Pavel Pavlov joined the Imperial Yacht Club in St. Petersburg in 1902. He owned a number of yachts including the American built Orestes, the Volokita and the Satana. The two latter ones were designed by Yevgeny Kun and the Satana was co-owned with Vyacheslav Kuzmichev. As a sailor, he was particularly successful with the Orestes winning several local regattas. At the 1912 Olympics, he competed as a member of the crew of the yacht Norman in the 8 metres class placing fourth and fifth in the two races.