The water nomad sailor girl was out in water already at the age of two

If you visit Balatonboglár’s harbour in warm weather, you have a good chance of running into Réka Stankovics. The lake is her second summer home: Réka has been living on the boat for years during the season, often completely alone. During the days she works in hospitality, then she relaxes on the boat, and at the weekend, she sails with her crew. The 23-year-old girl from Budapest was two years old when she stepped on a boat for the first time. Back in the day, her father, Tamács Stankovics, held children camps at the Spartacus Sailing Association in Balatonföldvár. He took Réka and her elder sister, Petra, with him, which meant that the barely a couple of years-old girls went to up to five sailing camps in one season. Like most children, Réka started on an “Optimist” (a single-person sailing boat) and continued with a pirate boat. Then, at the age of twelve, she competed on the BAHART regattas with the family’s 23 feet sailing boat, “Hablaty”. “We started competing with big boats under my father’s wings almost as a children’s team. I took the helm position at the age of twelve, my sister Petra worked on the foredeck at the age of 15 with my 17-year-old cousin, my father took the tactical role as the only adult, while our mother supported us from the shore” – Réka says.

You can imagine how wide the eyes at the regatta opened when these little people breasted the tape. Although she said she had never felt like she had not been acknowledged, neither as a girl nor as a child, their appearance had stirred things up in the stagnant waters. According to Réka, the women’s ratio in Hungarian sailing is remarkably low. Interestingly, the Hungarian sailing life realises it more and more, and they are trying to include more women in the sport; they launched the “Women On Water Hungary” campaign last year. The initiative aims to invite more women sailors into the competition, thus promoting mixed teams, i.e. crews with both men and women. “Hablaty” and its crew won numerous BAHART regattas. They won the end-of-season composite competitions in YS III class for several years. In 2012 and 2019, they stood on the third step of the podium in their category at the Blue Ribbon race. There were only a few occasions when they threw in the towel, but there is one case they still mention repeatedly. “On one of the Blue Ribbons on the evening of the first day, there was a storm with northern winds. We anchored at Badacsony below the shore to shelter ourselves from the strong winds. Several motorboats also came to check if we were okay, but one drifted to us. We only realised our anchor was not holding when we found ourselves in the middle of Lake Balaton, in the middle of the storm. Boats came and went, and because of the bad visibility, anything could have happened. We got off lightly, but the memory of the adrenaline rush remained till today” – Réka explains.

Sometimes we can hear about insanities such as someone living on a boat. Well, the Stankovics family is one of the “crazy” ones, and we love them for it. Since its “birth”, the 23-feet Hablaty has been functioning as a vacation home as well: sometimes it rocks the family all summer long on its deck. Réka is not jittery; she often stays on the boat alone. Although she does not sail out on these occasions, there are situations in which you would rather not be in her shoes.

– she says.

Réka graduated in economics from the Budapest University of Economics a few months ago. Still, sailing cannot be left out of her vision of the future wherever the wind blows her. So whether or not you love this sport, you should give your attention to Réka because this young water nomad helmswoman is a genuine libertine.