Through fire and water. Crane 200 meters (Patreon)

It has long been known that in Ukraine there are a lot of interesting and not that many places for research. The country is big, and in every region, there are a lot of crazy things. A lot of tunnels/mines, bomb shelters, tall and unusual structures, or military and abandoned places. So, I with my friend (Danya) decided to visit a crane in Zaporizhzhia. A crane, about 200 meters height, which also stays in the water. The crane has been standing there for quite some time. It was used to build a bridge to the other side of a river, but the construction still could not be completed. There wasn`t enough budget and this bridge was abandoned. This story is similar to the Kyiv bridge, but in Kyiv, it was almost built, and here the bridge was just starting to be built. That city is 500 km from mine, so the road is very long. The trip itself came out quite spontaneously. I managed to buy train tickets in advance, but my friend was on the other side of the country. Therefore, the road took from me about 10 hours, and friend`s rode took almost 20 hours.

I arrived much earlier in that city and, while Dania was coming to me, I decided to take a walk and explore the city and the crane. The city is very old and simple. A lot of houses are built in the same style, namely, like ordinary five-story gray boxes (there are a lot of such houses both in Ukraine and in Russia). After the walkthrough that monotonous city, I decided to go to the embankment and look at that crane. When I saw it for the first time, it seemed to me not so high. This crane still is the highest one in Ukraine. When I saw it, I mentally thought out a detailed plan, namely, how we would get on it. The most difficult thing, as it seemed to me, was to swim there. The rescue service was directly opposite the crane (as if it was there especially for such an event). There was a dam near the crane, that created a very serious rivers flow, that seemed to be a big problem. I sat on the embankment and thought over every detail for a long time.

My friend’s arrival was getting closer and I decided to meet him. There was another friend with him (honestly, I don’t remember his name), but he didn’t want to climb the crane with us and just came for the company. First, we needed to go to the hostel to spend the night and early in the morning climb the crane. I found a hostel and we went to that place. Since the city is not very popular, the hostel was very cheap and surprisingly very good. I took a bed for myself for one night, as did my friends. We left our unnecessary things in the hostel and went to look at the crane.

Around 4 p.m. My friends and I were on the embankment right under the crane. We were looking at it and thinking what time we needed to get up to reach it. We thought over in details and began to think how to swim to the crane. Just to swim with your hands wasn`t a good idea, because somehow you need to take things with you. And yes, and I also don`t really adore cold water, so I was against this idea. Moreover, we didn’t even know what is at the bottom, how much depth there can be. That area was completely abandoned, some things could have been in the water, and we could have been injured in the water. The only other option was to rent a boat. We started looking for advertisements about a boat. I found a kayaking site that rent them out. It was already 6 p.m. and no one answered the phone at this company. My friend and I began to worry because I didn`t want to swim. We continued to search another alternative. The number of days in that city was limited. There was only one day to accomplish what was planned, so I was very worried. And how we could have come there so unprepared! Dania found some kind of announcement from a private trader. We called and made an appointment. I had never before been kayaking. I could have imagined how it looked like, but I have never even seen it. We had to go to the other end of the city to pick up the kayak. The city is divided into 3 parts: Left bank, right bank, and between them the island Khortitsa. We needed to get from one coast to another.

Around 9 pm. A lot of time was spent searching for the right transport and the route as a whole. Finally, we met with the owner of the kayak and agreed on everything. The kayak was very large. It was designed for 3 people and was made of good fabric. When I tried to pick it up for the first time, I was a little shocked. It was heavy enough and I was wondering how it would stay on the water and not sink. We also advised about the use and how it can be hidden. We wanted to hide a kayak somewhere in the forest under the bridge in order to at least get some sleep. The owner told me that it was better not to do this: “If someone sees this in the forest, he will immediately take it to himself”. Then the problem began: “What to do now?”. At that time, there were I, Dania and his friend, who didn`t want to climb with us at all.

