About the association
A hundred years of the same argument: the sea belongs to everybody.
Puerto Deportivo De La Kokkola ry was founded on a working pier by people who could not afford a yacht club. That origin still decides how we spend every euro.
History
From a shared rowing boat to four harbours
1923
A pier, a logbook, and eleven names
The association's first minute book records eleven founding members — dockworkers, a schoolteacher and a Spanish-Finnish shipping clerk whose habit of calling the harbour 'el puerto deportivo' gave the association its odd, affectionate name. The founding purpose, written in Finnish and Spanish on the same page, was to give working families access to a boat and to the skills to use one.
1948
The first water-safety course
After a drowning that took two local boys, members organised what may be the earliest structured recreational water-safety course on the Turku coast. It ran for eight evenings in a fish-packing shed. Sixty-three people attended. The course has run every year since, without interruption, including through both oil crises.
1976
Junior fleet established
Four donated Optimist dinghies became the junior programme. The association adopted the rule it still keeps: no child is turned away for inability to pay, and the equipment is owned by the association, never by the family.
1994
Registered under the Associations Act
Formal registration with the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) brought statutes, an elected board, an independent auditor and published accounts — the governance framework we still operate under today.
2009
Baltic stewardship programme launched
Following the worst blue-green algae summer on local record, members began systematic shoreline monitoring and the no-discharge pledge. Eleven fixed transect sites were established; all eleven are still surveyed monthly in season.
2019
Accessibility commitment
The association rebuilt the Kirstintasku pontoon with a transfer bench, non-slip decking and step-free access, and began an adaptive sailing session that now runs weekly from May to September.
Mission, vision, values
Mission
To make Finland's coastal waters safe, affordable and open to every resident — through practical training, community-held harbour space, and hands-on protection of the Baltic Sea environment.
Vision
A Finnish coast where no child grows up afraid of the water, no family is priced out of a berth, and no shoreline is treated as somebody else's problem.
Values
Maritime tradition
Knots, charts, tides and courtesy on the water are inherited knowledge. We teach them the way they were taught to us: slowly, in person, on a wet deck.
Environmental stewardship
We measure before we speak. Our conservation claims are backed by monthly transect data, and we publish the results whether they flatter us or not.
Water safety
Buoyancy aids are non-negotiable, on every association vessel, for every person aboard, regardless of age or swimming ability.
Inclusivity
Membership fees are deliberately low, hardship waivers are granted without means-testing paperwork, and our facilities and courses are built for disabled participants from the start rather than adapted afterwards.
Transparency
Audited accounts, board minutes summaries and programme costs are published annually and available to any member or member of the public on request.
Governance
Board of Directors & governance structure
The association is governed by its members. The General Meeting is the highest decision-making body; it elects the board, approves the accounts and decides on the discharge of liability. The board of seven serves two-year terms, is unpaid, and meets a minimum of six times per year. An independent auditor, appointed by the General Meeting and not a member of the board, examines the accounts annually.
Petri Aaltonen
Chairperson
Harbour master, Kirstintasku. Member since 1998. Responsible for harbour operations and safety oversight.
Marjo Lehtinen
Vice Chairperson
Volunteer instructor and head of the junior programme. Qualified dinghy instructor and first-aid trainer.
Sanna Virtanen
Secretary
Keeps the minute book, the membership register and the association's GDPR records of processing.
Juhani Koskinen
Treasurer
Retired accountant. Prepares the annual financial statement for audit and reports to every board meeting.
Elina Saarinen
Environmental Officer
Marine biologist. Leads the eleven-site monitoring programme and the coastal cleanup campaign.
Mikael Bergström
Safety & Training Officer
Former coastguard. Owns the safety management system, incident reporting and instructor certification.
Anneli Rautio
Member Representative
Elected by the family membership. Holds the accessibility brief and chairs the safeguarding review.
Compliance with the Finnish Associations Act
Puerto Deportivo De La Kokkola ry is a registered association (rekisteröity yhdistys) entered in the Finnish Register of Associations maintained by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH), business identity code 30763607. The association operates in accordance with the Associations Act (Yhdistyslaki 503/1989) and its own registered statutes. It is non-profit: it does not distribute surplus, dividends or any financial benefit to its members, board or officers. Any surplus is applied in full to the association's stated purpose. Board members receive no remuneration for their duties. Documented decision-making, an annual General Meeting, an elected board and an independent audit are statutory obligations we treat as the minimum, not the target.