Baltic 2015 Part 4 Finland – St. Petersburg – Finland

Finland
The Finns call their land ‘Suomi’, which means land of lakes and swamps. A small country with a lot of coastline, where there is little agriculture, on a wooded stone plateau about 100 meters above sea level, where wildlife is still undisturbed. The plateau contains thousands of lakes, all of which flow either south into the Gulf of Finland or west into the Gulf of Bothnia. Lapland in the far north is the third physical region. The always low temperatures sometimes make life difficult. The Baltic coastline (Gulf of Finland) has a archipelago of thousands of islands. Halfway between the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia lie the remarkable Aland islands.

Friday 10-7-15 Tallinn (Estonia) – Helsinki (Finland)
This morning I was supposed to leave at 0600 to cross the Gulf of Finland, but the engine would not start, just for a moment, and then it stopped.
I did not think that was a good starting point for leaving, so I decided to change the first filter, which had been in there for 200 hours. After having done that (there was a lot of dirt in it again) the whole thing had to be vented again and started several times at 0600. So we waited only an hour, at 0730 the engine was running again and 0745 bundled loose for a stretch of 8 hours. Wind initially East 3 (offshore, so little wave build-up)
Halfway across the crossing with a lot of traffic lanes and ferries drifting back and forth between Tallinn and Helsinki, there was a heavy line of rain in front of me. I had already seen images via the storm radar, not thunderstorms but heavy showers. Clearly visible on my radar, they were shifting from right to left. In anticipation of this I was able to navigate them freely by going in between or behind them. You could clearly see the wind and surge of a shower a mile away. Because I now sailed further and further towards the low shore, the wave wave became more and more strong.
pbouw also gradually increased the wind was still east but now 4-5, so from behind.
Once in a while I got heavy swings again, but I am getting used to it, no more interior parts flying loose or other things.

Around 1600 I sailed into the shaves at Helsinki and had calm water again. Now I have to find a place to spend the night between the islands through gullies. Huge amount of rocks here, under water, above water, half under water, so be careful not to cut off any trenches.
Moored at 1730 to a mooring. Finally another night without paying, necessary for the budget.

Saturday 11-7-15. Finnish shaving mooring – Anchorage Boviken bay. 25 Nm

Got up this morning relaxed. Today I am going to sail eastwards through the skerries in the direction of my destination Haapaasari, there I have to be 14-7 on Tuesday. On the map a nice anchor bay found Russians the islands Boviken and Haxalo position 60*12′.824N and 25*38′.069E. Wind today was N3-4. This bay provides shelter from all winds, good anchorage and enough space for all water sports in the Netherlands. I dropped my anchor in the SW corner of a small bay. Anchor depth 5 metres. 25 metres of chain laid out.
Around the bay are all holiday homes, it is weekend so there is activity.

Sunday 12-7-15 Upper Bay – Haapasaari 50Nm

The sky is cloudy, visibility > 10km, temp. 13 degrees, I pick up the anchor and leave. Today the second stretch towards Haapaasari. What glittering bays I pass, too bad about the weather, I don’t need to take pictures.
10.00 Meanwhile the sky closes further and it starts raining steadily, also the visibility is now reduced to half a mile. The heater goes on because it gets cold inside. We sail with windscreen wipers in a chilly clammy environment. In front of me a ferry crosses between Kaislikko and Brandholmen. The horizon is getting lighter, maybe later the windshield wipers can come off, they are working overtime. 11.15 The rain has stopped, visibility is back to normal, yet another world like this. The last part of this trip is over open water, unfortunately not sailed, more waves and current against. It can’t be easy all the time, can it? I’m putting on a DVD of Andre Rieu concert at the Vrijthof, Maastricht.
The small bay and harbour where I wanted to anchor was not a good place. To anchor there was an open connection with the sea, so it wasn’t a good idea. The little harbour which, according to my map, even had facilities, consisted of a number of boulders with a tiny jetty where a motorboat moored.
So totally rejected and decided to continue sailing to Haapaasari. Route adjusted new ETA 20.00. Haapaasari has a completely closed bay, so I can anchor there tonight and go to the pier of customs and immigration tomorrow morning. So no anchoring, this bay is so small and shallow that I had to anchor at a pier with a rear anchor. Now I still had an anchor, but I think it is good for a sloop, and I will explain it anyway, assuming it does not storm. Many hands helped me moor. First I went on foot to customs and immigration to ask if I could clear out tomorrow evening at 20.00 to stay there until 03.00, fortunately that wasn’t a problem.

