Hyvää työtä – Helsinki Boat Expo!

Joshua and I arrived really late that night but everything was prepared for us. So we docked and on the bright Nordic night, we fixed the boat and the banners and looked forward to meeting the visitors and showing them our treats. Little did we know what kind of alarm clock behind our transom would wake us up...

This stunt guy really conquered the laws of gravity. Despite the fact that his trick is based on a water scooter running on fossil fuels, we have to give him rightful cred for his acrobatic skills. We agreed that Torqeedo should develop silent electric water scooters so we the rest of can get to sleep longer in the mornings...

Talking about Torqeedo – our electric engine always impresses on our visitors. When we have shown them the extra space, and the batteries installation and let them feel the direct drive and hear the silence, we always end up talking about the range: 5 knots = 1 hour, 3 knots = 8 hours, and 2 knots = 25 hours. Wow! And the same thing happens every time, and visitors then draw one conclusion themselves: – We should slow down our lives and start to live more with nature instead of against it. Real sailors always say – Well, we got a sailboat for a reason, the engine is not being used so much anyway... But we all know that most sailors do nowadays. Anyway, it is interesting to be at the beginning of a system shift.

We, the electric ambassadors, were for sure a minority at this fossil fuel bombarded boat expo. As we have been in all marinas and in all boat media as well. But we are determined to make it change. That is why we are here, doing what we are doing.

Meeting cool people, serving hot carrots!

The solar oven did its job and people guessed that it was an antenna, a new form of battery charger and one person thought that it was a thermos. All of the ones we served were surprised about the extreme heat generated by nothing else but the current weather.

Our young fan and conscious sailor Pablo loved the solar oven idea and its carrots – well aware that his generation will have to deal with the mess that our generation has created.

A Partner in Clime – Kari Nurmi alias "Ruffe" met up onboard. Wow, do we have things to learn from him: Sailor, explorer, producer, speaker. Sailor of the Year 2018 and Environmental stuntman. He has crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the Baltic Sea, met with polar bears, and yes...been trawling for microplastics. Hyvää työtä Kari! Check his website.

Lisa, 27 an examined marine biologist fears the future but also expressed hope as she has met many people of all ages that are concerned for real. Which she felt is built into her country's people, as nature is so important to them.

He was skeptical about an electric pod drive in a sailboat but when I asked him if he had kids and grandkids he looked down and defended himself with a smile and said he had at least installed solar panels on his roof... I bet that if we meet again he will have an electric engine installed in his boat. A very kind and conscious man.