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EESTI ELU reedel, 18. juunil 2021 — Friday, June 18, 2021
Do the Solstice Swing
Haven Kakumäe Marina.
Photo: visitestonia.com
Plotting the course of the boating industry Vincent Teetsov In the month of April 2021 alone, 3,807 new Pleasure Craft Operator Cards, which allow individuals to operate non-commercial boats, were issued across Canada. Of these, the highest numbers were in Ontario (1,825), Québec (922), and British Columbia (448). With Canadians going on more local vacations over the last year, the country has seen an increased interest in boating, to explore the country’s 243,042 kilometres of coastline, including the mainland and off shore islands of Canada. This is the most in the entire world. Furthermore, lakes make up approximately nine percent of Canada’s 9.985 million square kilometres, which is also more than any other country. We can see parallels in Estonia, which has around 3,800 kilometres of coastline and nearly 1,500 lakes to navi gate by boat. There is so much to see and understand of coastal and lakeland landscapes in Estonia and Canada, and yet, there are limitations to boating’s popularity as a recreational activity. In Estonia, one challenge is the availability of marinas where one can keep a boat. According to Marina World’s 2017 market update on Estonia, of Estonia’s 186 marinas, approximately 50 of them are deep and large enough for boats larger than dinghies to dock or berth. Jaano Martin Ots, CEO of the Estonian Small Harbour Development Centre, lobbied the Estonian government for support in creating a network of marinas “about 48km (30 mi) apart to enable day sailors to cruise the coast.” Part of Ots’ motivation has been to bring back a greater interest in sailing. The Marina World report noted that there are “2,500 registered leisure boats in Estonia, but most are motorboats or recreational fish ing vessels.” Ots attributes this to sailing being discouraged during Soviet times, in an attempt to stop Estonians from leaving the country.
The lobbying was successful, as there are several new, spacious marinas for those boat ing around Estonia to enjoy and pause at. One of them listed on Visit Estonia’s website is Haven Kakumäe Marina in Haabersti, Harju County. Regarded as a “five-star harbour”, it cost 20 million Euros to build. The marina has 300 guest slips for boats of up to 30 metres long and with a maximum draft of 320 centimetres. Amenities in clude fuel, a sauna complex, a laundry facility, and shower access. Visitors can berth their boats for free for three hours. However, not every marina is like this. For instance, Värska Harbour in Võrumaa allows vessels with a maximum length of 24 metres and a draft of 190 centimetres. There aren’t as many amenities here, like show ers or a workshop. To some, this may not be an issue, but amenities may need to be ac counted for when boaters are planning a longer journey. Less amenities can reduce the like lihood of boat users visiting and spending money in certain parts of Estonia. Along these lines, Ots states that the money for marinas to continue their operations comes from the restaurants and cafés at marinas. A greater provision of amenities at marinas would better support the livelihood of those working there. In Canada, the boating in dustry is trying to negotiate how boats (or “pleasure crafts”) themselves and boat operators are licensed. According to a National Marine Manufacturers Association Canada (NMMA) article from March 2021, Transport Canada is considering the addition of a $15 service fee to license a pleasure craft, and to reduce the validity time of the craft’s license from 10 to five years. Proposed changes would also make a Rental Boat Safety Checklist no longer “an acceptable proof of compe tency.” That is, recreational boat operators, regardless of how infrequently they use boats, would have to possess a Pleasure Craft Operator Card or similar license, which requires taking an approved course and
exam to gain. Back in 2012, NMMA re ported that “Canada’s core rec reational boating industry has direct revenues of about $4.4 billion per year and directly employs about 40,000 people. Those revenues make a contri bution to Canada’s national economy (GDP) of about $5 billion per year and are respon sible for a total of about 67,000 jobs.” Naturally, an increase in boating activity needs to be supported by adequate educa tion on responsible boating. Sailing, driving motorized boats, and even paddling on the water require specialized know ledge. However, online courses still lack the hands-on practice of actually piloting a boat, meaning the changes may not increase boating safety. Further more, these changes may dis courage more casual boat operators from renting boats, thereby reducing earnings from businesses in the boating and tourism industries. After all, a boat is a luxury product, and relatively few people can afford to own one outright. While challenges range from administration and politics to construction and logistics, deci sions must be made about how to best support those whose livelihoods are tied to the water, and how to sustain the sea and lakes that the industry is based on.
