Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 21, 1993 TAG: 9304210247
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium
The six crew members of the Kaupo - all of whom belong to the Latvian Union of Cruising Yachts - stopped behind the Harbortown Restaurant after their skipper, Valdis Grenenberg-Grinberg, 56, complained of chest pains.
Rescue workers took him to Riverside Regional Medical Center, where he was admitted in stable condition Tuesday night with heart problems, according to a nursing supervisor.
Crew members planned to stay in town a couple of days, then go on to New York. Grenenberg-Grinberg will meet them later if he has to remain in the hospital awhile. The odd-looking boat he captains consists of two fiberglass hulls connected by a metal frame - part of which was fashioned from the propeller of a Soviet helicopter - and large fishing nets for a deck. It is 46 feet long and 26 feet wide, weighs 7 tons and sleeps 12.
"Is very good boat," said navigator Evgueni Kalnmatch, speaking, like his shipmates, in broken English. "Our record speed 21 knots. Middle is about nine."
The crew, which originally numbered 12, left Riga after receiving an invitation from the United States Sailing Association to appear at a yachting event to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America.
Apparently - the language gap was too great to be able to tell for certain - they were delayed by bad weather and missed the event. A letter sent by the Newport, R.I.-based association said the event ran from December to March. Officials from the sailing association could not be reached Tuesday night.
But the Kaupo crew has enjoyed the chance to travel freely anyway, they said.
"This is not business," said Kalnmatch, 43. "This is sport only. This is the first time I can see world. Only two years ago we become free."
Pulling out a map at the table in their cramped galley, Kalnmatch traced their route: from Riga, on the Baltic Sea, they went to Denmark, where heavy weather held them up two weeks. Then they went to Germany, to France, to Biscay in Spain and down the coast of Europe. One crew member left in Europe because of family problems. From the Canary Islands, they sailed across the Atlantic - a 21-day trip - to Trinidad in the West Indies, then made their way north, stopping at Puerto Rico and Miami.
In Miami, where they stayed two weeks, five crew members left the ship to travel. They plan to meet up with their shipmates in May in Boston for the trip back home.
"I like Miami," said Sergei Roudenok, 35. "A lot of problems. In Miami a lot of homeless, but people very friendly and kind."
The six remaining members were on their way to New York when the chest problems of their captain caused the delay.
by CNB