Monday 13-7-15 Haapasaari

This island is an advanced customs and immigration post and is close to the Russian border. Like all islands here, the island is actually a large boulder with a tiny inner lake. There are no roads on this island, just some marked paths where you can clearly see that you are walking on a boulder. It is a protected nature reserve.
You can hardly call it a harbour, a small pier around which all sailboats are star-shaped with their nose on the jetty. No electricity, wifi or showers, but two wooden barracks that serve as such, inside there is a hole in the ground with a plastic container above it and when you’re finished there are a number of bags of peat dust of which you throw a few shovels at your will. An open shop from 1100-1600 where you can buy the
can do much-needed shopping and also pay your demurrage €8,-
Moored at 20.00 at the customs and immigration of Haapasaari. Somebody comes on board, the first question he asks is, are you sure you want to go to Russia? If I confirm that, he asks for my passport, an original property statement and crew list. He also opens all the cabinets and asks what is inside. Then he sees my fishing box and starts talking about fishing, first that I need a permit in Finland, but you can buy one. Furthermore, that you can’t catch mackerel here, but I already knew that, but other beautiful fish.
After they have copied all the papers, I get my originals back with a stamp on the crew list. I am allowed to stay until I leave.

Russia
St Petersburg is a Russian port on the Baltic Sea. Founded in 1730 by Tsar Peter the Great, it was the imperialist capital for two centuries and remained the country’s cultural centre. The entire city was built in what used to be a swamp of the Neva River. The underground of St. Petersburg is the deepest in the world, 50 out of 65 stations are deeper than 30 metres.
The deepest Admiralteyskaya station is 102 metres below the old town centre. The metro also has to go under two rivers. It is the 12th busiest metro in the world. The trains run at a maximum speed of 90Km/hour. A true masterpiece

Tuesday 14-7-15 Haapasaari – Kronstad – St. Petersburg 80Nm
Left at 0300, at 0600 at the Russian border. Report on the radio. Well, a shouting in the desert. No answer on both indicated channels 16 and 74. Eventually all stations call done with question for radio check, response from freighter “loud and clear, Asmara. So to my. The Russians are probably still asleep.

Only after two hours, 10 miles in Russian territory I get an answer. From that moment on I am accompanied and have to report at certain buoys, I follow the traffic lane on the right side. After a while I am asked to go to channel 10 for the further approach inbound.
The wind has dropped completely from 0-1 and is now coming from the west, for a sailor’s misery, but I still sail on motorbikes, so calm. I am pretty much on schedule, as it looks now I am for six in Fort Konstantin, Kronstadt Island, where the Russian custom and immigration is. If that doesn’t take too long, I sail on to St.Petersburg, where I can moor around 10 pm. Walking into the barrier of Kronstadt was just as exciting as the wind.
was now attracted to a thick 5 from behind. It is a kind of funnel where all the water has to be squeezed through the barrier, resulting in huge cross seas, I almost had to go full throttle through it, I’m glad my engine was holding up well, because I was making sweeps anyway.
I berthed at 6 p.m. at custom and immigration. Then the formalities, I had more paperwork than I needed, at 1845 I was able to continue on my way again, but what an old mess there in terms of office and equipment. Now first I called Vladimir and said that I was going on to the harbour. I now expect to arrive there at 23.30. I am now sailing through the Morskov Canal, because this inland sea is very shallow everywhere and you really follow the buoyage. After a long day of 19 hours sailing, finally moored at the Central River Yacht Club, on the day I scheduled this trip in February of this year.
A port that does not live up to its name in terms of facilities for the price of 33,- euro per night, for details read the news item “On my slippers to Russia”.
In the meantime I had already been in contact with Vladimir who had informed the port that I would be arriving, and a young man was waiting for me to help me moor. Immediately after that, I went to bed and was a bit tired.