The yearly…
Nr. 24
Ah summertime, and the livin’ is easy. Monday will mark the first full day of summer; it could not have come soon enough. But Estonians, for some curious reason, wait three days to party, on jaanipäev. All night long, brewski after brewski, singing and dancing. The slen der one has never been in Finland on that day, but has been told that Juhannus is quite the frolic, even our dour northern neighbours are happy. Curious though, even allow ing for germanic and other cul tural influences, that the date, initially dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is really a Catholic holiday. Just consider that Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day is marked with the same fervour as exhibited by us FinnoUgrics. Over 4 decades ago the slimster was in Québec on that day. The bonhomie was extraor dinary as were the cheap beers, Brador especially packed a kick. Wonder if that is still available? Sure worked on the short-term memory, the splinter recalls only waking up in a strange place with a major case of mal aux cheveux. But it really starts with the solstice. A good North Ameri can tune is the oldie but goldie by Jerry Keller, “Here Comes Summer”. A true solstice number. Toronto’s own John Sebastian, with his band The Lovin’ Spoonful (of what, the cynic wonders) performed the classic “Summer in the City”. Not the best place, though, to be, cannot light a fire in a public square unless you are a rioter. Or in a park if you are temporarily experiencing home lessness. Different rules for some people. (And what is jaanipäev without a fire?) Oh, there are so many more summer songs. Countless Beach Boy compositions. The ma ligned and somewhat hokey soft rock “Summer Breeze” by Seals & Crofts. Which, when followed by the Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood duet “Summer Wine” is a tolerable listen. We Estos have many tradi tions at the beginning of summer. Many have to do with singing, others with swinging. A person who has not gone around the axle of an Estonian village swing has not lived.
Best to avoid the potent home brew beforehand, speaking from experience. But afterward, at the fire, the communal huge beer stein, carved in our case from juniper for added flavour does the rounds, with most singing, among other jolly dit ties, “Ma lõbus õllepruulija (I’m a cheerful brewer, tune borrowed from the Germans, from their classic oompah-pah song, “In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus: Eins, zwei, g’suf fa! As a matter of fact, many drinking songs of ours have the melody taken from our German overlords of the time. Easier that way, just write the lyrics, no royalties to worry about ei ther. Yes, this is the only day of the year when boisterous exuberance is allowed, and quite frankly, in Canada the lean machine has never seen inebriation to the degree ex perienced by some on that evening in Estonia. But hardly anyone is belligerent, rightfully so, theoretically the longest day of the year. Though that honour belongs to the solstice. Which we will mark at 11:31 p.m. on Sunday, June 20 in the Northern Hemisphere. Should be great fun. But it won’t be, because of this certain Chinese export that will not allow us to gather in numbers, to share and enjoy, just to exist. But hei, let’s leave the carp to the fishermen. 2021 won’t see any swinging or singing. Still, memories of past such joys remain, and it is OK to sing quietly at home. The only problem is in hiding the québé cois suitcase (that is what they themselves call a two-four) while keeping the contents cool. Surely that is too much for one night is otherwise the question posed by the brains of the family. Ingenuity always comes to the fore, just as it does with all the wonderful musicians that have sung paeans to that day in concert and solo. For certain one song that will be heard in our backyard (sotto voce, of course) will be the famous Saaremaa Waltz, com posed by Raimond Valgre for jaanipäev, all about dancing and spinning with a beautiful blond maiden (Oh, keeruta, lennuta linalakk neidu...). A gorgeous, timeless number, that brings a smile to the lips of even an old curmudgeon like yours truly. Enjoy our short summer, by fall life may, just may be, almost back to normal. OTEPÄÄ SLIM
[Dusk] in four seasons...” The story gives us license to philosophize about cycles and infuse more poetry into our Jaanipäev traditions. Our cele brations each year can be seen as a continuation of our ances tors’ culture. Just like the Estonian folk tradition of searching for the lucky fern flower in a forest on the eve of Jaanipäev, the story of Koit ja Hämarik also imbues the solstice with a youthful atti tude. The meeting of dawn and
dusk guides us to cherish the extraordinary. To love freely. To be present. To chase the “impossible.” On a scientific level, this mythological meeting reminds revellers of the rarity of a sol stice. We are halfway through our revolution around the Sun, receiving ample quantities of heat and light. In six months, Earth’s northern half will be angled away, changing every thing. So let’s make the most of all we can do with this time!
(Continued from page 17)
by Ivo Linna, were important characters during the proceed ings of the 12th Estonian Youth Dance Festival in 2017. Though, the objective of the story was different than serving as an allegory of passing sea sons. Margus Toomla, the main director of the festival, ex plained, “The main message of the dance festival is the pre servation of the basic values of national culture and the trans mission from generation to generation, which is expressed as the journey of Dawn and
