American Coast Guard training ship Eagle; it was reviewed by President Bill Clinton, who was aboard the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy; exchanged salutes with the Ukrainian flagship Slavutych; and then docked at Pier 69 fairly close to the Batkivschyna, in Manhattan.

By special invitation of the Italian government a group of 15 people was brought out from New York City by launch to the Vespucci as it lay at anchor early in the morning so that they could ride the ship into the harbor during the Parade of Sail.

Lt. Cmdr. Attilio Gattia, commandant of the cadets, noticed that two of the guests had Ukrainian sounding surnames and asked if they would like to meet the Ukrainian cadets. Both guests were surprised and said they were of Ukrainian heritage and would appreciate the opportunity. The commandant then summoned the cadets, freed them from their duties, and allowed them to stay with the guests until the ship docked.

"The two guests were a great source of information, and we learned a lot about Ukrainians in New York City," Cadet Tkachov said. "From them, we got so many ideas of things to do that we could have spent a month sightseeing."

"For our first night in the city, we had an invitation from Sonia Lecca, the director of media relations at the United Nations, to watch the fireworks on the East River from the United Nations compound," he continued. "We decided to go, and I'm glad we did. Our view was completely unobstructed, and the fireworks were the most spectacular that I've ever seen!"

"During our stay in New York, we did a lot of walking," he said. "Sometimes we went by ourselves and sometimes we joined with sailors from the Batkivschyna and the Slavutych. We managed to tour the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Times Square and Broadway, and we made it to the Ukrainian Institute, the Ukrainian National Home on Second Avenue; St. George's Church, although it was closed and we couldn't get inside; and the Surma Book and Music Company. Myron Surmach, the owner, spent some time with us and told us that he served in the American Navy."

Unlike many of the sailors on the two Ukrainian ships, the two cadets, or as they styled themselves, "Andrij-times two," spoke only in Ukrainian or English. "Before independence only one instructor at our institute, Prof. Anatolii Hlushak, lectured in Ukrainian, and he did so as a matter of principle," both explained. "However, in the last five years there has been a movement among the professors to use Ukrainian, and during the past year more than 90 percent of all lectures were delivered in that language."

"At times this can be quite funny," both pointed out, "because many of the instructors really don't know the language. All of the cadets really have to try to understand what they are saying."

From New York City the Vespucci sailed to Newport, R.I., to participate in a ceremony at the Naval War College, and then on Tuesday, July 11, it was the last of the Class A Tall Ships to enter Boston Harbor in the Parade of Sail.

Having received word from New York about the presence of the two cadets on board the Vespucci, a small group of Boston Ukrainians, who had been working with the crew of the Ukrainian sloop Ikar from Mykolaiv to reprovision it and to replace its torn sails, decided to extend hospitality to the cadets as well.

The group was put in touch with Lt. Cdr. Gattia, who was very sympathetic and released the two Ukrainians from most of their shipboard duties during the Vespucci's stay in Boston. He also saw that the two were included in a number of private events that were planned for a number of the officers and cadets.

On their first night in port they joined 10 of the officers and 30 of the cadets at a New England-style barbecue at the home of attorney Jim Morris. In addition to the crew members of the Vespucci, the Morrises also invited 150 of their friends and neighbors including Prof. Peter Woloschuk of Boston College and Ukrainian American photographer, Tania Mychajlyshyn D'Avignon and her daughter, Larissa.

At the party the two Andrijs showed their technological proficiency by taking over their hosts' computer system and programming it to provide all of the music for the evening. They mingled well with the guests, and by the end of the night both had dates for the cadets' party which was to be held on board the Vespucci the next night.

All told, from the barbecue, the cadets invited more than 30 young ladies to the party, which included a full buffet dinner as well as dancing to music provided by the cadet band. The party continued until almost 3 a.m.

Later in the week Larissa D'Avignon served as tour guide for the two cadets in Boston. They walked the Freedom Trail, which is composed of 14 sites commemorating various events that happened during the American Revolution, and then headed for Newbury Street, noted for its boutiques and cafes.

The three spent the afternoon swimming at the six-mile-long Wollaston Beach just south of the city and then ended the day with a New England clambake including lobsters and all the trimmings at the D'Avignons.

