Racing & Exploring with Friends & Family
Jari Selin

Jari is an enthusiastic sailor that spends the season on his family Pogo 40, cruising and racing. He has over 30,000NM of sailing experience in various boats from dinghies to Class 40 and IMOCA boats.

A Life-Long Journey

Jari started sailing on his parents boat, before even learning to walk. In his teens, he sailed his 5-metre dinghy; already embracing the art of maintaining and tweaking a boat. In his early twenties, he started cruising; progressing to larger boats and longer passages. Then, racing caught interest: beginning on a Beneteau First 36.7 with a full crew, he competed at national level and at the ORC Worlds. After moving to his Pogo 40, his focus shifted to cruising and double-handed racing with his wife Reija.

Sometime in the not-to-distant future he hopes there will be some longer ocean cruises ahead, first to the South Baltic, then the North Sea and Atlantic.

Pogo 40 Storm Petrel

Jari's Pogo 40 is labelled as the ‘fastest family cruiser in Finland’. The Pogo 40 is built to Class 40 rule, and Jari's version has a cruising keel (2.20 draught). The boat has raced across to the Atlantic, so it is more than capable of ocean cruising.

The boat is primarily designed for solo sailing, so it is perfect for shorthanded cruising. The boat is light at 5000 kilograms, and 50% of that is in the bulbed keel. With 4.4m width and 750L water ballast, the boat can carry an astounding amount of sail; 115m2 upwind and 273m2 downwind, sustaining speeds in the range of 12-15KN in the right conditions. This is an impressive cruising boat.

For cruising, the boat is equipped with a fridge, stove, 300L water tanks, and the ability to sleep 6-8 people.

Double-Handed Racing

Jari and Reija enjoy a bit of double-handed racing on their Pogo 40. Their favourite race is Helsinki - Tallina race across the Baltic, sometimes offering planning conditions where the Pogo 40 excels. The couple are planning some longer double-handed races in the near future.

Fix It.

Jari is handy, and takes care of boat maintenance and upgrades himself. There have been a lot of upgrades in recent years; from renewing the vinyl wrap to re-installing the electronics with a lithium battery pack. 

With racing and long distance cruising in mind, the boat has been designed to consider performance and reliability. Weight is crucial, but so too is the 'contingency' approach: for example, power can be generated from the engine, solar panel and/or a hydro generator. Jari's knowledge and experience has helped him test and designing an extensive sail racing instrument system with Raymarine electronics.