"Sailing with children makes it easy for captain to prioritize.
First comes safety and fun and only then boat speed"
75 COUNTRIES IN 75 MONTHS WITH THE WIND
It has grown from one man´s dream into a family dream
We are the Meretniemi family of five from Finland and we are going to sail around the world on our beautiful Swan 57 yacht s/y Panacea. We are making tons of preparations before the start in June 2016. The boat is currently in Turkey and "qualification voyages" will be conducted in the Mediterranean waters.
On the way around the globe we´ll experiment new ways to educate children without classrooms and in person teachers. How can we use technology to make education available even in the most remote islands?
CREW
Tuomo
CREW
Tuomo, 43 has been sailing since teen years with all kinds of boats from dinghies to super yachts. Track record includes racing Laser, 470 and 1/2 ton boats to work as crew member on 136 ft super yacht Queen Nefertiti. He has won Nordic Championship in Military Match Racing and worked as charter skipper in the Baltic, Mediterranean and Caribbean.
He has built successful career in travel business and is a former CEO of the leading leisure travel company Aurinkomatkat - Suntours Ltd in Finland. He is now partner in management consultancy Kissconsulting Ltd and he also works with seven technology startup companies as advisor. In the past he has worked as sailing instructor as well as sailmaker and now he wishes to revitalize this noble skill.
As captain he is "jack of all trades" and tries to keep the boat moving and the crew somewhat happy and alive.
Riikka, 41 is project- and ICT professional with long experience in oil business in Neste Oil. Six years as stay at home mom has polished "project management skills" to state-of-the-art level and she has now returned to working life with full of energy and passion.
She has been cruising all around Baltic sea with our Aurelia 34 ft wooden beauty for past 20 years. s/y Melaija was completely rebuilt (refit would be a serious understatement:) by Riikka, Tuomo and Laura Meretniemi during 2004-2006.
In Panacea Riikka is in charge of navigation, provisioning, medical care, education and entertainment. She is top chef and great at organizing things, foreseeing children´s needs and preparing to those with all kinds of treats and gadgets. She is the grand master of sorting stuff into little handy boxes.
Her down to earth attitude is absolutely necessary for this project as she pulls Tuomo`s feet back to the ground when he starts "flying".
Riikka
KIDS
Aarre, 7 is already a real sailor boy with his own tasks and areas of expertize onboard (anchor box). He loves swimming and enjoys exploring the shores for pirate treasures.
Kerttu, 5 is sure that she can do the same things as her older brother on deck. She is a wizard in board games and master of washing the deck. She will become a superior sailor girl.
Martta, 3 keeps everyone entertained with her smiles, laughs and neverending search for hidden goodies. Patience...
s/y Melaija has been our sailing laboratory and teacher for 20 years. She has taught us what it feels like loving a boat that has personality, character and feelings.
Pertti Jalasvirta
Pertti has 30 years of professional experience in government affairs, resource management, administrative management digitalization and organizational development in military medicine, hospital relations and education. He has been working for several SME business segments e.g. Conlog Group and Claned Group as a Senior Advisor helping their access to the global markets.
Pertti will be pulling the ropes of the Sail For Good Shore Team as Project Director while we are at sea. He thinks, not big, but huge and fears nothing.
Patrick Pata Degerman
Pata is the only person in Finland who can call himself a true explorer, a modern day Indiana Jones. He has planned and executed numerous expeditions all around the world and usually in untouched and secluded areas. He has 16 first accents on his belt, so he has climbed 16 mountains as the first human and he has also named three mountains; Mount Finland and Mount Sisu in the Antarctic, and Mount Patapata in the Arctic. When he is not somewhere in the back waters of the globe, he gives highly engaging and inspiring lectures about positive thinking, communication and goal setting. He most probably has ADHD but he knows how to turn this condition into tremendous amount of positive power. More about Pata on his web site here or magnificent video here.
Alf Rehn
Alf is a management professor, an internationally recognized business thinker (or something), an author and a speaker. He is currently holding the Chair of Management and Organization at Åbo Akademi University in Finland, was earlier the SSES Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, and has in addition taught at universities all over the globe.
The 2009 Thinkers 50, the listing of the world’s top 50 business thinkers, included him on their “Guru Radar”, ranking him #13 among the “Up and Coming Business Thinkers”. Also his mother thinks he’s pretty neat, but his kids can’t really see what all the fuss is about. More about Alf on his web site here or check out his speech about "Dangerous Ideas" here.
Ari Huusela
Ari is a commercial airline pilot, single-handed sailor and a regatta organizer. He has 30 years of racing experience with extraordinary track record in sailing races of all kind. He has sailed over 40.000 nautical miles out of which 20.000 single-handedly. He has crossed Atlantic twice with no outside help in MiniTransat Race. Ari just completed his third Atlantic crossing with his Pogo 40 boat s/y Ariel and became the first Nordic skipper to complete Route du Rhum single-handed race from Saint Malo, France to Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. I have seen Ari in racing action on his 1/2 ton boat and he truly has passion to win through analytical and serene, yet persistent approach. More about Ari on his web site here.
Juho Jokinen
Juho is the founder and CEO of Dingle Ltd, the leading social media company in Finland. He has built Dingle from "one man and a phone" company to highly successful growth company with 100% growth rate year after year. He helps companies and organizations to succeed in the digital space. He is an expert in digital content & strategy, applications and advertising. He sees things in global perspective, thinks big and is determined to reach his goals. Tuomo was Juho´s first corporate show case client back in 2010 and the business has gone upwards ever since. More about Juho and Dingle Ltd. here.
Inna-Pirjetta Lahti
Inna-Pirjetta is the founder and CEO of Innastus Ltd, a company offering innovative service design, tailored communications and professional event management. She is a professional writer, travel editor, facilitator, published author of "Travel With Kids" handbook and a leading expert in utilizing blogging as marketing tool. She has created a unique global network of lifestyle- and travel bloggers. She is a keen sailor herself and has been sailing since childhood all around Baltic Sea in her family´s wooden sailing beauty s/y Fimma. More about Inna-Pirjetta on web sites here and here.
Photo by Benjamin Suomela
Photo by Jari Salo
BADASS EXPERT TEAM
This kind of project cannot be built and executed by one family only. Even if we do most of the sailing with the family, there are hugely important tasks on land as well. Therefore we have gathered together a group of experts from different areas of life. The guideline has been that we want to work with people with extraordinary mindset, kick-ass attitude and a passion to do something remarkable and beneficial.
We want Sail For Good Project to be all it can be. This means that we need to utilize to the full extent all possible knowledge, innovation power and networks of the advisory board and many people around the project who have already now volunteered to work with us in this mission. We want to pay respects and show our highest possible gratitude to all those involved.