Vergi Port News
Updated: Oct 11
The harbour is quieter at the end of August. The boats are still in the water, but the mornings are already cool and there are fewer people sitting on the terrace than in July. A good time to look back at what was done over the summer and talk about what's to come.
There is more to come than meets the eye.
Three applications, two positive decisions
This year we wrote three grant projects. Two received a positive decision, while the third one remained without funding this time.
Vergi Fishermen's Day took place on July 10th. The feedback was excellent. One thing that best describes it is that we were asked the very next day who the performers for next year's Vergi Fishermen's Day would be. If people are planning the next time before the summer is over, then it went well.
Fishermen's Day is not just another event on the calendar for us. It is a day when our guests thank the good fishermen of the village with their presence. Children run on the pier. Boats sail and transport guests. The food is local and no one has to rush anywhere. There could be more days like this on the edge of Lahemaa National Park. We will do our best to make it a tradition.
The co-sponsor of the Fishermen's Day was the Virumaa Coastal Fishermen's Association, many thanks to them.
The second project is the Vergi Port Bio-Treatment Plant. A major investment that is not visible to the eye in the port, but whose impact will last a long time.
Wastewater removal is expensive for a small port. This year it got even more complicated because the local service provider went out of business and the truck now has to come from further away again. The choice was simple: either pay more every year or build our own treatment plant. We decided to build our own.
We haven't started construction yet, the funding decision is fresh and the work is still ahead. A completed bio-treatment plant will give us three things. The costs will be under our own control. The port can grow and welcome more guests. And the sea, where our kitchen gets fish and where we swim in the summer, will remain clean.
We received support for the bio-treatment plant from Arenduskoda. Thank you for making this happen.
The third application was not funded this time. The idea was to fix the breakwater of the port and raise it so that it would be safe to walk on the breakwater and take wonderful photos. A higher breakwater would also be safer for the port itself.
The idea itself is not going anywhere. The breakwater is one of the most beautiful places in the harbour and right now we don't dare send anyone there. We'll try again, because this work has to be done sooner or later.
Small boat operator training moves to spring
Last spring, we organized the first small boat operator training course in the port of Vergi. Three people from our port are now captains.
We also learned a bit from our mistakes. The clearest lesson was in pricing: there should be no free lunches. Now the lunch package is on a separate line and known to everyone in advance.
The training planned for this autumn has been postponed to spring: provisionally April–May 2027, and we will announce the exact dates as soon as they are set. The programme stays the same: theory and chart training will be largely held at Vergi Harbour, some lessons will be online, and practice will take place at sea on both a sailboat and a motorboat. A total of 68 academic hours.
Training days are at weekends from 9 am to 5 pm, with weekday distance learning in between.
The training costs €450. The radio module with training is €75, the lunch package for all seven days of training is €35. The full package is €560.
Registration is open: you can reserve your place now (the registration page is in Estonian), and we will confirm the dates later. We will send the invoice once the dates are confirmed; there is no online payment.
Kordoni Kärakas filled the old house with people again
In August we held Kordoni Kärakas in the Vergi Kordon building. A bar, a dance floor, and a house that had been silent for years.
The idea came from a simple thing. We had to clean up the building so we could bring our tours there. A few stories on the walls, some pictures, and we had something new to show our guests. Then it clicked. We could throw a pretty cool party here.
We started spreading the word and people were immediately on board. The dance floor was full of happy people and at the end of the night they asked if they could come back next Saturday. For now, we wouldn't go that big :D
We want to have more parties in the Kordon building in the future. However, food-related evenings will remain in the main building, because that's where the kitchen is and where the proper place to sit at the table is.
The next plan is at the main house: dinner with a live performer, real music, and real food all in one evening. Before we set a date, we'd like to know which evening would appeal to you more.
Which option?
Special menu with courses, the same for everyone, price known in advance
You choose what you like from the menu.
Let's start a podcast
There are more stories than people in the village of Vergi. Fishermen who remember the times before the port. The Kordon and what really happened there. People who came here for the weekend and stayed.
We've been hearing these stories for years and thinking that someone should record them. Now we're going to record them ourselves. The first episodes haven't been recorded yet, but the decision has been made.
If you have a story that should be recorded, write to info@wirkes.ee. We will read it out and process it.
Winter is coming and we are open
Vergi is often considered a summer destination. We are open year-round.
The kitchen is also open in November, February and March. There is a private room on the second floor for seminars, training sessions and team days. There is a screen and flipchart. Lunch comes from the same kitchen as in the summer: as local and fresh as possible.
Winter Lahemaa is quiet in a way it never is in summer. A meeting with a break for a walk by the sea is remembered in a completely different way.
If your team is looking for a place to get together this fall or winter, feel free to write. We have the space and we have the time.
And we are looking for more people
In all of this, one thing is more important than projects and plans: the people who work here.
We are looking for three people to join the team:
service shift supervisor
waiter
kitchen sous chef
We offer car compensation and, if necessary, accommodation on site.
Our house is small, and that's the best part of the job. Here you don't do the same thing at the same station for three months in a row. In the dining room you see both a quiet weekday evening and a large group. You see how the whole house works together, and your ideas get to the menu in weeks, not years. If you want to learn a lot quickly, this is a good place for you.
And there is work all year round, not just in the summer.
If you know someone who would fit here, please forward this text to them. Good people almost always reach us through someone's recommendation.
Come by
Autumn is quiet in Vergi, and that's its best feature. The kitchen is open, there's plenty of space, and the sea is right next door.
Vergi Harbour, Lahemaa National Park. Send your stories and CV to info@wirkes.ee.
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