Doctor on board
Doctor of Sports Medicine Ljudmila Rudenko explains to Frances and Michael Howorth why she sails in the Heesen 46 metre yacht Elena as her chief stewardess
What made you join the superyacht industry? In a few words; fear of conscription! I was forced to leave my home country, Ukraine during the first Russian invasion when they attacked Crimea. That was in 2014, and to avoid having to join our army and fight, I chose to leave the country and take a job as a junior stewardess.
What was your first superyacht and when did you join her? My first was this very yacht, and that was in 2015. I have only served in Elena and have done so ever since I first began working on yachts.
What do you least like about your job? I don’t like it when guests bring pets on board. Not because I don’t like pets because I do. But I am so sad when they become seasick. They are not like people you cannot make them feel more comfortable, so I just cuddle them.
What is your favourite restaurant or bar in the Mediterranean and why is it special? When we are in Porto Montenegro, I really like to go to Mala Barka in Tivat. They serve local food and specialise in freshly caught fish and they do it very well indeed. Try the oven baked stone fish. In the marina itself the Gallardo steak house is very good even if a little expensive.
Which is your favourite Mediterranean shop? I love shopping and when we are in Palma de Mallorca for example, I will always shop in the fresh food market there because you can get everything in one hit.
If you could recommend a Mediterranean service to another stew what would it be? Iberian Yacht Solutions are extremely helpful. I use them when we are on the Costa Brava or the Balearics. Another great company is BCM Yacht Solutions.
If you had a magic wand, what would you change in your job? I would make it compulsory for yacht designers to go to sea in yachts before they put pen to paper. Yachts would be far more practical and easier to
operate. They might not look quite so pretty but they would be a joy to work in.
What could be done to improve the yachting industry? I would like it if crew training schools could offer stewardesses more courses and qualifications. I think psychology is important and schools should explain more about what the job is really like, to those first attending courses. Many stewardesses come on board yachts wearing rose-tinted glasses and only when they get on board does reality kick in.
What is the funniest superyacht experience you can recall? I had to drive a tender back into Porto Cervo in bad weather and I got soaked to the skin. My make-up ran and I was covered in salt. Then as I walked back around the port, I got covered in mud. When I tried to get back onto the yacht dock, the security guard took one look at me, decided I was a vagrant trying to get up to mischief and refused to let me through.
What advice would you give to someone thinking of working as a stew on a yacht? Don’t fake your CV. Be honest when seeking a job do not try and say you can do something when you have not even tried to do so beforehand. You will get caught out! If you have been on a boat before joining a new one, try and eradicate the words “On my last yacht we did it this way” from your dictionary. not going to be helpful in the long term.
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How does working aboard a yacht affect your family life? My family are still in Ukraine so getting to see them is difficult for me. If I go back, it is not certain that the authorities would let me leave there again. So I think it best not to try! We have, in the past, agreed to meet up together in Poland and whilst that’s not perfect, we do at least get to see each other.
What would you like to do when you cease working on superyachts?
The war has changed so much in my life, but once a doctor always a doctor! When I can, I will return home and pick up where I left off. I really do love this job, but I also miss being a doctor.
ONBOARD | WINTER 2023 | 49
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