Great memories and farewell to my dear boat S/y Naneux

I´m still going to continue Atlantic Navigator stories and photo´s with a new boat. Area for our navigation is going to be the same, North Atlantic Ocean. With the new boat I have better possibilities to have more crew and space. I´m getting older and I need some strong arms and bigger winches for the Atlantic Ocean. Many beautiful sceneries are still to be found and explored.

Here I choose the photo´s that have been looked most and some significant old memories. Atlantic Navigator alias S/y Naneux has showed us many memorable places starting from the year 1988. It has served us extremely well and the boat itself has got unique maintenance and upgrading. Today I can leave her in excellent condition to the new Belgian skipper.

We have an old photo of S/y Naneux first mate Eva and my cousin Meta. I bought the boat S/y Naneux with Eva in 1988. The second photo is not taken by me, but I´m on the helm with S/y Naneux chasing a Swan 38 (Swanita) with our brand new sponsored spinnaker. Sailing tight race with S/y Swanita in the Åland Islands, our family members in the photo. Kati, my daughter and me on our beach having an Indian style bonfire in the spring 2014, when we planned the journey to the Southern latitudes.

We decided to support our dear artist friend Stefan Lindfors and his Symbiosis statue which is situated in Turku. It was planned that there are engraved two identical plates. One which is staying at home in the Symbiosis statue and the other for our S/y Naneux to reach faraway places. Somehow someone lost the one which was supposed to be in S/y Naneux. I was first angry but time changes the memories, and to meet faraway places was more important than an engraved plate in our boat.

Picture of the whole crew that helped me to build S/y Naneux and also the crew who sailed away that night towards the Southern latitudes. One of the most looked picture is Enkhuizen lighthouse in Markemeer, Holland. You can see that we continue from the Dover harbour in the English channel, Westwards with favourable winds.

I have a lot of memories from my crews along these years. S/y Naneux 1999 poster is of the best crews for Baltic and North Sea. We had many memorable dog watches and harbour nights in Christiansö and Kiel. Even the wild horses appear to us in Rendsburg, in Kiel Canal with our fellow yacht S/y NiinaMari, a boat from Baltic Yacht. They were heading to Caribbean and tried to hire our precious crew member to aboard their ship. Negotiations were long in the streets of Rendsburg.

We continue our cruise through the Dutch sand banks. I planned that special area carefully at home ” The Dutch delta area”. Lots of moving sandbanks, but we even survived a severe wind gust and thunder in front of Rotterdam. Sailed to a safe harbor and got good fish meal.

Dog watches are grey and the vessels we meet huge in the morning waves. We meet of course a lot interesting boats and crews in various harbours, Brest, La Coruna, Bayona, all of them historical cities for the seamen.

Fishing along the coastal waters and in the deep sea. First mate Pertti and his son Timo tried to catch fish, but this time our fellow sailors save our neck. We got a huge fillet of tuna from the pro`s. Riitta and Pertti planning the menu in San Sebastian de La Gomera. Pertti, our excellent Chef made us Sushi and great tuna steaks.

In fog with First Mate Eva and her sister “nearing Trysunda in Höga kusten” in Sweden many, many years ago. S/y Swanita reaching us out of the fog bank. On the helm is Eva and her sister Tupu.

Kati is steering “oreja de burro” carefully. S/y Naneux in Laxe, Galichia, an unforgettable part of Spain. Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. La Palma behind the waves and the most beautiful Arrifana bay in Portugal, a sweet scent of the pine trees is tangible.

Three memorable lighthouses: Christiansö lighthouse, St Margaret´s Bay lighthouse (Dover lighthouse) and approaching Torre de Hercules in one stormy night. Torre de Hercules is Europe´s oldest lighthouse.

Every photo of these three lighthouses have a very different story. Christiansö a former Danish military Island, situated all alone in Southern Baltic. A far away island for Finnish summer sailors, hard to find earlier with only a log and a compass. My daughter fell in love with that beautiful island 2014. The whole crew had an unforgettable dinner in the old walls of that old castle.

St. Margaret´s Bay lighthouse photo I took from the upper deck of the great ocean liner, Voyager of the Seas 1999. Early morning just after the sunrise with a Nikon 300D and a 600 mm Tamron lens. My shoulder as camera support. A Maiden voyage of that ship from Turku to Miami.

The picture of Hercules lighthouse I took when approaching La Coruna on heavy swell 2014. The town La Coruna disappeared behind every wave. Everything was wet, even both cameras. I´m lucky we got this photo full of feeling and atmosphere. A trusted friend Nikon 700 D and a 180 mm Nikkor lens