Five Friends and One Shared Horizon
A boat is never just a boat. For five friends, AAVA became a promise, a project, and a horizon waiting to be reached. The adventure is not the destination – it’s the courage to set out.
There are five of us. Around sixty years old, from different walks of life. We didn’t know each other before, but each of us had once taken a sailing course at Joensuu Sailing School. That’s where the spark was lit: what if we bought a boat together?
The dream wasn’t born out of thin air. Some of us had sailed the Mediterranean, one had even crossed the Atlantic. Our dreams varied – cliffs of Höga Kusten for one, a new ocean passage for another. Slowly, maps and conversations turned into something real: we would go together, once we found the right boat.
And then our sailing instructor joined us. The one who had taught us the basics became one of the crew. Teacher turned shipmate.

Friendship Forged at Sea
Sailing quickly taught us to trust one another. At sea, you face both physical and mental limits. Bit by bit, friendship grew into the very heart of this journey. The boat became more than transport – it became a shared project, a promise of adventure, and a bond of trust.
Age is a reminder that time isn’t endless. But it’s also the best motivation: the right moment is now. A journey is not only about where you end up – it’s about daring to set out, and doing it together.

The Hunt for a Boat
The search for our boat was anything but calm. It was a rollercoaster of quick decisions, near misses, and lessons in patience.
The first candidate appeared in an online auction. We ran the numbers, placed a bid – but in the last moments, it slipped away.
From there we looked everywhere: Sweden, Spain, Finnish harbors, southern marinas. We wanted a boat that was ocean-worthy but not too big. Safe, spacious, with its own story.
By late 2024, we knew one thing for sure: it had to be a Baltic.

Baltic 42 – A Dream in Shape
And then we found her: Baltic 42.
She had everything we were looking for – performance, seaworthiness, and space. Strong Finnish craftsmanship. And a history: she had once won Gotland Runt. Now, she became part of our story.

AAVA – The Name of the Horizon
We named her AAVA – easy to say, clear as the horizon itself. Alfa, Alfa, Victor, Alfa. A name that carries both wind and story.
On that first sail, nerves were high. How do we hoist the sails? How do the winches work? Everything was new again. But AAVA was a gentle teacher.
Even in the lightest breeze she lifted into the wind with ease. The short trip back to the harbor became much more than sailing – it was trust, learning, and the first time we breathed as one crew.

Harbors Ahead
Afterward we sat on deck with coffee cups in hand, dreaming aloud: Southampton, the Archipelago Sea, Höga Kusten, the Azores. Each of us had a harbor in mind, but the feeling was the same – the desire to go there together.
We also spoke about upgrades and refits. What to change, what to improve. At times it felt urgent, like everything had to happen at once. But AAVA reminded us: the wind doesn’t come on command. It comes when it’s ready.

Here and Now
That first sail wasn’t just practice. It was the moment the dream became real. We have the boat. We have the wind.
The journey is only beginning. But the most important step has already been taken: we have set out.
AAVA carries us – not only across the sea, but through life.