Young Narvans set to conquer Bothnia

Nine budding sailors from the eastern Estonian town of Narva will set out on an intrepid voyage across the Gulf of Bothnia in the northern Baltic bound for the Swedish town of Haparand on June 29.

The 12- to 18-year-olds will travel around 1,000 miles on the yacht Diva, supervised by the head of the Narva Young Sailors Club, Sergei Hamhodera.

Hamhodera rates their chances highly but says the journey will be no dabble in a duck pond.

"Although the Gulf of Bothnia is relatively calm, the northern winds may cause high waves," he said.

The club's most able sailors have been honing their skills in the more familiar waters of Estonia's eastern Lake Peipus, on the Narva River and in the Gulf of Finland.

Narva municipality has contributed 27,000 kroons ($1,650) toward the hiring of the Diva, with parents and friends covering the rest.

Hamhodera expressed perplexity at the much discussed difficulty of getting young people to raise their sights in this struggling region.

"When we applied to different funds for money, the first question they asked was whether our project is somehow related to drug prevention. That's weird," commented Hamhodera.

The example of the Diva and its crew could continue to be a welcome breath of inspiration even after their return from Bothnia. Next summer the club hopes to participate in the Cutty Sark regatta, funding permitting.