Gunvor’s Gennady Timchenko’s passion for sailing

Gennady Timchenko, co-owner of oil trading company Gunvor, has a secret passion: sailing. Timchenko is the owner of “Katusha”, a class RC 44 boat competing in the Austrian Cup. He recently steered the boat during a race in Gmunden.

Last May, Gennady Timchenko achieved a dream. For one day and four races, he steered the boat he owns, Katusha, during an official regatta of the RC 44 Austrian Cup in Gmunden.

“The RC 44 is a Ferrari of boats and the fleet is very competitive, so you can imagine what a stressful day it would be for a novice sailor to be steering one of these boats in a 10 boat fleet race”, said a crewmember of Katusha at the end of the race.

Gennady Timchenko actually did pretty well for his first ever regatta, and never finished last in any of the races against professional sailors – a huge accomplishment.

The crew of Katusha, which never had their owner onboard before, also enjoyed the experience and Gennady Timchenko’s humble and positive attitude: “He had a smile on his face despite receiving plenty of suggestions all day long”, a crew member said.

Gennady Timchenko was the most excited of all the crew. “I will remember this first regatta all my life! It is an absolute pleasure to sail on this lake with Paul and the other guys; the place is absolutely beautiful and the sport is very interesting”. His only regret, “I discovered it so late!”