15-7-2015 St. Petersburg
Today Vladimir came to me and answered all my questions. It was also part of my diesel indication, a sensor, which I had ordered in Germany and which he had received with him.
During that conversation with Vladimir another man (Mirko) came to assist me, who turned out to be a born Dutchman , married to a German, who had been living in Berlin for years and now with his 9 meter sailing yacht here in the harbour. After getting to know him further, we decided to go to St. Petersburg the next day at the same time.
For tonight Vladimir has bought a ticket for the Russian Folkshow at my request. A show with champagne buffet.  I walked in the direction of the metro around 1300 and took the metro (3 stops) to the old centre where I first got some general impressions, of course first in the direction of Hermitage,
What an imposing square and building. By the way, the weather was beautiful and of course that also works. Lots of gold, splendour and splendour on all the other buildings. After a small bite to eat somewhere, around 1730 I went to see if I could find the Nikolayevsky Palace, because I can deal with maps, but not with Russian street names. But I finally found it, I was there by 1830. By the way, what struck me was that the city was actually populated by large groups of Japanese and Chinese.
A folk show called “feel yourself Russion” in the Nikolayevsky Palace. A very beautiful building on the outside as well as on the inside. The hall with the imposing stairs, the galleries decorated with stalls where you can buy Russian souvenirs, the staff all in 17th century costumes. The show itself was what the title suggests, lots of dance and singing and acrobatics. Afterwards I took the underground back home (boat).

16-7-2015 St. Petersburg
Woke up this morning at 0800 and after breakfast first installed my sensor for diesel indication and fortunately it works again. After overall engine control I first started to fill up the diesel, for this I had to sail a short distance to the filling station. For 0.61 eurocent per litre, 877 litres filled, I had calculated how much fuel I would still have in St. Petersburg assuming 3.5 ltr/h, I came to 200 litres. It was 877 litres out of 1100 full = should have been 223. The new indicator for refuelling was 176 litres.
After refuelling I moored up again and took out my bike. Walking to the metro station wasn’t to my liking after all (45′ walking) so Mirko and I decided to take the bike to the metro and park it there.
We were the first ones to see Peter and
Paul fort visited the Neva river with its cathedral of the same name. After our feet started to protest we grabbed some water and a lunch snack, then took the underground back to the next point the Church of the savior on the spilt blood” a splendour of a cathedral, the outside with its golden towers a unique structure. This church was largely destroyed in the Second World War, the reconstruction was done entirely by volunteers. Inside this church, as far as the eye can see, there are all kinds of murals made of mosaic tiles, some of which are no bigger than a square of 5 to 6 mmm and in all kinds of colours. It has been a monastic job to complete these images from the ground up to the towers on the inside.
After this church our day was over and we decided to go for a beer and a bite to eat, whooo what an impression.

Friday 17-7-2015 St.Petersburg-Kronstadt
Today is the last half day in Russia, because Sunday and the days after that there is a strong wind and you do not want to cross that at 4 p.m.
We are now starting the return journey, this was the furthest point of the journey, after 65 days, 1476 miles travelled, 312 engine hours. An average of 22.7 miles/day

By bike to the Metro for 58 euro cents you can travel throughout the city, if you get out it will cost you another coin of that amount. With three stops I arrive at the Hermitage. At 10.30 a.m. at the opening, I bought a ticket and went inside. What pomp and circumstance, the building alone with all its special rooms is a pleasure in itself. In addition, a floor plan clearly indicates what you will find in which room. Actually, it represents various museums in one building. Of course I had to look at the paintings of the Dutch masters and there aren’t a few oh, no halls full and of course the various Rembrand’s hanging there.
It really goes too far to mention what you find there, but I think if you want to see everything you can take a couple of days off.

