The Sailing Port at Vene 25 Båt Show offers amazing boats and true stories

The Helsinki International Boat Show, Vene 25 Båt, will be held from February 7–16, 2025, at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre. In the Sailing Port, at least three large cruising yachts will be showcased: the X4.9 MkII from X-Yachts, the Beneteau Oceanis 37.1, and the Beneteau Oceanis 40.1. This year’s boat show will feature the Harbors of the Archipelago area and the Boat Clubs´stand, where visitors can get information about the activities of boat clubs. The program in the Sailing Port, where visitors will be treated to exciting stories from the world’s oceans, is organized by adventurer Kari "Ruffe" Nurmi. "I want to highlight stories about realized dreams and inspire more people to start sailing", says Ruffe.

For ten days, the Boat Show brings summer to the Exhibition Centre. The program features fascinating and entertaining stories from the world's oceans. "Several names in the program will be familiar from previous shows, but there are also some new ones. One of them is the young solo sailor Viivi Moisio, who will share details about her new impressive solo project", says Ruffe. The schedule for the Sailing Port program and the full event timetable will be published by mid-January at the latest.

In the Sailing Port, Tapio Lehtinen's, Jari Saario's, and Panu Heinonen's exciting new projects are presented. Lehtinen shares his upcoming sailing plans, Saario talks about his Horn to Hope project, and Heinonen is working on an interesting build of a 50-foot sailing yacht. Saario is preparing for a rowing challenge expected to take 100–150 days and cover 9,000–10,000 kilometers. The journey begins in November-December 2025, west of Cape Horn. Saario plans to round South America's famous southern tip and then head towards the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. The challenge will take him through the world's most extreme ocean areas, where waves can reach up to 20 meters.

Strong emotions, dramatic moments, and outstanding skill

Jussi Paavoseppä shares in the Sailing Port about the Swan 651 Spirit of Helsinki's (formerly Fazer Finland) participation in the 2023 Ocean Globe Race, a retro round-the-world race. Paavoseppä was the skipper in the race, where modern navigation and communication technology were prohibited. Spirit of Helsinki finished the race with an impressive second place in the overall results.

Ari Känsäkoski participated in the 2023–2024 Global Solo Challenge, a solo round-the-world sailing race with a Class40 yacht, when the mast broke in the Indian Ocean. This marked the beginning of a week-long struggle to get the boat to port. Känsäkoski's dramatic survival story from the Indian Ocean will also be shared at the boat show.

The Ocean Ladies association promotes the joy of offshore racing and offers sailing experiences for women. At the boat show, sailors of the Ocean Ladies will share their latest and upcoming adventures. Dreams will be realized again in 2025 and 2026, as the vast and even bigger seas call the red-clad sailors to new challenges.

History comes to life when Hjallis Harkimo appears in the program series Legends on Stage. Harkimo shares the story of his groundbreaking 1986–1987 solo circumnavigation, when he became the first Finn to sail alone around the world across seven seas. He participated in the BOC Challenge, a solo sailing race, aboard Belmont of Finland, a Swan 51 built by Nautor in Finland.

Start Your Boating Life – An afternoon that inspires you to get out on the water

On Sunday, February 9, from 14:00 to 16:00, the Start Your Boating Life afternoon will take place, produced by the Finnish Sailing and Boating Federation. Here, we’ll learn that the best way to get started is by trying, that it's perfectly possible to get out on the water without owning a boat, and how to take care of your boat once you have one. At the boat show, visitors will also learn why it’s worth joining a boating club and experiencing boating life in good company. On the same day, they’ll also hear how a landlubber can become a skipper. Milla Jokisaari's interest in sailing, which began in adulthood, has, in just a few years, taken her to the role of skipper on three boats, across the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic, and made her the founder of an award-winning sailing club, a sailing instructor, and an advocate for shared boat ownership.

Next to the Sailing Port is the Boat Clubs´stand, where boating clubs present their activities. The program in the Sailing Port is also divided into themed days. Tuesday, February 11 is Photography at Sea Day, Wednesday, February 12 is Ocean Sailing Day, Thursday is dedicated to Offshore Racing. Friday, February 14 is Baltic Sea Day, featuring various Baltic Sea-related programs, including the presentation of the 20,000-euro Save the Baltic Sea prize, awarded by the The Finnish Fair Foundation based on pitches.

The Helsinki International Boat Show, Vene 25 Båt, will take place from February 7–16, 2025, at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre. The event is the largest boat show in the Nordic region and is organized by the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre on behalf of the Finnish Marine Industries Federation, Finnboat.

In 2025, the John Nurminen Foundation will be the sustainability partner for the event. At the same time as the first weekend of the boat show, from February 7–9, 2025, the Helsinki Outdoor & Hunting Fair will be held for the first time. In addition to the Sailing Port, the show will feature program areas such as the Aalto program pool, the fishing area stage, Venemestarin Telakka (Venemestari’s Wharf), and Totalveneen Messi (Totalvene’s Mess). The full program will be released in January.

Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre, Communications Specialist Teija Armanto

Phone: +358 50 376 0804

www.venemessut.fi #venemessut @venemessut

Images from the boat show: http://mediabank.messukeskus.com