This summer Loki Navigation, a playful boat race, takes six boat crews to the most interesting places in the Finnish archipelago. Navigation is part of the summer programme of Loki, a service maintained by the John Nurminen Foundation.
Ten fascinating boating destinations in the Finnish archipelago have been selected for Loki Navigation, and the main idea of the race is to visit at least five destinations during the racing period. At the destinations, boat crews must join forces to complete checkpoint tasks, and save their accomplishment as log entries in the Loki service.
The entries allow vacationers and friends of the sea to follow the progress of the race as it crisscrosses the archipelago, and, at the same time, pick up tips for their own summer plans. For example: did you know that a couple of kilometres from the Pakkahuone guest harbour you can find the Pilvilinna house of art, a building painted from floor to ceiling with naïve works of art? Or that the Elisaari harbour is rumoured to have the best no-bake cake buffet of the archipelago? Navigation lets you know these and many other secrets of the archipelago.
The main prize of the race is a €250 gift card for purchasing John Nurminen Marine boating products; the prize will go to the boat crew that has received the most votes from the audience by the end of the summer.
‘The boat crews competing in the Finnish archipelago comprise three sailing boats and three motor boats, which those with good eyesight can recognise from the Loki pennants sported by the boats’, explains Anna Herlin, Project Manager of Loki.
Speed is also of the essence – the boat crew that is the first to navigate through all ten Loki destinations will receive a surprise award! The race starts today, Monday 5th June, and continues until 13 August.
Tip database and community for friends of the sea
Loki, the organiser of the competition, is a marine online service and community maintained by the John Nurminen Foundation. On the Loki map, you can find all Finnish guest harbours as well as hundreds of log entries by friends of the sea and marine stakeholders, including stories, tidbits of information, and tips for places to visit.
‘Anyone can join the Loki community and enter their own log entries on the map. We hope that during the summer, many new tips will appear on the map to the delight of all of us who enjoy the marine outdoors’, says Herlin.
Creating a Loki profile and making entries is free for private individuals and organisations alike. You do not need to register to the service to browse its contents.
Loki navigation destination harbours:
- Elisaari harbour, Inkoo
- Jussarö guest harbour, Raasepori
- Mathilda’s Marina, Salo
- Örö, Kimito Island
- Bodö, Pargas
- Seili, Pargas
- Utö, Hannas Horison, Pargas
- Naantali guest harbour, Naantali
- Peterzens, Kustavi
- Pakkahuone guest harbour, Uusikaupunki
Loki navigation boat crews:
- M/s Apollo with its crew Captain-Järvi, Boatswain-Anu, Mauno and Urho. ‘Our crew will sail across the surface of the Baltic Sea on a seasoned iron lady. Even though our iron lady is made of plastic, its attitude and appearance are those of an iron lady.’
- Sirius Starlight with crew Timo, Mari and the children Nemo and Peppe.‘In the galley of Sirius Starlight, we prepare delicious, hearty food using what is available in nature whenever possible. Last summer, we sampled for example sea kale from Jurmo, and shrimp and mussels from the Baltic Sea, collected from the cleanest shores by our tiny skippers.’
- Pink boat or ‘Pinky’ with crew Jarkko, Heini, Matti & Ella. Pinky, purchased from an ex-girlfriend for the price of 1€ quite some time ago, is a bit like a Chihuahua of the seas — tiny in size, but a veritable marine guard dog in temperament and attitude!’
- S/y Meripähkinä with crew Aino, Amalia, Elina J. & Elina R. ‘ Powered by our do-it-yourself attitude, as self-educated boat mechanics we have succeeded in creating great comedy and bringing mirth to our boating neighbours—while still bringing our projects to a successful finish.’
- Aallonharjalla / Bayliner 2651 with crew Jussi, Katariina & deckhand dog Enzo. ‘We are an active, humorous and curious trio. Culinary pleasures and photography are all aspects of our boating hobby, realised as much by cooking in our own boat as by enjoying the services of harbours.’
- S/y Sjöspöket with crew Commodore Kaira, chief mate Netta, and junior seamen A.K. Number One & A. K. Number Two. ‘Joining the action is a white Swedish boatswain dog, who thinks he is a great seafarer and a hero of the seven seas, but will stay safe on the jetty whenever seawaters splash in the rocky shores.’
The Loki Navigation race takes place between 5 June and 13 August 2017. You can follow the competition via the Loki service and Loki social media channels in Twitter and Instagram, using hashtag #lokinavigointi. Loki’s Facebook pages will be active in sharing the competitors’ log entries and interesting tips on the destination harbours and cities of Loki Navigation.
Loki service online: www.lokistories.fi
Loki Facebook page: www.facebook.com/lokistories
Loki on Twitter and Instagram: @lokistories
More information:
Oona Lavonsalo
Communications Officer, John Nurminen Foundation
oona.lavonsalo(at)jnfoundation.fi
+358(0)50 434 4879
Anna Herlin (from 12 June onwards)
Project Manager, Loki Project
anna.herlin(at)jnfoundation.fi
+358(0)40 654 0609
The mission of the John Nurminen Foundation, established in 1992, is to save the Baltic Sea and its heritage for future generations. The objective of the Clean Baltic Sea projects is to improve the status of the Baltic Sea with concrete measures that reduce the nutrient load and environmental risks faced by the sea. The Foundation’s publication and exhibition activities focus on the history of seafaring, exploration and cartography, and making them better known to the general public. The activities are supported by the Foundation’s extensive collections of naval art, maritime antiquities, and ancient maps. The Foundation publishes non-fiction books on related topics, and maintains the Loki online service, which is free for all. www.johnnurmisensaatio.fi
