Zer°emission distributes the teams ownerships and launches a Youth Offshore Academy -program to coach future offshore sailing champions

by Noora

February 9, 2022

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After a challenging season in 2021 team Zer°emission is looking to fight back stronger than ever before, inviting new owners to the project platform and putting efforts to maintain and further develop the TP52 race boat as well as building a strong team that will raise future offshore sailing champions.

Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week

The owners platform consists of team members that are looking to expand the project and the Zer°emission fleet with J/70:s and modern shorthand sailing boats. The mothership of the project Zero°emission TP52 will sail and race in the mediterranean waters participating in legendary offshore races such as Copa Del Ray and Les Voiles Des St.Tropez, as well as looking for an opportunity to race again with the TP52 Super Series boats in the invitational fleet.

Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week

The season 2022 will be kicked off with the launch of a new program as the search for future offshore champions begins with the Youth Offshore Academy launch. The application for the program will be open during February and 17 new members between 18 and 30 years will be chosen to participate in the project. The newcomers will be joining the team’s own young guns Joona Pasanen, Daniel Kario and Lucas Karlemo who already have grown with the project to extremely skilled sailors. Lucas, representing Esbo Segelforening winning the Nord Stream Race 2021 and the Sailing Champions League 2021, could not have had a stronger start to his offshore sailing career.

“The program is designed to coach young sailors to become competitive offshore sailing professionals. The selected team members will become sailors with strong offshore experience, Sea survival and first aid skills as well as knowledge of how to maintain the boats and build media awareness to a project”, says Samuli Leisti.

The Youth Offshore Academy is supported by the Finnish Sailing and Boating Federation (SPV). The collaboration strengthens the team of professionals working with the sailors, and is a much pursued step for the team to strengthen the collaboration with local federations.

Zer°emission is proud to #RaceAgainstSeaPollution under the Finnish flag and represent Offshore Racing Team Finland in the following international events during 2022.

22–24 APRIL Settimana Velica del Golfo
24–30 JUNE ORC/IRC Worlds
21–26 JULY TP52 Super Series Sailing Week
30 JULY–6 AUG Copa Del Rey
24 SEP–8 OCT Les Voiles Des St.Tropez 

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ZER°MISSION AT ROLEX MIDDLE SEA RACE

by Noora

November 18, 2021

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Season 2021 ended with the toughest race of the project – Rolex Middle Sea Race that started from Malta on 23rd of October and took us through a ride of our lives. Now let’s have a recap of the journey with skipper Samuli Leisti.

The race starts in Malta’s spectacular Grand Harbour.
Start to Passero

We started the race with reasonable performance against the boats in our class. Caro (Botin 52) & Paprec (TP52) were 0,5-1 kts faster, they passed us relatively close windward and were gaining on us even though we were in a better position against the header when closing Passero. Teasing Machine (NMYD 54) was sailing with a Jib Staysail but not being much faster. Our mistake was that we didn’t keep track on Caro & Paprec, lost sight of them and were not able to learn from what they were doing.

We were full powered with 12-16 kts of wind. A good leg, one of the nicest one of the race.

Passero to Straight of Messina

On the leg from Passero to Messina we did a good job, not bleeding to Caro & Paprec and overtook Frechia, but lost a bit to Kuka 3 (Cookson 50) who was more east from us.

Straight of Messina

It’s obvious we took the wrong side of the straight. We should have monitored AIS better and known better what other boats were doing and see if the conditions are favouring our side or not. End of the straight this caused one jib change. Coming out of it was close that we would have catched the fleet ahead of us but took the wrong side.

The first night in the race. Light if some winds at all during the night.

Messina to Stromboli

Simple leg, not much to tell. Power reach and the wind was picking up. Sailing just in the limits of Code0 and changing to a jib.

Wind from 20-26 knots.

Stromboli to Trapani

Heavy downwind sailing and difficult to decide when to sail in the safe mode and when to push. There were a few boats (Caro & Paprec) that may have sailed longer with the spinnaker. Tactics were good, but halyard issues slowed us down and changed the race for us.

Loosing the main halyard forced us to drop the mainsail to the first reef. This ment that the the race was no longer about fighting for positions, it was about fighting to finish. I was most worried about the fact that there was no way of using the second reef or getting the mainsail down without climbing to the mast. Even after finishing the race this was a major issue for us.” Samuli Leisti, skipper of Zer°emission.

When the day set we sailed right in to the thunder storm.

“I was driving the boat at her and my limits. I could barely see the instruments and keep some track on the AIS, but had absolutely no visibility outside the boat due to the heavy rain. The night was rough with only lightnings in the pitch black sky. At some point we lost the instruments, caused by the lightning very close, but luckily got them back later on.” Samuli continues.

30-35 knots of wind with jib3 and the reefed main. No visual due to heavy rain. Pushing heavily from 20-30 knots of speed.

