Staging Tall Ships 2000 is a massive undertaking which involves years of planning, not only by the International Sail Training Association (ISTA), but also by every port along the race route. Hundreds of individuals and thousands of man-hours are spent ensuring that everything goes smoothly, and every visiting ship and its crew takes with it good memories of international friendships and peace.

In a wide-ranging interview with Lifestyle writer Nancy Acton, Mrs. Janka Bielak discuss her role with ISTA, and her adventures since joining the organisation in 1975.

Have suitcase, will travel.

That is the adage by which Polish-born Janka Bielak has lived since joining the International Sail Training Association (ISTA) 25 years ago as a volunteer. Today, she sits on the organisation's council, and is also a member of the race committee.

Just how the 80-years-young grandmother ultimately became drawn to a life on the ocean waves and many ports goes back to her childhood when, in addition to her native tongue, she was taught to speak fluent French by her nanny. During the Second World War, she was obliged to learn Russian, and during the Communist regime she learned English.

It was this affinity for languages, together with admiration for her brother, who was a naval officer before and after the Second World War, that ultimately led to the positions she now holds with ISTA.

"I was recruited because of my knowledge of languages, but my main asset was Russian, which extends itself to other countries with a Slavonic language,'' she explains. "I have a profound knowledge which is very useful.' Since then, however, her job description has undergone a sea change, not least because she understands so well the importance of international goodwill and peace between nations.

Having experienced the miseries of Poland's occupation first by the Nazis and then the Communists, as well as imprisonment for her political beliefs, Mrs.

Bielak is uniquely equipped for her present role.

"As part of the ISTA team my job is the human relationship between the ships, the people, and the inhabitants of the receiving ports. I am a sort of moral liaison,'' she explains. "Any problems are dealt with very early on before they degrade into something unpleasant. Very often a little misunderstanding is the cause of a big misunderstanding. If you have knowledge of different customs in different countries it helps, and ISTA has become very international.'' It is a view which fits nicely with the vision of the man who founded the Sail Training Association (STA), which eventually led to the establishment, in 1995, of ISTA as a subsidiary of the STA.

"Mr. Bernard Morgan was not a sailor but a lawyer,'' she begins. "He thought it was important to give something worthwhile to the young people, to make an effort to know other people and for nations to co-exist peacefully.'' Acknowledging that many of the youngsters who have sailed on the tall ships come from countries where life is very difficult, Mrs. Bielak says she has never doubted the benefits which sail training provides.

"It gives the opportunity of group travel devoted to the same aim: to sail well, and in port to be well received, and mix and get to know each other.'' Even during the Cold War, when countries such as Poland and Russia had repressive regimes, they were always enthusiastic supporters of ISTA's aims, which Mrs. Bielak says provided youngsters with "a fantastic experience'' during their six months in the free world.

"I am sure that ISTA got a merit in dismantling the Berlin Wall, because since 1954 we have had about 100 cadets on the big Russian ships, and with that many youngsters visiting (western ports) they could judge for themselves what it means to be free. Russian propaganda could not blind them all.'' Yet, the intrepid volunteer stresses, one of the "first commandments'' of ISTA is not to discuss politics.

"They are not our business,'' she says. "We are totally apolitical, and we are also great defenders of equality between every child.'' In terms of fostering international relations, Mrs. Bielak says that sea life is the best there is.

"You unite people at sea because if someone is in peril, you don't ask: `Are you a Communist? Labour or Conservative?' but rather: `Do you need help?' Also, during races about 25 nationalities are together. Each ship is proud, but we don't say things like: `Russia first, Germany second.' Instead we say, ` Kruzenshtern first, Gorch Foch second,' etc. -- like they do in the Olympics.'' `Sailing in company' is another way ISTA brings the nationalities together, when ships swop part of their guest crews during certain legs of a voyage.

ISTA is a charity headquartered in Gosport, Hampshire, England. Its office is staffed by just four paid employees, with everyone else being a volunteer.

Races are organised to various areas, including the Baltic, the North Sea, and the southern Mediterranean, with trans-Atlantic races taking place every five or six years. Half of all tall ships crews must be aged 15-24, and host ports are responsible for providing entertainment and activities for them during their stay.

Given their tender years, it is not unreasonable to assume that, without the traditional parental controls, youthful exuberance might replace decorum ashore -- but that would be without reckoning on Mrs. Bielak's presence wherever the talls ships anchor.

"I am a well-known disciplinarian, so the yachts know that they have to behave otherwise they are ticked off,'' she says firmly. "Discipline is absolutely essential on board ship, so when they are in port they should be proud of their yacht. They don't argue with the Captain. The curfew is at midnight, and they know it.'' Crews also know that they are in safe hands when ships are underway because the Captain spends a great deal of time stressing safety.

"That is the most important thing because the young people are the cargo,'' Mrs. Bielak says.

As for the popular landlubbers' misconception that the only real tall ships are four-masted, square-rigged leviathans, the ISTA council member says the minimum qualifying length is ten metres.

"An Australian coined the phrase, `You don't have to be big to be tall,' which is very appropriate because you can have very small yachts with only ten crew who are tall in carriage and spirit,'' she notes.

It is a description which, coincidentally, also applies to Mrs. Bielak. Of average height, elegantly and immaculately groomed in her ISTA uniform of monogrammed navy shirt, white slacks and logoed turquoise chiffon scarf, she brims with good health and energy.

"My day begins at 7 a.m. and don't ask when I get to bed - it's probably 1 a.m. to 2 a.m.,'' is how she describes a typical working day.

Remarkably, considering she celebrated her 80th birthday in Bermuda in February, Mrs. Bielak continues to sail on tall ships whenever the opportunity arises, and her next voyage is on the Polish Class A square rigger, Dar Mlodziezy from Halifax to Boston.

Goodwill on the high seas Where once she was part of the crew -- "my specialty was the galley, I could cook in all weathers, and I never got seasick'' -- today she describes herself as "an honorary passenger''.

Naturally, for someone who has sailed in so many tall ships races all over the world, oftentimes crewing on the biggest boats in the fleet, Mrs. Bielak has accumulated a host of memories, both good and sad. Among the latter is the sinking of the Marques in 1984 -- an event which also remains vivid in local minds.

"I was in the Class A Polish yacht, Smuga Cienia and the Marques was behind us sailing out of Bermuda, so we were in the vicinity when she went down,'' she recalls. "I saw their red flare go up. The survivors were rescued by another Polish yacht, the Zawiszi Czarny, which heard their mayday. It was very tragic -- but let's not dwell on that.'' On a more personal level, she also draws a veil over details of the turbulent years in Poland during the Nazi and Communist regimes saying, "it only inflames things'' to fetch them up.

Instead, she is proud to note that the poor, occupied country she left behind in 1950 is now free and thriving. Of her roots she says: "I feel international, although of course I am proud of being Polish and British as well. Great Britain accepted and was very good to me.'' Indeed, it is there that she married and raised a son and a daughter. She now has four grandchildren, one of whom is sailing in the current Tall Ships race.

Widowed in 1987, and with her children married and having families of their own, she has no qualms about enjoying a wonderful life on and around the sea.

"You never know what life holds, and what will come in useful,'' she muses.

"In the years of sheer misery during the war, I never dreamed that the Russian language would one day bring me to the fantastic adventure of sail training.'' Asked about her impressions of Bermuda vis-a-vis Tall Ships 2000, she says: "We never compare ports because each one has different characteristics, but I felt really at home in Bermuda because of the professional support of the port and the Bermudian people. They made such an effort to ensure that everyone was happy. It was the whole administration which was extremely rewarding.''