Meet Ari - the Steamboat Captain

Finland’s lake district is a dream destination for sailors. Ari Juva has been sailing his own steamboat on Lake Saimaa for decades. 

There’s a popular Finnish song that says sailing is the only thing in life worth doing. For most of us Finns, the lyrics are only a joke. As far as we’re concerned all you need for a summer holiday is a cottage with a sauna in the middle of the woods somewhere. Sailing boats are not essential. However, there are some for whom enjoying the view of the water from the shore is simply not enough and whose holidays only begin once the bow of the boat pushes off from the jetty. One of them is the commodore (chairman, in other words) of the Finnish Steam Yacht Association, Ari Juva.

Lakeland

The largest Lake District in Europe: In a scarcely populated country there’s enough scenery and shoreline for all, allowing you to easily lose yourself in thought or be inspired by the vast clear lakes, intricately splintered by islands, isthmuses and green spits.

Lakeland