Trapani to Pantelleria

We sailed pretty well and were lucky not to bleed too much with one reef. Got a fishing net to keel and maybe should have sailed with the light jib the first part. Code & Jib Staysail combination worked well, same with A1 & Jib Staysail. Kuka and Paprec were just ahead of us when passing Pantelleria.

“Got the boat and gear dry and some rest, but too many of us on the deck, when many more should have rested properly. Fixed the main halyard with an outer main halyard.” Samuli sums of the easiest day in the race.

The wind died after the thunder storm. From light to no winds to champaign sailing in the sun.

Pantelleria to Lampedusa

We hade a good exit from Pantelleria. Code & Jib Staysail was working well, the wind picked up and we broke the outer main halyard during a rain gust. Luckily we ended up with a reefed main and the Code0 that was a killer combination at the time. Lost a lot at the end when we took the code down, probably too early. We were closing fast to Kuka 3 & Paprec before that, but they were gone at Lampedusa.

14-28 knots of wind. The conditions changed a lot during the rain gusts.

Lampedusa to finish

The roughest part of the race was the final 10 hours of beating to the finish. The leg was just about keeping the boat together and pure survival for the crew. The beating of the boat was infernal.

Samuli describes the last leg of the race as a struggle to get the boat safely to a harbour. “The crew was beat and the boat was hitting from one three meter wave right into the next one. Hitting the waves made the sound and the vibration of the boat infernal. We should have known what to expect to plan sleeping & eating better before that final leg. We were too tired to work properly and lost quite a lot.”

When reaching north of Malta, we had some traffic issues with the boats. During rounding the last mark we had an issue with the backstay in the wrong side of the reefed main sail and ended up breaking two top battens to make it to the finish line.

After reaching the finish line, the engine would not start and we had to climb to the mast to drop the main down because of the main halyard issue. Finally we were guided to the race harbor by two tender boats. Exhausted but happy.

Sailing in these conditions was not safe, but the safest way was to head straight to Malta. Turning downwind towards Africa was simply not an option. 30-42 knots of wind.

Rolex Middle Sea Race pushed the team to it’s limits giving no mercy on the final beat. For sure for everyone this was a race to remember.

We knew most of what we learned during the race even before the start. We still struggled a lot with getting the water out of the boat. We made some tactical errors but that’s the way it is sometimes – easy to point out afterwards. Some of the boat electrical systems failed, maybe due to the thunderstorm, or just too much sea water.

After Stromboli the race was so demanding that we missed out on some basics like eating and resting in turns. We lost most in the straight of Messina, from Stromboli to Trapani and that final beat.

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Zer0emission sails to silver for cleaner oceans in ORC European Championships

by Noora

August 19, 2019

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Zer0emission crew has won a silver medal in the ORC European Chamionships held in Oxelösund Sweden.

After the first second day of racing it was clear that the team and the boat was rising to challenge the Danish owner Swan 45 Tarok VII for the regatta victory. The race was tight and only a few points separated the first and second positions until the final race day when Tarok VII was able to take two victories in the final inshore races securing the overall win of the title. Link to full results.

We are extremely proud of how the team has grown together and how the boatspeed has developed during the regatta.” Says boat captain Anssi Lyden after the races.

Getting the team and the boat in to a winning condition also means good publicity, which is one of the most effective ways to spread the teams mission – Race against sea pollution. Our message was delivered through the race village in Samulis speech during the opening ceremony, the Seabin was again installed in to the marina to clean the water in the race harbor and our mission discussed with partners, other competitors and people visiting the race harbor.

WWF Sweden had recognized our work for cleaner seas and the team was awarded a diploma for raising awareness for sea pollution. There is literally trash floating everywhere. Consumer behaviour is the number one contributor of marine litter in the Baltic Sea. Around 130 tons of polyethylene particles from personal care products are flushed down the household drains in the Baltic Sea catchment area each year! There is over 150 million tons of plastic waste floating around in the oceans and by 2050 we will have more trash than fish in the oceans.

As Samuli Leisti pointed out in the opening ceremony: “We people produce more carbon dioxide than we are able to clean, we litter the seas more, than we are able to clean them. We can´t think that next generation and our kids will clean it. This has to stop.”

We sailors can act as a role models, but we are not enough, we need all possible parties to make a change. So if you feel like supporting our quest and maybe celebrating a little our silver medal please sign the WWF appeal to stop sea pollution (the appal is in Finnish but you can look up your local organisation to act).

Zer0emission crew Samuli Leisti (skipper), Anssi Lyden (main), Christer Baggström (navigation), Thomas Hacklin (tactics), Samppu Thesleff (trimmer), Timo Kari (trimmer), Tuomas Miettinen (pit), Martin Estlander (backsaty), Jarkko Pekkala (backstay), Nikolas Bogdanoff (grinder), Ville Tikkanen (pit2, grinder), Markus Aalto (midbow) and Janne Westerlund (bow). The crew was completed by a shorecrew run by Oliver and Dante, a huge thank you to these young gentleman taking care of everything in need and so much more.

