At Work and At Leisure, Part I: Sailing

In honour of the beginning of July, we are launching our summer series “At Work and At Leisure”, where our employees talk about their leisure-time activities and the balance between work and fun. Perhaps the series will inspire you to try out new hobbies as well?

To kick off the series, HR Coordinator Sara will tell you about her dear hobby, sailing.

What is your hobby and the story behind it?
Ever since I was little, I have spent a lot of time at the sea and archipelago. My relationship with nature and especially the sea has thus grown strong and I often miss being at the sea or even near it as a balance to the hectic life in the city.

A couple of years ago, for the first time after those childhood summers at the archipelago, a friend pressed me to try sailing on a race sailing boat, and the spark returned immediately. I have now sailed actively for four years, and about a month ago I bought my own sailing boat, which I am very excited about!

Naturally, you can only sail in Finland in the summer, so the season is unfortunately short. However, what is fun about competitive sailing is that races are held every week and pretty much every weekend during summer. This is why especially the races during the week are usually not that competitively charged but the competition rather brings a fun element to sailing.

Generally, sailing requires pure physical strength and an ability to react fast, concentrate, and observe your surroundings. During winter, I try to practise these skills and maintain basic physical strength by going to the gym, for example.

What is the best thing about your hobby?
Definitely the sea air, the beautiful Finnish nature and archipelago, and teamwork. Sailing enables you to free your mind and get a break from work and everyday life in general.

What does your hobby say about you?
What a good question! At least the connection to nature that comes with sailing has increased my appreciation towards the sea and its protection even more. I try to do my part in helping to keep the Baltic Sea clean through the choices I make.

Sailing requires a lot of resources and, thus, commitment. I feel that I still have so much to learn about sailing, so I am extremely thirsty for knowledge and strive to learn.

To conclude, you could say that what my hobby says about me is at least that when I am passionate about something, I fully immerse myself into it.

What kinds of skills or qualities has your hobby helped you improve?
Sailing is teamwork, so it is inevitable that trust towards the actions and skills of others develops in time. Each team member has their own role and task on the boat, so it is important to learn to work together as a team and find the right rhythm of doing things.

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