Getting shipshape, and staying that way
The crew of the M/S Bravaden are the undisputed Finnish track &
field champs
By Paavo Tukkimäki
There was a time when grizzled ship's masters would growl that sport was the cancer of the merchant fleet.
If that deadly diagnosis were true, then the M/S Bravaden, a 12,700 GRT dry cargo vessel belonging to the Engships fleet, would definitely be among the sickest tubs in the Finnish registry.
The Bravaden has recently been awarded the title - and not by any means for the first time - of Finland's best track & field ship. The vessel's master Paavo Rauhala took the individual title of the Finnish Seamen's Service Sportsman of the Year for 2005.
The ship's earlier successes are proudly displayed on plaques on the wardroom wall. There are nine of them already up there, without this latest trophy, and the majority of them are of the brightest colour, unlike those medals brought back by Finland's Winter Olympics squad.
In the old days there used to be rumours going around about "ringers" and "workplace doping" on the ships: sports enthusiasts were consciously sought out as crew-members.
However, both the former Engships Managing Director Bengt Engblom and Rauhala himself declare firmly that the Bravaden's medals have been won fair and square, even though the ship's complement also includes two other former Sportsmen of the Year in Chief Engineer Hilding Sundberg (1994) and First Officer Elina Varmola, who is the only woman to have won the title, in 1996.
Another who insists that the days of shipboard doping are long gone is the Sports Coordinator for the Finnish Seamen's Service, Pekka Karppanen. What he will admit is that a ship with a strong sporting tradition does tend to attract like-minded souls on board, and in this way the successes can pile up on certain specific vessels.
Roughly 300 seafarers compete in the track & field events, from around 30 vessels, and in recent years the undisputed king of the hill has been the M/S Bravaden. Last year, for instance, the ship won seven of the 16 individual championships available in the men's events.
The competition is based on a scale of points for achievements, rather like in the decathlon, with handicapping employed to even up competitors of different ages.
The selection of events has been whittled down for safety reasons. "The intention is to maintain and improve the working ability of the participants, and not to put them in plaster or into hospital", notes Karppanen drily.
Among the events are the 60 metres dash, shot-put, and long jump, both a standing jump and with a run-up. In the case of the long jump, the jump is from the edge of the sand-pit: some of those taking part wouldn't make it to the sand if they jumped from the normal take-off board. The 60 metres is always run "with the wind" - a kindly gesture since harbours do tend to be rather windy places.
The points scored are summed up and divided by the number of crew members.
There are 15 on board the Bravaden, and success requires input from practically the entire crew. Rauhala says that the Bravaden's haul of points comes from almost all hands - there is always a good reason for any exceptions.
The skipper is grateful to the shipping company for their positive approach to sports; sometimes the competitions have even been held in working hours. And nobody grumbles at all, even though Bengt Engblom does discreetly point out that it is not actually forbidden to work in the hours taken in sport at some later time.
Besides, success in sport on the high seas brings not just fame but fortune, too. The CEO has with him a brown envelope courtesy of the shipping line, the contents of which will go to bolster the Bravaden's free-time treasury.
Just as "You can't push a rope" is an expression used to measure the significance of leadership, in shipboard sports the importance of a captain's example is paramount. Even though Paavo Rauhala is modest about his role, the good performances of his previous ships suggest otherwise: he clearly sets the tone.
The winter season on the Bravaden is a time for building fitness, as the pro coaches would say. The ship has a gym on board, bicycles and exercise bikes, and a 35 m³ "swimming hall". When in port, the crew-members go jogging, and even when on leave, they do not neglect the duties that come with their ironman sporting reputations.
When the snow melts, ports provide the venue for actual sport: in the best cases they can actually get onto a nearby tartan track, but sometimes the jetties will have to serve as a running and throwing arena. The ship even has its own "Bravaden Stadium" at one regular port of call in Verdal in Norway.
The Engship vessel is regarded as a hard-working ship, carrying general cargo, often heavy bulk items like limestone, and with large holds that require some considerable cleaning afterwards. Sport helps the crew to stay fit, to create a sense of team spirit, and thereby to sustain the necessary motivation and physical wherewithal to do the job.
Rauhala even claims that sport saved the vessel on one occasion.
The ship was in a nasty storm out in the North Sea, ran into engine difficulties, and was drifting towards the rocky Norwegian coast and probable destruction. But the Chief Engineer tied a rope around his waist and defied the life-threatening pitching and rolling of the vessel and the dangers of fire and explosion, and he fixed the problem.
A fat and flabby man down below would probably not have managed it.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 20.3.2006
More on this subject:
 BACKGROUND: Golf in the ascendancy, as athletics declines
Links:
Engship
M/S Bravaden
Finnish Seamen´s Service
PAAVO TUKKIMÄKI / Helsingin Sanomat
paavo.tukkimaki@hs.fi
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Getting shipshape, and staying that way
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