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News from Vergi Harbour
- Lauri Loit
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
At the end of August the harbour grows quieter. The boats are still in the water, but the mornings are already cool and there are fewer people on the terrace than in July. A good time to look at what got done over the summer and talk about what is coming.
Three applications, two positive decisions
This year we wrote three grant applications. Two were approved, the third did not get funding this time.
Vergi Fishermen’s Day took place on 10 July. The feedback was excellent. We were asked the very next day who would be performing at next year’s Vergi Fishermen’s Day. When people start planning the next one before summer is even over, it went well.
Fishermen’s Day is not just another event in the calendar for us. It is a day when our guests thank the village’s hard-working fishermen simply by being there. Children run along the quay. Boats sail and take guests out. The food is local and nobody has to hurry anywhere. We will do our best to make it a tradition.
The event was co-financed by Virumaa Rannakalurite Ühing - our thanks to them.
The second project is a biological wastewater treatment plant for Vergi Harbour. A large investment you cannot see with the naked eye, but one whose effect lasts a long time. Hauling wastewater away is expensive for a small harbour, and this year it became harder still when the local service provider closed down. The choice was simple: pay more every year, or build our own plant. We decided to build our own. The funding came from Arenduskoda.
The third application did not get funding this time. The idea was to rebuild and raise the harbour breakwater so that people could walk on it safely. The idea is not going anywhere - we will try again.
The small craft skipper course runs again this autumn
Last spring we ran the first small craft skipper course at Vergi Harbour. Three people from our harbour are now qualified skippers.
The autumn course runs from 3 October to 7 November. Theory and chartwork take place largely at Vergi Harbour, some lessons are online, and the practical training happens at sea on both a sailing yacht and a motorboat. 68 academic hours in total.
Course days are at weekends from 9:00 to 17:00: 3 and 4 October, 24 and 25 October, 31 October and 1 November, and 7 November, with distance learning in between.
The course costs EUR 450. The radio communication module together with the course is EUR 75, and a lunch package for all seven course days is EUR 35. The full package is EUR 560.
The group takes up to 16 people and registration is open until 28 September. We send an invoice after registration - there is no need to pay online.
Kordoni Kärakas filled the old building again
On 15 August we held Kordoni Kärakas in the old Vergi border guard station: a bar, a dance floor and a building that had been silent for years. The dance floor was full and at the end of the night people asked whether they could come back the following Saturday.
We want to hold more parties in the border station building. Food-led evenings stay in the main house, where the kitchen is and where it makes sense to sit down at a table.
We are starting a podcast
Vergi village has more stories than people. Fishermen who remember the time before the harbour. The border station and what actually went on there. People who came for a weekend and stayed. Now we are recording those stories ourselves. If you have a story that should be recorded, write to info@wirkes.ee.
Winter is coming and we are open
Vergi is often thought of as a summer place. We are open all year round. The kitchen works in November, February and March too. Upstairs there is a private room for seminars, training days and team days, with a screen and a flip chart.
If your team is looking for somewhere to meet in autumn or winter, do get in touch. We have the space and we have the time.
And we are looking for more people
We are looking for three people to join the team: a front of house shift supervisor, a waiter and a sous chef for the kitchen. We offer travel compensation and accommodation on site if needed. Send your CV to kelli@wirkes.ee.
Co-funded by the European Union
Vergi Fishermen’s Day 2026 was carried out with support from the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) operational programme 2021-2027, measure "Community-led local development support for the period 2021-2027".
Beneficiary: MTÜ Vergi Kalandus- ja Jahtklubi (registry code 80332880), Sadama tee 51/2, Vergi village, Haljala municipality, Lääne-Viru county, Estonia.
PRIA decision no 17-31.3/26/1552 (05.08.2026), application file F3132400744. Local action group: Virumaa Rannakalurite Ühing MTÜ.
Amount of support: EUR 22,274.73.
Short description of the activity: On 10 July 2026, Vergi Harbour hosted the first ever Vergi Fishermen’s Day - a family event presenting coastal fishing and Vergi Harbour. The programme included a presentation of fishing gear and the setting of a trap net, rescue activities and workshops together with boat trips run by the Aasukalda land and sea rescue unit, and performances by Viivi Voorand ja Lahemaa Rahwamuusikud, Väikeste Lõõtspillide Ühing and Meie Mees, with hosts leading the day and a DJ closing the night.
Objective: To value and present the coastal fishing heritage of Vergi and Lahemaa, bring the community and visitors to the harbour, and start a new annual tradition that supports the vitality of the region, local enterprise and the development of the harbour.
Result: The event took place as planned on 10 July 2026 at Vergi Harbour. The coastal fishing and sea rescue presentations, local food and the concert programme brought visitors from Lahemaa and further afield, and started a tradition - people were already asking about next year’s line-up the day after the event.
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