After this I returned to the boat and prepared for my departure at 1800 to Kronstadt for customs and immigration, spent the night there and the next morning to cross over to Finland. Vladimir will stop by to collect harbour dues. That man has been a great help.
Unfortunately, they do not start with the authorities until 0900, so I do not expect to be able to leave before 1000, which means that I will arrive there around 0200. And they will be closed there as well.

At 20.00, just moored at customs and immigration, I am talking on the side, while a couple of waves are coming in, with the result that the boat goes wild and vultures despite the jumps.

The boat goes down and comes up again exactly with my white edge under a heavy beam that almost breaks off but except for some paint fortunately doesn’t do any damage, the next wave the same but now the dinghy that hangs on the david’s, the bottom of the beam, on which the cable of the david’s breaks immediately. All three hoisting points of the boat are almost pulled through the polyester and the dinghy still hangs vertically at its point on a david cable, the eye of which has already been pulled 3/4 through the polyester and is on the point of breaking.
So now there is also water in the double bottom of the boat, for the part that hangs under water. Then the customs lady says I can also lie on the inside of a layer of pontoon shielded from waves, she now says! By the way, the officials just keep watching everything on their balconies and nobody will lift a finger to help, not even when mooring.
I thought for a moment about cutting the boat down and letting it float away, but after I turned around with a vertical dinghy behind it half full of water, I decided to make a rescue attempt anyway. With lines all the way to my winch in front, I managed to get it with its stern just above the surface of the water, so that the water could drain out.
Then with all kinds of lines of pulleys, musketon closures etc I managed to get the boat horizontal again. If it gets loose through waves on the way, I cut it off. So now I can’t go to shore when I anchor, the only time I can loosen it now is to repair it and I doubt if I can do that on the way. It is now 01.30. Go to sleep.

18-7-2015 Kronstadt-Haapasaari. 79 Nm

In the end, it all takes a very long time, I am up at 0800 and customs and immigration were supposed to start at 0900. Eventually I get a General declaration to fill in on immigration, there is also a German yacht with 5 men for St.Petersburg. Immigration says to wait another 5 to 10 minutes for customs, eventually it arrives at 10.15 and shortly after that I can leave.
Left at 10.45. Wind WNW 3 fish > 10 km. Most of the route I have the wind right against me. So no sailing.
Expected arrival Haapasaari 02.30. A beautiful day with little wind and waves. It is relaxed sailing. While waiting, I have kneaded a new sandwich and put it ready to rise, then I can bake it on the way. Due to the fact that I always use the engine, I always have enough 220 V available along the way.
This time I’m sailing half a mile parallel outside the fairway, I’m sailing so comfortably and I don’t have to pay attention to those big ships. I sit outside sunbathing and read a lot. After the drink around 19.30 I make some Goulash with mashed potatoes and when the dishes are done I enjoy a cup of coffee on the foredeck. But that doesn’t take long because the air is soaking and it starts splashing slowly, the sun has disappeared and in the distance I see two showers. Meanwhile the wind has turned and is now coming from behind and is attracted to 3-4 Bft and the route has been sailed, after the Genoa has been rolled out the Asmara sometimes runs 6 Kts over the ground. After a couple of hours however it has to go back inside again because the wind is turning back to west. At 2200 hours it will continue to blow ZW 5 with the result that the waves will also build up.

