16/10/2026
Briggen är nyss hemkommen från sin seglats till Helsingfors. Här följer några loggboksanteckningar från besättningen.
Del 1, kappsegling 👀:
10/10
It was a cold morning in Helsinki, and I had just mustered onboard. Briggen was lying in the heart of Helsinki.
The traditional sailing ship race Tervasaaren tynnyri was about to begin. We divided positions between the crew, I would be responsible for the fore course and the fore staysails. Captain Leo updated everyone on the route and the plan, and off we went.
The most impressive thing with Briggen is the teamwork. We weren't even out of Särkkä before we had set sail. 18 sails, unfurled and set, trimmed and ready to go.
We clewed up the royals and the main course to slow down before start, and sailed towards the startline. We knew that our ship is among the fastest, but if we need to tack we’ll lose advantage, being the only square rigger in the race. Would the speed be enough? Exactly at 15:00 our bowsprit crossed the startline and the race was on.
The view was like from the days gone by. Canvas and wooden ships, crossing each other's paths, small boats and bigger ships all racing toward the Helsinki skyline. Just after the start, when we set the Royals and the main course again, it felt like pressing the accelerator. At least in my mind.
Everyone in the crew knew what to do, trimming the sails constantly. We did a tack, and then another. Many passed us. Svanhild, the Helsinki topsail schooner sailed by, but we wouldn't be looking at the aft for long. Before Suomenlinna fortress we had passed most of the ships again.
I felt proud. Part of my family comes from the island of Suomenlinna and I have sailed here, in the Helsinki archipelago, the better part of my life. I could imagine my great grandfather waving from the fortress wall as we sailed by.
The winner was Albanus, a galeas from Åland.
Afterwards, in the dark hold of the schooner Kathrina many sailor stories were told. Many of them true, and even more not so, but one doesn't need much to feel home. A ship full of sailors and a
bully good crew, that's what this all is about.
//jungman Ossi
📸 Ossi Kallio