Mrs. D'Avignon showed the two cadets some photos that she had taken in Ukraine, particularly those from the Mykolaiv region and Crimea. She had photos of the cadets' institute and showed them pictures of the buildings, the instructors, and many of the cadets. She presented each Andrij with a copy of her book of photographs "Prosto Ukraina-Simply Ukraine" and her Ukrainian pictorial calendar "Nostalgia." At the cadets' request, she also gave each one of them a small Ukrainian flag from a display in her home.

"The cadets give me hope for the future of Ukraine," Mrs. D'Avignon said. "They are bright, articulate, well-educated, and have confidence in themselves and in their country. They have a grasp of the latest technology, and they can compete with anyone."

The next morning Prof. Woloschuk asked student Chris Hamblin, award-winning goalie of Boston College's champion varsity soccer team, to give the two Andrijs a tour of the campus.

"The cadets were particularly interested in our living space and seemed to be impressed that each dormitory room is hard-wired for computers and has direct access to the Internet," Mr. Hamblin said. "They also liked the fact that the campus is currently being wired so that students can go on the Internet directly from their laptops."

The cadets also spent a considerable amount of time in the school's sports complex, library, computer center and bookstore where they were each presented with a T-shirt and ball cap with BC's logo.

After their tour, the two were met by Mrs. D'Avignon, who took them to the Ukrainian Summer Institute at Harvard University. The cadets met with this year's students in an informal session in Harvard Yard. The students asked the two about current conditions in Ukraine, about their classes at the naval institute, about Operation Sail, and about their life aboard the Vespucci.

The two were then shown around the institute, and they spent a considerable amount of time in the library catching up on news from Ukraine.

At the request of Cadet Tkachov, the next stop was Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. There they toured the Van Gogh exhibit, the European wing, the Contemporary Art wing, and a portion of the American wing.

"Although I haven't developed an appreciation for contemporary art, I did enjoy viewing the new Chuck Close portrait," Cadet Tkachov said. "The museum has such vast collections that I feel I only skimmed the surface. Someday, I hope to come back and spend some more time here. However, I did buy a book and a T-shirt from the Van Gogh exhibit to remind me of my visit."

To cap their day, the two Andrijs were taken to Maryanne's, a local university pub, by the entire BC soccer team. They stayed until closing.

On Saturday morning special arrangements were made to have the two cadets included in a private tour of the Vespucci given for a group of 20 BC students and staff, and afterwards they stayed with the BC group for a private tour of the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy.

"I never thought that I would get on an aircraft carrier on this tour," said Cadet Sydorenko. "I am simply amazed by its size, by its manpower, and by its use of technology."

After another visit to the D'Avignon home, the two cadets joined a group on board the Vespucci to watch the closing fireworks of Boston's Operation Sail and then headed to the North End (Boston's Italian section) for pizza at Pizzeria Regina and coffee and cannolis at Caffe Vittoria, where they were treated by the owners because they were part of the crew of the Vespucci.

On Sunday morning all of the cadets were massed on the deck of the Vespucci for the ship's 9 a.m. departure. The only break in the color of the ranks was provided by two small Ukrainian flags which caused considerable comment among the bystanders on the pier watching the ship's departure, which was also captured by all four of the city's major television stations and shown repeatedly during the day's broadcasts.

From Boston the Vespucci sailed to Halifax, where the two cadets were taken care of by Ted and Christina Malek, who head up the Ukrainian Association of Halifax, and their son, who is an officer in the Canadian Navy, stationed in Halifax.

After five days in Halifax the Vespucci set out across the Atlantic and after a cruise of 23 days is expected to make land-fall in northwestern Spain. It will make further ports-of-call in Lisbon, Casablanca, Barcelona and Marseilles before returning to Livorno on October 1.

On the morning of October 2, the two Andrijs will return to Kyiv and on the next day will be back at the Nakhimov Ukrainian Naval Institute, ready to begin classes.

Their essays on "What I Did During My Summer Vacation" should prove to be quite interesting!

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, August 27, 2000, No. 35, Vol. LXVIII

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