Zak B. Tjewels’s life has been boats: Grammar School naval cadets, sailing, designing, building... Except for hitchhiking across North Africa and ending up under house arrest in Libya during the revolution, Zak spent his youth sailing the Caribbean and Mediterranean.

One day, and quite unprepared, he found himself in Finland. This country was a complete contrast to those far off sunny islands and, in staying here, Zak met his greatest trails.

Several times, he fled to the sun; back again to Africa, once to visit a missionary in Kenya, and then later, to teach ambulance drivers to drive ambulance boats on Lake Tanganyika for SIDA.

But, Finland is a land of linguists and he stayed there for his children. This decision proved right as, unlike Zak, who has never managed to ever learn Finnish, his children all speak several languages fluently.