The Finns have a wonderful word that brings qualities such as endurance, strength and uncomplaining perseverance to a single short denominator: Sisu! In the land of a thousand lakes, Sisu is a worthwhile concept of life, in difficult situations neither to lose one's head nor to lose hope. The first Finnish Vendée Globe graduate Ari Huuselin has never done that in the past four months. Not even after the early almost knockout blow at the start of the race in the Bay of Biscay, when his mast touched the water in the first storm. In his homeland, Ari Huusel has become a nationally known synonym for Sisu, primarily with his courageous attitude. As the 25th of the 33 participants who originally started, the 58-year-old was the last to cross the finish line after having sailed around the world without stopping. Eight retired skippers, including prominent sailors such as "Hugo Boss" skipper Alex Thomson, were not granted that.
Ari Huusel with the traditional Vendée Globe Bengalos at the finish
With the arrival of the sympathetic pilot from Helsinki, the sporting part of the ninth edition of the solo race around the world comes to an end. The hosts did not miss the opportunity to celebrate the last hero with a particularly stormy celebration. And the Finn obviously enjoyed the final miles on the way to the start and destination port of Port Olons. After 116 days, 18 hours, 15 minutes and 46 seconds at sea, Ari Huusel has earned every applause with outstanding stamina. It took the 58-year-old almost exactly a third of the year for his first one-handed circumnavigation of the world without a stopover and is now part of the small circle of only 113 Vendée Globe graduates who have also been able to finish the race since its premiere in 1989/90. For comparison: At the Vendée Globe premiere in 1989/90, Jean-François Coste was the "first last" to cross the finish line after 163 days, 1 hour and 19 minutes.
The Finnish "Stark" skipper Ari Huusel has arrived. Here it goes to the live broadcast
Ari Huusela's little Finnish snowman on board the "Stark"
With pictures like these, the Finn had repeatedly emphasized that he was living his big dream at the Vendée Globe premiere
Huuselseine described the Cape Horn Passage as the highlight of his trip: "That was so much my big moment, my dream for this trip. That was so beautiful! The Atlantic ascent, on the other hand, turned out to be a struggle. As for most other sailors too. " After Huuselschon had been bid farewell to hundreds of escort boats and thousands of fans on his way to France in Helsinki before the race, an even bigger crowd can be expected when he soon returns to his home port in Finland. "This project got so, so big in Finland," says Huuselas, impressed, "that amazes me very much. My life will be different when I get home. I think there are so many people who have followed me and now know who Ari Huuselist. I originally started this project for myself, wanted to be my honest self on this trip and not make a lot of ado about it. Then it just all happened. I just wrote these stories off board. And I think they were liberating for the people in lockdown. The biggest comedy show in Finland did a sketch with me the other day. It's amazing!"
Ari Huuselan aboard his Imoc "Stark". To the right of him is an upturned bottle of caramel sauce. Huusela's preference for the Breton flavor variant "Beurre salé" is well known …
On that day, Ari Huusela's Cape Horn dream came true
Huusela's Imoc "Stark", which was once built in New Zealand at Hakes Marine in Wellington for Dee Caffari, is now almost 14 years old and had circled the world three times before Huusela's adventure - once with the Vendée Globe, twice in the BarcelonWorld Race. Under the sail number FIN 222, the "Stark" has again proven to be solid and reliable after several modifications. Just like the skipper himself. Trained as a pilot with a high affinity for the element of air and a good understanding of weather developments, the two-time Mini-Transat helmsman has brought his race to the finish. "Hyvin tehty", well done, the Finns would say. How Huusels experienced his adventure, you can read again very carefully from August. Then Huusela's Vendée Globe book is due to appear, for which he wrote a daily diary on paper during the race. At the finish, Huusela said: "I'm so happy, so proud that I made it. Don't forget that I'm still an airplane pilot and that this is my hobby. I think I've done everything that an amateur solo sailor can do can create."
Strong performance: Ari Huusel will be fondly remembered by the Vendée Globe community
