Aina

Information about the Aina is sketchy but it is clear that the trip was planned by people with little sailing experience. In fall 1946, the boat’s owner, a Mr. Ülenurm, organized a group of refugees to sail to South Africa. The Aina was a 36-foot-long (11 meters) wooden pilot boat for eight passengers with a 15-HP engine. 

The boat left Södertälje, south of Stockholm, on November 6, 1946, and headed to Göteborg via the Göta Canal. When the Aina reached Vänern, Sweden’s largest lake, the boat encountered rough weather, and items began to fall and break until the novice sailors realized everything needed to be tied down. They ordered material for a sail that was too heavy and tried to hire crews in Göteborg and Halmstad, but no one wanted to leave in the winter. 

Some of the passengers wanted to wait until the following spring but the organizers decided to sail from Halmstad for Kiel, Germany, on December 5, 1946. Mr. Ülenurm was named captain because he spoke English. The boat did not have proper documents to travel through the Kiel Canal, so the refugees slipped through it illegally flying the Swedish flag, which gave them priority access through the drawbridges. British naval inspectors stopped them in Cuxhaven, Germany, but allowed the boat to continue. 

The Aina sailed past the Netherlands and Belgium until an engine failure forced it to enter Dunkirk harbor in France, where the crew quietly attached the boat to a barge. The passengers sold their clothing to fishermen to cover the cost of repairing the engine, and left five days later. On its way south along the French coast, bad weather forced the boat to seek shelter several times, including at the war-torn port of Verdun. 

By the time the Aina reached the Bay of Biscay, the boat was sailing very slowly and leaking badly—it had taken two months instead of the planned two weeks to reach Spain. A coast guard ship helped the Aina enter the port of Pasajes, where repairs were made at no cost. Passengers were also allowed to live for free on a Spanish warship while the boat was being repaired. The Aina then sailed west to Santander, Spain, where Captain Ülenurm decided to sell the boat. It is not known where the passengers ended their journey.

Known crew and passengers:

Captain Ülenurm