Schooner Anny elicits interest

To the great joy of many Ekenäs residents and visitors, Juha Pokka is showing off his schooner Anny von Hamburg in the Northern Harbour of Ekenäs.

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Translated article from Swedish to English by Åbo Underrättelser:

Schooner Anny arouses great interest in the Northern Harbour

Ekenäs has received a welcome addition to the cityscape. The question is how permanent it will be.

3rd July 2024 by Kristoffer Nöjd

The three-masted gaff schooner Anny ven Hamburg, built in 1914, has been moored in the North harbour in Ekenäs since the beginning of June. The people of Ekenäs have welcomed Anny with open arms. Local Facebook groups are full of messages about the ship and Anny's own Facebook group has almost 670 members. The owner of the schooner would like to have Ekenäs as her home port, but so far the city has considered that there is no place for her permanently.

The TECHNICAL COMMITTEE stated in February last year that there is no long-term berth to offer Anny. Juha Pokka, who is one of five shareholders in the ship, is now temporarily renting a place at the Fyren restaurant in Ekenäs.

- You can send applications with pictures and shark facts, but it is here that you really understand what effect the ship has on the city's image. It has been fun to hear the locals' response. Ekenäs is my hometown and I know that a large part of the inhabitants appreciate a nice old ship with a home port in Ekenäs. A ship arouses admiration regardless of people's background, says Pokka.

ONE OF those who appreciate Ammy's presence is restaurateur Hasse Lundström at the Fyren restaurant.

- Many people park their cars here before moving on. Many are families with children and Amy becomes an extra experience in addition to Lionpark. There are a lot more people moving here now, especially families with children. I think it is a very nice thing, so it is easy to stand where it is. Right now the ship is an asset.

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Anki Sievänen is active in the Ekenäs Sailing Club and sailing is therefore close to her heart. She was invited aboard, like many others passing by.

- I was very curious about how everything works on board. It is a completely different world than on a small sailboat. It is also about respecting the old. This ship has seen everything possible during its years at sea and now she is here in our beautiful country, our beautiful city and our beautiful archipelago, says Sievänen.

ANNY ARRIVED at the shipyard in Sveaborg on June 1 last year after an exciting journey.

- I have taken several rustbuckets to different places but this was something special, says Pokka.

The reliability of the engine was a question mark even though it had been serviced before departure. Another exciting moment was the tide and the German rivers and canals which resulted in waiting and then fast stages while the water depth was sufficient.

At the shipyard, the ship's bottom was washed and old welds and rivets were improved. In October, the new masts made of Finnish larch were rigged, the fourth set during Anny's more than 100-year life. These 26-meter-high masts should last 30-40 years. Most of the ships are now starting to be completed, but some details still remain.

THE IDEA IS that Anny will make sailing trips, ideally from Ekenäs, according to the customer's wishes. But you should be prepared to spend the night.

A four- to five-hour sailing trip is not enough. An overnight stay is required, says Pokka.

He thinks the best season is autumn and imagines an overnight stay in the dark with good food in the warmth of the stove below deck.

Anny has five cabins with room for two, a maximum of three, passengers. So a suitable traveling party could consist of just over ten people and a crew of four.

OVER THE years, Anny has sailed under everything from the Imperial Russian to the Finnish flag, crossed the Atlantic and sailed in the Caribbean several times.

We end the interview at the helm in the stern. In front of us lies Anny in all her 28-meter long and seven-meter wide splendor.

- It's a powerful feeling to have something historically valuable under your feet. But that's exactly why you also have to consider every maneuver, says Pokka.

IN THE coming weeks, you can catch a glimpse of Anny in the Turku archipelago and at the Tall Ships' Races where Anny will be showing off, but not competing.