When we bought Polaris we had zero sailing experience. We had never even stepped foot on a small boat.

The first thing we had to do was find a marina nearby that had space for us, easier said than done. Google suggested “Kaskisten navigaatioseura ry” which was about 25km from our house. After several failed phone calls and WhatsApp messages, we decided the best thing to do would be to head over there and see if we could find someone to ask.

When we arrived there were several people there getting their boats ready for the start of the season. A gentleman called Pauli introduced himself to us, we explained that we needed a berth for the season and he almost knowingly asked us if we knew how to sail. When we explained we had no idea how to sail and had just bought a boat he first insisted that we learn how to tie a bowline knot. Pauli was very patient and demonstrated the bowline until we got the hang of it.

Next up was our first sailing lesson! The club had a couple of “optimists” so we brought them down to the water, I jumped in one and Uyen and Pauli in another. Pauli explained the basics and we had our first taste of sailing! It was a lot of fun!

Later that day when we were in the sauna Pauli asked if we needed help to get Polaris (our new to us boat) back to Kaskinen. It was a great relief as at this point I had realised what we were attempting to do wasn’t going to be easy. It is 300km / 160NM from Rasio to Kaskinen. Pauli made a sail plan and the next week set off together.

The weather was so calm we had to motor most of the way but the scenery was amazing.

We stopped off in Katanpää island for a couple of hours to replenish our fresh water and have a look around. 

After our stop in Katanpää we continued north, the weather was still too calm so we relied on the engine. When we got a little closer to Kaskinen Pauli switched off the engine and gave us our second sailing lesson.

A little later that day we arrived safely in Kaskinen with a bit more sailing experience.

Iso kiitos Pauli and Terhi!