Anny von Hamburg calling Vålax

Article 7th October 2024 by YLE (Finnish national broadcasting company), click link for pictures and the original text.

The 110-year-old beauty Anny von Hamburg was on a return visit to Vålax in Borgå

Text and pictures by: By Jonas Sundström

Today everything shines and is in excellent condition

The view is like something out of a peaceful watercolor painting from the beginning of the 20th century. The sun has just risen over the bay and the sea is still. A stately schooner is moored at the pier.

Skipper Juha Pokka is obviously proud, and has every reason to be. For the 110-year-old schooner Anny von Hamburg, it languished for a long time in Germany.

If the 27 meter long schooner could talk, she would have many stories to tell. During the First World War, the soldiers of the Russian Tsar spent nights on the ship.

Sand from Borgå to the capital

In the 1960s, the schooner was called Ringö and transported sand between Borgå and Helsinki.

- Helsinki was growing all the time and the city needed sand and gravel. But the roads were bad and this ship could carry sand equivalent to what over ten lorries could drive.

When the sand loads from Borgå became fewer, the ship was sold to Stockholm but was destroyed in a fire. The saga of the schooner did not end with the fire. It was sold to Germany where it was restored.

Low maintenance in Hamburg

When did the Finnish skipper Juha Pokka enter the picture? It all started with a weekend walk in Hamburg.

- We had a break with another cargo ship and I asked my friend if there are any attractions in the port.

Pokka's well-trained eye for aesthetics and maritime history responded to a beautiful but worn ship.

- We had already looked at it in 2017 and now it was for sale.

Always out for a jolly, never pout

Now Anny von Hamburg is restored and Pokka arranges private expeditions.

- We attract people who want to enjoy the archipelago outside the tourist season. The ship has a steel hull and heating system. It can take below zero temperatures.

On Saturday (5.10) Anny von Hamburg sailed on to the Strömmingsmarknaden (herring fair) in Helsinki. But for Juha Pokka, Vålax has a special place in his skipper's heart.

- Tens of boats could be moored here, even bigger than Anny.