Meet Noora Westerlund, our first Finnish Skipper and second Skipper who calls the Baltic Sea home! Noora is the current Chair of both the Finnish Offshore Racing Association and the Race Management Committee at the Offshore Racing Congress. In these positions, she works to promote more sustainable regatta practices and encourage the sailing community to reduce its environmental impact. Read on to learn more about her background and dedication to sustainability as our newest Skipper.
How did you get your start in boating and racing?
I lost my heart to the ocean when I was just a little girl. Spending the summers in the Finnish archipelago with my family showed me where I belong. Our summers were about spending as much time as possible on the water. If not boating, we were living on the islands with friends and family. Returning from the last weekend trip in the autumn I still remember how the tears fell down my cheeks silently.
As time went by, I lost touch with the ocean and myself. Then I met my current husband, who had just finished a navigation course and was thinking about getting into sailing. I told him immediately – yes! Let’s buy a boat. Within a month from our first date, we were boat owners. Our first boat was a traditional Finnish H-boat, a very small sailing boat made for short trips in the archipelago. We immediately fell for sailing and soon found out that we could sail others boats too. There seems to be a constant lack of crew and if you’re willing to learn, cool projects will open up. Suddenly all free time was spent sailing and we “upgraded” our own boat to a sportier J92.
Covid hit sailing hard, and Doublehanded racing started to really get noticed in the Baltics. We were searching for a more offshore capable boat than the J92 and struggled to test sail a Dehler30OD because of the Covid restrictions. After ORC Tallinn Worlds with a X-41 I went up to a crew with a new Dehler30 and asked if we could test sail it. The answer was yes, followed by asking whether we would also be interested in buying the boat. So we bought the boat from the race harbour and here we are now – sailing and racing as much as life allows us.
Beyond sailing, the love of the sport has brought me to volunteer in race management and offshore racing. Between volunteering and racing myself, sailing fills a very big portion of my life currently.
Are there any eco-friendly practices you follow while on the water, during racing, or traveling?
First is our diet. We are vegetarian and follow the diet while sailing and racing, with the exception of local fish from fisherman in the harbors whenever available.
In terms of boat maintenance and repair, we consume as little as possible and maintain what we have first. We have to realize that this sport has a climate footprint associated with the gear. Therefore it’s important to take care of the boat, the sails and all the gear so that they last longer.
We try to use solar power (note: we are still in the Nordics), minimize consumption of the boat and use fresh water sparingly. We never litter and always bring everything we bought to the trips back for proper disposal.
I live a holistically conscious life and follow those principles while racing and traveling as well. We choose to spend our vacations mainly in locations we can reach by sail. A lot of lovely memories are treasured from times racing around Europe in ORC events and then taking a roadtrip back home with the kids by trains and buses.
As we live by the Baltic Sea that is truly suffering from eutrophication and blue green algae blooms, I also try to keep up this topic in my sailing posts and remind my followers and friends about the urgent help our oceans need.
If you could tell people one thing about the importance of keeping our oceans clean, what would it be?
If we lose the oceans, we lose the world. All eyes on the oceans.
Click the link below to see our other Skipper volunteers and learn more about the program!
