About Vikings Sailing Club
Our Story
The Vikings Sailing Club (VSC) was founded in 1984 by the late Hector Borg Carbott and a few friends as a non-profit organization. The Club is run by volunteers, with the objective of facilitating and promoting sailing especially with the young, promoting good sportsmanship and seamanship and organizing racing, social, educational and informative activities which aim to foster the love of sailing. The club holds year round beginner sailing courses and also offers other more advanced courses for sailors interested in competing both locally and abroad.
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 and hope to soon 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 hope to soon hold some social events for our members.
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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.
Kleaven Maniscalco
Premises Manager
Henriette Putzulu Caruana
Events co-ordinator
Matthew Wallis
Safety Officer & Fleet Manager
Anouschka Vella
Inclusive sailing
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
Partner Performance Coach
Batuhan grew up immersed in sailing, inspired by parents who were passionate sailors. His journey began at the age of six with the Optimist class, where he quickly developed responsibility, decision-making skills, and independence beyond his peers.
Batuhan went on to represent his country as part of the national team in numerous competitions, racing in classes such as Optimist, Laser, and yachts. At 18, he transitioned from competitive sailing to coaching, driven by a desire to share his knowledge and passion for the sport. Since then, he has coached at both national and international levels, actively contributing to competitive sailing events.
For Batuhan, coaching is more than a profession—it’s a calling. Spending time on the water with athletes is his greatest source of fulfillment, and he believes the key to success lies in doing what you love, continuously improving, and fostering growth. His mission is to develop sailors who embody strong moral values, ethics, and sportsmanship, while striving for excellence.
Since 2019, Batuhan has continued his coaching career in Malta, an ideal location for year-round sailing. His goal is to train more sailors and elevate Malta’s presence on the international sailing stage.
Maria Nagrudnaya
Coach
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.
