About Vikings Sailing Club
Our Story
The Vikings Sailing Club (VSC), founded in 1984, is a non-profit, volunteer-run organisation dedicated to promoting sailing and fostering a lifelong love for the sport. Our mission is to facilitate accessible sailing opportunities for all ages, with a particular focus on youth development, good sportsmanship, seamanship, and community engagement. VSC offers year-round sailing courses at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels, including training programmes for competitive sailors who represent the Club in national ranking regattas and international events. The Club is also committed to inclusivity. Through our Sail4All initiative, we provide safe, structured sailing experiences for children and adults with physical or intellectual disabilities, integrating participants within our regular programmes wherever possible. This inclusive approach empowers individuals, builds confidence, and ensures that sailing is open and enjoyable for everyone.
The Clubhouse
Our clubhouse is situated at Haywharf, next door to the AFM Maritime base. Our premises are not large but they house all our fleet and some members’ boats. We are still refurbishing our premises to ensure we have a proper classroom where to hold our theory sessions and pre and post session briefings. We have a spacious roof on both our garages where we often hold social events for our members and annual ranking regatta presentations.
Committee
The Vikings committee is currently composed of 8 members. Although each has their role in the committee, all members assist each other whenever required. At Vikings we are one big family!
Dr Sandra Agius Darmanin
Commodore
Sandra is a qualified marine biologist with over 25 years of sailing experience. Her early sailing years included crewing on J Boats in both coastal and offshore races organized by the Royal Malta Yacht Club. She was also an active member of Vikings Sailing Club, spending summers sailing Mirror 10s.
After a pause from regular sailing due to family and academic commitments, Sandra returned to the sport when her son joined Vikings Sailing Club nine years ago. Since then, her involvement has grown significantly. She was recently appointed National Race Officer by the Malta Sailing Federation and frequently serves as Principal Race Officer for local ranking events, while also assisting in international regattas.
Sandra joined the Vikings Committee in 2019 after spearheading efforts to register the club as a voluntary organization. In March 2020, she was elected Commodore and has since led the club’s transformation—from a handful of members to a thriving community with diverse backgrounds and vibrant activity.
A strong advocate for inclusive sailing, Sandra introduced the Optimist class at Vikings and has worked tirelessly to expand opportunities for young sailors. Her leadership continues to shape the club’s growth and its commitment to accessibility and excellence in sailing.
Kenneth Bowman
Vice-Commodore & Safeguarding officer
Kenneth oversees all racing activities run by the club including club races and is responsible for issuing NORs and club race results and reports on our website. He is also a member of the club’s race management team together with Sandra and Jonathan who oversee our club’s participation in local ranking events and abroad.
Sandra Attard
Hon Secretary
Jasminka Deguara
Hon Treasurer
An IT consultant helping companies to build their data warehousing and business intelligence solutions during the day and enjoying dinghy sailing and the sea in free time. Jasminka always wanted to try sailing but started only about 5 years ago while she was looking for a good summer course for her daughter to get introduced to sailing, and discovered there was an adult course too at Vikings, which she decided to try out. The moment they put her on a topper she got addicted and enjoyed sailing ever since. Nowadays she enjoys sailing for fun with club members on her Laser Radial and promotes sailing to those who like to try sailing through Sailing with the Vikings Women courses. She has been in the Vikings committee since 2019 and works towards rebuilding the club.
Jasminka has the challenging task of managing the club’s finances and keeping our accounts and payment records up to date. She also assists in the coaching when required.
Mark Farrugia
Kleaven Maniscalco
Premises Manager
Henriette Putzulu Caruana
Events co-ordinator
Our Coaches
At Vikings we have a team of very dedicated coaches who share their love for sailing and pass on their knowledge and sailing skills to hundreds of sailors who attend our courses every year.
Batuhan Cesur
Club Manager and Lead Coach
Batuhan’s passion for sailing began at a very young age, inspired by parents who were themselves dedicated sailors. He first stepped into an Optimist at the age of six, quickly developing maturity, discipline, and decision‑making abilities well beyond his years.
As he grew, so did his talent. Batuhan represented his country as part of the national team across numerous international competitions, racing in classes including Optimist, Laser, and yachts. At 18, he shifted from athlete to coach, driven by a genuine desire to share his knowledge and love for the sport. Since then, he has coached at both national and international levels and remained actively involved in the competitive sailing scene.
For Batuhan, coaching isn’t just a career—it’s a purpose. He finds his greatest fulfillment on the water, guiding athletes and nurturing their growth. He believes success comes from passion, continuous learning, and helping others develop both skill and character. His coaching philosophy centres around shaping sailors who excel not only in performance, but also in values, ethics, and sportsmanship.
Since 2019, Batuhan has continued his coaching journey in Malta—an ideal home for year‑round sailing. His mission is clear: to train more young athletes and help elevate Malta’s presence on the international sailing stage.
Maria Nagrudnaya
Coach
Maria Nagrudnaya was born in Moscow, where she began her athletic journey at the age of three as a competitive figure skater, training for eight years. After also exploring dance, she discovered her passion for sailing at the age of 12.
At 14, Maria moved to Malta, where she represented the country in small national games. She began coaching part-time at just 15 years old, combining her competitive experience with a growing passion for mentoring young sailors. Due to a knee injury, she retired from competitive sailing at 17 but continued to develop her coaching career.
Now 19, Maria is in her first year at the University of Malta, pursuing a degree in Food and Nutrition Science, while continuing to dedicate her time to coaching and inspiring the next generation of sailors.
Emma Camilleri
Coach
Daniel Agius
Coach
Daniel began his coaching journey as a helper within the SportMalta On the Move programme, following several years of active racing in the Topper and Laser classes. At 16, he joined Vikings Sailing Club as a freelance coach and quickly demonstrated strong teaching qualities. In 2023, he was promoted to Lead Coach, with a primary focus on the club’s summer training programmes. Daniel is also a dedicated contributor to the club’s inclusive sailing initiatives, supporting sailors of all abilities.
Alongside his coaching commitments, Daniel is currently pursuing a degree at the University of Malta, balancing academic life with training and volunteer work. He has represented Malta at the International Topper World Championships in 2022, 2023, and 2024, gaining valuable international racing experience. Beyond coaching and competing, Daniel is one of the club’s most active volunteers, regularly assisting with fleet maintenance and supporting inclusive sailing sessions.
