Hi, I am Mateńka, an oceanic sailing yacht type Cetus 136c. I was born in 1986 in the Leonida Teligi shipyard in Stettin, Poland. My owner and co-designer Nikodem Jasiński sailed me for 22 years, followed by his daughters, first Joanna Jasińska and now Elisa Jasińska. I’ve been in many places around the world: cruised the North sea, crossed the Atlantic, visited the Caribbean, Bahamas and the USA, I’ve lived on the Mediterranean and much more. I have a lot of good friends that care about me and a lot of plans and dreams for future adventures.
Owners
Mateńka has a long family history and has never been owned by anyone not part of the Jasinski family. After her pwner and co-designer Nikodem passed away in 2008, his daughter Asia took over and cared for Mateńka for many years. During that time, Elisa, Nikodem’s youngest daughter, got into sailing too and she now sails and lives on Mateńka.
Nikodem Jasiński (1940 – 2008)
Nikodem Jasiński was the co-designer, owner and captain of Mateńka. A sea lion. A dreamer. A beautiful person. He spent 30 years at sea, inspiring everyone to be a sailor too. He was loved by many. He showed us how to find freedom and make our dreams come true.
Joanna “Asia” Jasińska
Nikodem’s daughter Asia took over Mateńka after he passed away in 2008. Without her we wouldn’t be where we are today. She took it upon herself to keep Mateńka afloat. Asia and her partner Tomek took care of many repairs after her accident and brought her back to life.
Ela “Elisa” Jasińska
Elisa is Nikodem’s youngest daughter. She spent many vacations sailing with her dad as a child, but sailing was not the reason she was there, her dad was. For her Mateńka was the home she had with her father. She discovered her own passion for sailing and the boat life after her dad passed away and she sails and lives on Mateńka now.
The Beginning
Mateńka was built in 1986 on a fiberglass hull type Cetus 136c, in the Leonida Teligi shipyard in Stettin, Poland. The project was executed by Mark Tuński and his crew, together with the late owner and captain Nikodem Jasiński. Ever since the beginning she proudly sailed under a Polish flag, at a time where there weren’t many privately owned vessels in the Eastern Bloc. She had the former registration number PZ1684, the 1684th vessel registered in Poland ever.
After she was ready, Nikodem participated in ARC 1987 – the Atlantic Ralley for Cruisers – back then from Gran Canaria to Barbados. They crossed the Atlantic ocean, sailed the Caribbean, Cuba, the Bahamas, Florida all the way up to New York, and back in 1989 via the Azores. After they returned, Nikodem spent 20 years living on Mateńka in the Mediterranean Sea, mainly stationed in Fiumicino, Italy.
The accident
In 2007 Mateńka was in a serious accident. Nikodem had left her with a befriended skipper to spend a few weeks in Poland. Off the coast of Italy the skipper and his crew got into heavy weather and lost steering due to a broken steering rod. They called for help and the crew was rescued by a passanger ferry. Mateńka sustained a lot of damage during the rescue operation, and the skipper decided to abandon the boat.
With a hole in her hull at the time when she was abandoned, everyone thought she had surey sunk, but Nikodem did not. He was sure she was still floating out there. He flew back to Italy, rented a vessel and started searching, and as luck would have it he found her! Two weeks after he was abandoned. Still floating. Nikodem spent the last year of his life rebuilding her after the accident, but he never saw her fully seaworthy again, he passed away in 2008.
The case was later tried at the Polish maritime court, as all accidents involving a polish cessel do. It was determined that the skipper should not have abandoned the boat, the conditions did not warrant his deaprture. The case is now used by some local instructros as a an example of how NOT to handle accidents at sea (read the full marimime court documents in polish here).
His daughters took over Mateńka and after a lot of repairs Asia had her sailworthy again by 2010. She cruised around the Mediterranean for a few years and in 2015 Elisa sailed her back to Poland, for some more needed work.
Mateńka Now
In 2016 Elisa embarked on a mission to cross the Atlantic with Mateńka for a second time. They participated in ARC 2017 – 30 years after Mateńka has already taken part in ARC 1987. Along the way in Martinique they met Andrzej K, who sailed with Nikodem during ARC 1987 across the Atlantic. He now lives and sails permanently in Martinique and had some amazing stories to tell. Later while passing though the USA they met Andrzej S, who sailed on Mateńka in 1989 back from the US to the Azores. Andrzej S came out sailing with Elisa and Mike for a week and told them countless ols stories.
They returned from the second Atlantic loop in 2018 and are now stationed in Gdańsk, Poland, getting ready for new adventures.