TRIP - Teekkaripurjehtijat ry

TRIP offers a variety of sailing activities in Helsinki archipelago and further away. The smell of teak oil, brisk sea air and who wouldn’t want to experience the Finnish sauna on a deserted island. Whether you are an experienced sea dog or an ordinary landlubber, technology students sailing club Teekkaripurjehtijat commonly known as “TRIP” is just for you!

TRIP has been established in 1951. It’s an academic students sailing club which offers all kinds of activities among sailing. Our members are mainly technology students and other students are very welcome as well. We also have lots of graduated members who have stayed in the club share their wisdom to a new generation of sailors.

Sailing and other activities

Spring begins by getting the boats ready for water in common events called ‘talkoot’.  The sailing season traditionally starts at Wappu (1st of May).  First there will be common sailing days and the sailing courses. After the courses, the boats can reserved for personal use. Sailing season happenings, such as the Espoo-Suursaari Race, Hanko Regatta and Helsinki-Tallinn Race remind the other sailors about our existence. After Hanko regatta it has been a habit to organize a long distance sail, which is directed towards the west or south on our neighbor countries waters. This allows access to much further than one could sail in a week from Helsinki. An exchange of the crew is made after each week so that as many as possible could enjoy sailing. The exchange sites and the destination of the long distance sail are named by the skippers in advance.

Common sailing trips are intended for all members. These are held throughout the sailing season, but mostly in spring time. There is a club approved skipper on all voyages.

During autumn TRIP arranges several introductory sailings. These are to familiarize new students with the pleasures of sailing and to get new faces to join our club. These are only for non-members and are also free of charge.

Off sailing season activities include sauna events, boating fairs and excursions. In the past years we have had academic table parties (sitsit) with singing and three course meals, ball-room dancing with short teaching course, ski-ing trips, and attendance in all sorts of student activities. And we plan to continue these fantastic events.

Courses

Basic and advanced sailing courses are held in May and June, and there will be groups in English. See the course page to learn more. More information will be posted on the member’s mailing list. We also arrange navigation courses, in Finnish only, that last from February to April.

Boats

TRIP owns three yachts: “FirstTrip”, “GinTrip” and “ElecTrip” and three dinghies: “Pinkee”, “Vinkee” and “Huikee”. All of which are in intensive and constant use throughout the sailing season. We keep our boats in working order by repairing them ourselves and we gather money by doing voluntary work.

Members can reserve the travel boats for their personal usage for a nominal fee. The sailing days are divided in relation to hours spent in boat maintenance and arranging club events. This is a big part of Finnish association voluntary work called ‘talkoot’. Reservations are made in a skipper’s meeting in the spring. Every boat must also have a skipper that is approved by the club. Gathering the necessary skills without prior experience to become a skipper takes usually two or more years. Learning to handle the boat and equipment is far easier than learning to handle the crew.

Dinghies can be used by members free of charge in the bay around Otaniemi. This requires a short test to prove that person is able to handle the boat and more importantly his crew safely. Safety will always be the most important thing on the waters.

Join

As a member you can attend our activities, learn and enjoy the sailing. You will also get all the info on upcoming events and sailing activities to your mail. To become a member, fill in the membership form and you will get further instructions to your mail. If you wish to learn a new hobby or you’re already a committed friend of sailing, welcome aboard!

You can contact us by sending an email to hallitus@teekkaripurjehtijat.fi or directly to one of our board members (see contact details).