Thank you Oxelösund Segelsällskap for the great event!

Our partners in the Race against sea pollution Wärtsilä, Mercedes-Benz, Finnlines, North Sails, Sas Institute, B&G, B1G, Magic Marine and Maxim Sports

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Zer0emissions from Stockholm to Hanko

by Noora

July 4, 2019

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Zer0emission has arrived to Hanko after completing and finishing third in ORCA at Åf Offshore Race. The team was challenged with rough conditions and we are extremely happy about the outcome of the race. The rough beating to the southern end was awarded with a sweet and fast ride to Sandhamn, during witch the boat reached up to 26 knots top speeds.

The race village was visited by more than 200.000 spectators during the Åf Offshore Race week. In the race village environmental issues were a hot discussion and the event organiser KSSS managed to make the environment everyones business. And hey! The word about our mission is starting to spread! Zer0emission was visited by the young Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg who has rapidly become the icon of environmental issues with over 22 million followers on instagram.

Hanko Regatta was kicked off today by a press event where Mikko Leppilampi invited everyone to join our quest for cleaner seas. Mikko’s introduction to the subject was followed by mayor Dennis Strandell, who told about the work Hanko is doing to become a carbon neutral city. The sun always shines in Hanko and their 12 solar plants are a good example of the work they are doing to reach the goals.

Team skipper Samuli Leisti also reminded everyone about why we have chosen a TP52 race boat to attend races and raise the awareness of the state of our seas. “It’s good to remember that this is the only season our boat and crew will compete in the Baltic Seas. Next year we will face new challenges in bigger events where our boat is among the smallest boats able to even attend these events that attract millions of followers around the world. We aim to raise as much awareness to the subject as possible and this can only be done by attending the largest sailing events in the world.”

In Hanko we focus on bringing the #raceagainstseapollution to every race participants knowledge. Zer0emission organizes a cleanup challenge on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Every team in the harbor is invited – the team that collects the most garbage will win Zeropoint compression socks for the team members and everyone involved have a chance to win a 300 € voucher to North Sails.

After racing Zer0emission crew will raise awareness of littering by patrolling in the harbor. An aftersail event open to all sailors, Zer0hour is organized daily between 4 and 7 pm at Brasserie Regatta. Finnish actor Mikko Leppilampi will be hosting the event and introducing our mission to the participants. Feel free to drop by and join the discussion and free drinks between 6 and 7 pm.

In Hanko Zer0emission is chartered by a team of woman. These passionate ladies skippered by Anu Syrmä have joined the mission for the love of sea and donated 5 000 euros to support the project. Thank you for the support!

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Seabin launched at Baltic Offshore Week ORC regatta in Helsinki

by Noora

June 16, 2019

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Sailracing

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Zer0emission attended the Baltic Offshore Week 2019 regatta which is also considered as the Estonian and Finnish ORC Championships. The regatta kicked off with a 40-miles long offshore race in Helsinki, on Friday, June 14th. The offshore race was followed by two days of inshore racing. This regatta has been held yearly on the both shores of the Finnish Gulf since 2008. 39 offshore sailing teams – 28 from Finland and 11 from Estonia attended the races.

We are still running a bit late on the maintenance schedule so we had to rush directly to the starting line on the first race day. Seabin was delivered to the race marina in Katajanokka Helsinki already on Thursday as planned and the first trashes were picked up after the long offshore race on Friday.

The crew was kept busy inshore with cleaning actions and offshore while sailing. Racing was difficult during the whole weekend due to shifty weather, very light winds and fog. Being the fastest boat on the course we suffered from the wind picking up during the day on Friday and Sunday. Saturday gave us some headache with the big spinnaker and we ended up abandoning the third race and rushing to take care of some small damage to the boat.

With good partners and a dedicated crew the boat was ready to race on Sunday, again and after a long wait for the wind to pick up, one inshore race was pulled off. The time waiting for the wind to pick up was spent practicing and the team was happy with the race, even though the results are not quite there yet.

Despite the regatta results skipper Anssi Lyden is feeling confident and happy with the boat and a the team, considering they have only sailed together under ten times, the development in the team has been very fast.

The team is also very pleased to see how eagerly the community is supporting the Race agains sea pollution.

Link to pictures and videos by Pepe Korteniemi. See also our Facebook page for some more stories , action videos and photos from the weekend.

The next harbour Seabin will be cleaning is in Stockholm. Zer0emsision is attending the legandary ÅF Offshore Race  that will start from Stockholm on the 29th of June. The crew is eager to take the cleaning actions in to the capital of Sweden, where the race harbour is a big event center welcoming thousands of sailing fans to the race-village.

Media enquiries: Noora Westerlund, noora@zer0emission.com

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