At 22.30 the wind has picked up to 7 Bft with outliers to 8. I have him right against it, the waves are now high and uncomfortable.
So with these circumstances I will have to make the approach between the gullies and the islands of Haapasaari. I am going to have to check in with the Russians at the border crossing.
Fortunately, the wind drops to a thick 4 at midnight, but the waves remain high. On the last approach, and the wind has turned and changed my course, the gully in waves diagonally from behind, the Asmara starts rolling quite a bit again, so that I end up getting slightly seasick, that’s all. Simba doesn’t like it any more and wants to be on my lap until ten minutes before I enter the trench, then I put her back on the couch and so from now on I don’t whine any more.
The night is black and looking outside makes no sense at all, I turn on my deck lights front and back to be better seen. With a strongly zoomed map I now sail blindly over my outgoing track with a reduced speed of 3 kts. I can already see the lights of the coastguard quay, but I still have to go through several gullies and around beacons with shallows. At 02.00 I arrive in front of the quay where a large naval vessel is moored, fortunately there is just a spot free for the Asmara at 02.30 in a small bowl at the back. I am moored dead and dive into my bed.

19-7-2015 Haapasaari – Kotka. 15Nm
Got up at 0900, visit of Finnish coastguard at 09.30, want to see 1 crewlist, passport and ready, all in 5 minutes.
The wind would be strong today and the days after, so I dive in between the islands and make it a relaxing day at sea.
No way, the grib-files indicated a relaxed 3-4 bft for today, once gone and a lot of open water (Haapasaari is one of the outer islands) the wind soon picked up from the west to 7 Bft with regular peaks to 8. This does not cheer me up.

The waves were again quite high. Once I looked out of the window to the left against a water wall higher than my cabin roof and you get quite a bang. But I have to say the Asmara is holding up perfectly.
Shifted course to get between the islands as soon as possible and not found a good anchorage with this wind, so I went to Kotka harbour. According to the latest grib-file, it would be 4 tomorrow, so I’ll try to get back to the bay where I anchored before, because after that two days of strong winds.
Mooring fee €22,- incl. electricity, sauna, showers, water and toilets

20-7-2015 Kotka – Suninsalmi 34 Nm (anchor 60*14.5N 25*53.9E)
Today we are sailing in ZW direction through the Finnish skerries. The weather is cloudy, wind 2 from WZW, how different from yesterday. A wrinkled sea with a slight swell.

I sail until about three o’clock and then look for an anchorage. I found a nice spot, anchor out at 15.20 As I smoked my last cigar yesterday, I am a bit of a looker, so I took some extra drinks, but that’s not the solution either. I pulled out my guitar and had a good time.
I’m going to have a bite to eat, tonight I’m eating Pororuukku, I have no idea what it is but it looked delicious. And pictures say a lot!

21-7-2015 Sunsalmi anchor – Anchor Boviken bay 60*12.8N 25*38.0E. 8Nm|
Every morning I wake up early from the sunlight in my bedroom, like this morning at 0400, the sun was already shining straight into my face, that’s a bit too early, so I pulled down the blinds.
Departure at 0920 was planned for the first stop in Helsinki. That turned out to be a bridge too far, so I decided to make it a relaxing day and start repairing the david’s and the dinghy.

 

 

Dropped anchor at 11.50 am in 7 metres of water, where I had already anchored on the outward journey.
I was able to repair the david cable, the cable is bad, full of roars. But for emergencies ok. Next step is the cable eye that is almost pulled through the polyester. I still have some stainless steel sheet steel on board of 1 mm and strip of 12 cm wide. From this I made two 17×12 cm plates with the grinder, clamped them on top of each other and drilled 6 holes in the column drill for rivets. The next step is now to remove the old eye from the polyester and drill the stitch of that eye into the plates as well. Then assemble the plates and the eye with sealant and rivets. For all this I want to have the dinghy on the side, I am not going to do that on the water. So I will have to wait for a suitable opportunity to repair the david’s and the dinghy.

