The beaches closed by the Soviet era have opened up in Estonia a long time ago, but the boating tradition destroyed by the occupation has still not recovered properly, says Rain Kooli, ‘s Estonian editor.
TALLINN The waves lap invitingly, the sun shines and the cries of seagulls cut through the air. There is no obstacle between the harbor and the ulapa. This temptation should be overwhelming to resist.
All that’s left to do is untie the ropes, up the paddles and hit the waves!
But not in Estonia. Here, boating is a delicacy for the few. The majority of the population feels it is good if only once in a lifetime.
Experienced sea captain, Cape Horn circumnavigator Sensitive Haldren according to the Soviet era destroyed the Estonian boating tradition and culture.
The Iron Curtain of the Cold War ran along the Estonian coastline. Guarded by searchlights, dogs and armed soldiers, the seashore was a watchful area during the day, a forbidden area after dark.
Boat ownership was concentrated in fishing collective farms, state institutions or sports clubs. There was no information about private recreational boating.
Estonian boating still hasn’t recovered from half a century of oppression. in Finland there are boats (you switch to another service) currently around 180 per thousand inhabitants, only 25 in Estonia.
Surprisingly many times, I’ve heard Estonians of different ages sneer at boating as a “gentleman’s hobby”. Of course, the other side. When people started buying boats again in Estonia as the standard of living rose, it was mostly well-off groups of friends. They get expensive sailboats suitable for racing or flashy muscle boats.
When the majority of Estonians began to fill the consumption deficit of the Soviet era as the new millennium approached, household appliances, cars and apartments were ahead of boats in the food chain.
The break in the boating tradition had also ensured that there was no market for used boats. So you couldn’t catch boating cheaply, unless you went on a shopping trip abroad.
In the media, boating has mostly been shown Muhunsalmi regatta (you switch to another service) in the form of speed races or individual adventurers sailing around the world. Therefore, many Estonians did not experience it as their own.
Of course there are exceptions. For example, on the islands of the west coast, the boating and seafaring tradition was preserved despite the Soviet system. Skills and habits were passed down from generation to generation. Nowadays, even the shipbuilding tradition has revived in Saaremaa and field education (you switch to another service).
The coast of Estonia has its own chapter. Compared to Finland, it is quite simple and there are no familiar archipelagos. Almost all Estonian beaches open directly to the open sea.
Compared to the raggedness of the Finnish coast, Estonia offers relatively few opportunities for small, sheltered trips to a nearby island or headland. In Estonia, you mostly have to travel from port to port.
Here, too, history weighs heavily: when access to the sea was not allowed during the Soviet era, marinas were useless. They started to be properly built only in the late 1990s.
The importance of berths is especially emphasized now that tourism is recovering. The Corona era also brought good news for boating. It turned out to be a fairly healthy hobby. Therefore, the number of people moving in Estonian waters started a clear rise.
The future of Estonian boating therefore looks much brighter than its past.
More and more people can afford a boat – and perhaps the fulfillment of their childhood dream.
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