Around 11:00 pm. Time passed somehow very quickly, while we were told all the details, the transport didn`t run no longer. How could we have dragged this kayak with us to the other end of the city? The owner of the kayak decided to lead us to the water. Since we did not know which way we should go at all, we decided to ask him. He showed us the direction and said: “I somehow sailed around the island of Khortytsia, and if you go wrong, then you will have to sail it for 2 days”. I did not even know what to say, there were only thoughts (I didn’t want to swim at all anymore). We had a small plan, to swim to the nearest beach, wait for the morning and go to the crane at dawn. A person who does not want to climb with us will simply stay on this beach and wait for us, or go to bed at the hostel. According to the situation, we decided to improvise. We were helped to get into the water and we sailed our first meters. It was quite unusual and fun. It was difficult to row, but that had its own aesthetics. After half an hour on the water, I was already normally tired. I did not expect that it would be so difficult. We swam to a bridge, it was on a hill. It meant we had to climb to the very top to see the road and area. Dania decided to do this. It was very difficult to swim right next to the bridge because everywhere it was deep and it was not known where you could get out of the boat. After a couple of painful attempts, he finally got out and climbed the mountain. And then he shouted: "We are sailing in the wrong direction”. I had a shock. We swam for more than 30 minutes and I was tired of rowing, and all this time we sailed in the wrong place. It was necessary to decide what to do. The right decision was to go back, what we did. We had 2 oars for 3 people and we constantly changed.

About 1:00 am. Not only I was tired, but friends were as well. I didn’t want to stop, but I had no strength to row. We saw the beach and thought to stop there. When they swam ashore, they saw a tent there. It was a little scary, but I really did not want to disturb the people who were resting. When we dragged the kayak ashore, a man came out of the tent and saw us. He came up to us and became to be interested. We told him about the plans and asked for help so that he would suggest what is the easiest way to get to the crane. He was not local and could have not helped us with that, but he suggested that we stay and rest there. I really wanted to sleep, and when I sat near the fire, I fell asleep very much. The guy suggested that I go to bed in the tent for a little sleep, what I did, setting an alarm in advance.

About 5:00 am. An alarm clock woke me up, and I really wanted to sleep. Dania had drunk a lot of coffee and energy before, so he didn`t sleep all night. It was pretty cold outside, so I immediately stuck to the fire. We woke Dani's friend up and asked what he was going to do. He replied that he would sleep here, and then he would get to the hostel. Well, it remained only to get to the crane. I got into the boat and felt that at this rate I would rather get sick. Although it was the end of summer, it was very cold outside, as was the water in the river. And so we began to swim. At first, it was not so difficult again, and after a while, it was becoming more and more harder. We again sailed to the bridge as it was better to climb up again and see how far we still needed and in whether we were sailing in the right direction. That time I came up, and we sailed in the right direction, but we are essentially sailing the islands around when we needed go directly through it. I went down and described the situation to Dania. I suggested to carry this kayak by hands because we had to much to sail. When I started to pull the nose of the kayak up, I felt an unrealistic heaviness. But I understood that most of this heaviness was given by water inside. First, we needed to pull the kayak to the first tier, and then we could have drained all the water from there. The hands were numb, the kayak slipped off, the back was already sore, but we needed to lift it. Through severe difficulties, we lifted the kayak to the first tier and drained all the water. It wouldn’t be so sad if there wasn’t one more tier that was twice as large as the one, we climbed to. Dania took a kayak from below, and I started to pull from above. The adventure was just beginning, and I have already given all my best. Many times in my head flashed: «It is still possible to drop everything", but the desire to get into it got the upper hand.

With difficulty, we lifted a kayak onto the bridge and started walking towards the crane. People didn`t go on foot in the island but move in the cars. They stared at us very suspiciously. I didn’t argue, it looked like we had stolen it from somewhere. Walking was not as difficult as rowing in the water, so I wasn’t so tired. But the path was not close, so after a kilometer, it started to be harder. Also, my health was affected due to a lack of sleep. We were definitely not getting into the dawn, but I didn’t even worry about it. I was worried that there might be some kind of guard near this crane. Well, it couldn’t have been that no one guards this entire structure at all, that's why I wanted to get under the dawn so that no one would notice us when we climb there.

About 8:00 am. The road was not easy, the sun began to flicker, people looked very strange or honked. At first, it was funny, but I have already been tired of the second hour. Finally, the police car stopped and started asking questions. The situation was certainly funny, but the police seriously thought that we stole a kayak. And to say directly that we want to sail to the crane would be very stupid. We gave our documents to be checked and released. The police checked us through the base and recorded our data, in case someone claimed about stolen kayak. It worried me a little, but we could not prove anything. The police let us go, and we continued our way. After a couple of kilometers, we reached the beach, where we could have put a kayak and swim.

