At the Safe Boating Campaign, we’re gearing up for a busy summer boating season. This blog post is part of a series celebrating the great work of our partners. Meet Håkan Mitts, who has been promoting boating and water safety in Finland since he was a child.
Here is a snapshot of Håkan’s story:
“I’ve been a boater more or less since birth. I’ve been living all summers out in the Finnish archipelago and owned my own boat for over forty years. In my childhood, it was common for kids to take the family boat alone or with other kids in the vicinity. What was not so common is that we wore life jackets when taking a dinghy or going canoeing.
I started blogging about boating as ‘Sail in Finland’ in 2012, which shares information for tourists from abroad visiting Finland. I found the Wear It campaign and thought it would be a great partnership to incorporate the campaign in Sail in Finland. Finland is a very boating intensive country and, in general, the safety record is quite good. Most boating safety information is channeled via sailing and live-aboard powerboating organizations, so I thought one more campaign could not hurt.
I organized the Safe Boating Campaign’s Ready, Set, Wear It Life Jacket World Record Day event in Finland for a couple of years. During our first year participating, Finland contributed 10% of the global participation! We love boating in Finland.
Since 2016, the Finnish Swimming and Lifesaving organization has continued to organize the Ready, Set, Wear It Life Jacket event in Finland over the activity, which is evolved into a community boating safety awareness day.”
To learn more about boating safety outreach events near Håkan, please visit Smartly at Sea.