Eugene Platon () is an international

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

sman, participant of a number of world class

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

events, including the most prestigious

Volvo Ocean Race The Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three or four years since 1973. Originally named the Whitbread Round the World Race after its initiating sponsor, British brewing company Whitbread, in 2001 it became the Volvo Ocean Rac ...

(formerly the Whitbread Round the World Race). In 1989–90, he was a key member (watch leader) of ''Fazisi'' the only

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

entry to the Whitbread Round the World Race. Later, Eugene Platon brought his sailing/

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

and management experience to the Ukrainian team that for the first time in history entered Whitbread Round the World Race on board '' Hetman Sahaidachny'' in 1993–94. Competing with the world's top sailors, Platon was successful in skippering and navigating the Ukrainian

into 7th place overall, despite the fact that other competitors had significantly larger budgets. Eugene Platon (1959) is a native of

Republic of Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised ...

, previously

U.S.S.R. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...

In 1982, he graduated from MIPT with a

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

degree as a qualified

Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...

and control science. Early practical sailing and navigation experience made Eugene Platon one of the best

yacht racing Yacht racing is a Sailing (sport), sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course mark ...

skippers on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, and he got even more advanced with his sailing and navigation skills while having the experience of ocean

. Having sailed the

twice (1989–90 and 1993–94), Platon also combined his skipper and navigator knowledge with

’s design and construction
"Hetman Sahaidachny"
was a new generation of ocean racing

s, - the high tech Whitbread 60 design. Using a design from top naval architect Bruce Farr,
"Hetman Sahaidachny"
was built under the direct management of Eugene Platon with advanced

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

. For "Fazisi", Platon was also instrumental in the construction of the vessel. Eugene Platon was the leader of th
Russian Project
for th
2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race
. In 2009 Platon joined as technical expert th
SpeedDream project
- a quest to build the fastest monohull on the planet.

Bibliography

Platon is also known as the author of three books about ocean

:
''"The Russians are coming"'' (in Russian, PDF format)

''“Skipper’s Notes”'' (in Russian, PDF format)

Video

"Hetman Sahaidachny" in the 1993-94 Whitbread Round The World Race (in Russian)
* *

External links

SpeedDream project - a quest to build the fastest monohull on the planet
* *
The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology

The Ocean RaceOverview, Marketing, History (PDF format)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Platon, Eugene 1959 births Living people Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology alumni Boat builders Russian male sailors (sport) Moldovan sailors (sport) Soviet male sailors (sport) Place of birth missing (living people) Volvo Ocean Race sailors 20th-century Russian sportsmen