About 10:00 am. We put a kayak on the water and got into it. The sun was becoming very baking, and I was very glad that we were back on the water. We could have washed ourselves there. And the air near the water was much better. It remained some 200-300 meters to swim to the crane and that was the same thing that I have been waiting for so long. After such a hard road it was very easy to sail. In just a couple of minutes, we sailed the entire distance without interruption. When we swam to the base of the crane, a new problem appeared, it was necessary to tie a kayak with something so that it would not float away. Without hesitation, I took my belt and tied it in a hanging thick rope. While I was holding on to the base of the crane’s mini-island, Dania tried to climb out of the kayak. Honestly, I thought we would turn it over. Fortunately, Dania got out and I gave him all out stuff. After there was my turn to do it. It was very difficult to keep balance on the water without holding anything. The kayak sailed a little because of the rivers flow, and I could not catch that moment to grab this mini-island. I tried to keep my balance until the last so as not to fall into the water I managed to grab the armature with a small jump. My legs remained on the kayak, and my hands were on the base of the mini-island. By force, I pulled the kayak closer to the structure and climbed out of there. Half of the work was done, it remained to climb and not meet anyone on the way.

About 12:00 am. I stood under the tap and felt euphoric, but I didn’t even climb it. The crane below looked much higher than from the side. I went close to the crane, grabbed the handrail and began to climb. On the first tier, the stairs were specially removed to make it harder to get, but that did not give absolutely any difficulty. In my opinion, if you removed the stairs on the last tier, it would be more problematic to climb there. After the kayak and the hard way, it was certainly difficult, but bearable. I climbed the first 3 flights very quickly, and then I was really tired. I knew that was very funny. Because of my strong desire to go upstairs, I was in a hurry, which made me short of breath and tired from previous tests. I gave myself time to relax and slowly climbed the rest of the spans.

And finally, I reached the top of the crane. The view was gorgeous, you could have seen the whole city, island, and dam. At that time, I was on the crane, which had an arrow that went up. That arrow was 20-30 meters of height and I also decided to climb there. How could I climb a crane, but not climb to its highest point? I rested enough time and was ready to get up. I told Dania about it and he also wanted to get there, so we climbed together. At first, the first 5-7 meters were a staircase, and then just flights. These spans were a little bigger than me. On each flight, it was necessary to pull up with your hands and lean with your feet in order to climb higher. It was quite complicated. Since I am a person who was afraid of heights before and this fear sometimes manifests, it was very difficult for me. Every time I pulled myself up, I saw this height. There was only water under me, it seemed that if I fall, I can survive, but the height is 200 meters. With such a height, the water turns into glass. So, you mustn`t fall. I climbed out already in the middle and that was the moment when you didn’t want to climb to the top because “you are terribly tired and exhausted” and climb down because “why did I get here then”. It was very difficult to decide anything. But I decided to pull myself together and climb to the top. Each span was harder and harder. Hands almost did not hold, and still, needed to climb ...

With very great difficulty, I managed to climb to the very top. There the height was much greater, and also more dangerous. It was very uncomfortable to stand like that, and especially for two people. We did not stand there very long, because it was very inconvenient. I shot a video and took a couple of shots from my action camera and started to go down. Many people would think that it’s a lot harder to go down, but it doesn’t always work that way. In that case, it was morally easier for me to climb off. So it made me more confident. When I came down from the crane boom, my soul was very calm. I survived it. It remained only to get down, swim to the shore and give the boat. This could have ended the story, but no. We calmly went down from the crane, got on a kayak, and began to swim. We remembered that we needed to reach the other side of the island, we decided to try to sail around the island and return a kayak to the man. After all, how could we transport kayak with bus? And I didn`t want to carry it again. Especially it was afternoon and it was clear, where to swim and what was in front of us. So, when we started to swim, the dam was opened and the flaw was against us. I rowed with oar and understood that we were not swimming, but we were standing in the water. We couldn`t not only to swim strait, but we also could not swim to any beach, the flaw carried us back. It was so hot that the water no longer seemed so cold and clothes was half wet. It was good that I did not receive a sunstroke from all that. After 30 minutes of the battle between us and the rivers flaw, we managed to swim to the nearest beach. I called to the owner of the kayak and asked for his advice. He said that we should wait for him and he will help us get it to our place. At least I had a long break while I was waiting for the owner, who would come there. When the owner has already come, we all went out into the water again and started swimming. Since this man rowed not a first year, we were able to defeat the water and swim to the place. It turned out that it was not far at all, we just first sailed in the wrong direction and sailed further and further. 

Now I can end my story. It was my first kayaking experience and a very good one. My second time visiting this place I will describe later. Maybe, it seemed like a normal day, but in fact, that was a new interesting and memorable story.