22-7-2015 anchor Boviken Bay – south Helsinki 23 Nm
Wind ZW 5. The sky is dark grey and it is raining. Today we left at 0830, after first taking an invigorating bath in the sea. Once out of the bay the waves are higher than expected. But they also come out of open water, so I get them from behind and then I dive between the islands for the time being.

In the south it is getting lighter, I even see white cumulus. The wind here is ZZO 4, the waves calm 0.5.
The more open stretches we have to cross, the more restless the sea becomes and the wind starts to pick up to 7 Bft (32kts). We have almost right on the track so little sail. At about 14.00h I am back between the islands and the violence will be over again.
At 13.20 I moor in the bay where I previously moored, now on the shore of the Yachtclub, because of repair david’s and dinghy.

Thursday 23-7-2015 Suomenlinna YC – jacobshambaai anchor. 34Nm
At 1.20 p.m. I moored in the bay where I was killed before. I had moored the boat in such a way that my dinghy was hanging above the jetty. I was able to lower it onto the jetty and started repairing it. The stainless steel plates I made earlier are now assembled and sealed with sealant, as can be seen on the three pictures. At 18.00 the whole thing is repaired and the boat can go up again. I can at least use it again now. According to the grib’s will be less windy tomorrow, so let’s see how far I get towards the Aland islands in the Gulf of Bothnia.

Friday 24-7-2015 Jacobshambaai – Hurskursnas 59*55.9N 23*30.7E 18Nm

Left at 10.00 am through a beautiful area. Lots of swampland and muddy ground, that turned out to be because twice trying to anchor in bay, but just didn’t hold. It was only at the third bay in this Sund that my anchor, despite 4.5 meters of water, held 25 meters of chain and anchor alarm.

Saturday 25-7-2015 Hurskursnas – Hundholmen Hiittinen (club) 34Nm

Departure 10.00AM. Going through the Finnish archipelago in the Gulf of Bothnia in three stages from about 30-40 mines. In the direction of the Aland Islands group. Today a day with little wind even sailing doesn’t help. Broadly speaking, I am following route 6, which is indicated in the pilot. Once arrived in the bay of my destination there is a small island in the middle (turns out to be a club) with construction around the island, so you are sheltered from all wind. Of course in the Scandinavian way nose in and stern cancer. There was a mooring where a motorboat was moored. The people who were moored there allowed me to moor and I didn’t have to pay anything. As the wind will be strong for the next few days, too strong for the open stretches I have to pass through, I am blown away. First chance again on Tuesday, not a punishment in itself. At night my stern cancer scratched, the thing is just too light for 18 tons, I heard the boat pounding. So bed out at 0300 and extra line from the back to the side.

Sunday 26-7-2015 Hundholmen Hiittinen

On this club island there is electricity and I have even been in the sauna in the evening. There is a small house with facilities. Nobody lives there. This morning the motorboat left and I was able to lie down at the mooring with the back, with an extra line to the side where I suspected the wind would come from in the next few days. I am now lying pretty firm. This morning it was raining and the sky is grey. Simba went outside and stayed away for a few hours, came running soaking wet from the rain, chased by the neighbour’s dog. A jump on board failed and she fell back on the jetty, with the dog barking next to her, the second attempt succeeded and with a tail three times as thick she also made a slip on deck, yes cat life is tough too.

Monday 27-7-2015 Hiittinen Club Island
Today a little more blue skies interspersed with rain showers. The clouds chase through the sky. Today Simba became 1 year. The last two days she has the time of her life because she can just run in the direction instead of on an annoying rolling boat. I’m going to spend the day today doing chores, vacuuming, changing bedding, making windows visible again, cleaning up and last but not least preparing for the rest of the trip while enjoying a bite to eat and a glass of wine.

 

 

Tonight 27-7-2015 last evening as a guest on the island of Hundholmen. All sailors had left, I was lying there alone. Around 8 pm a sailor had moored on the other side of the island and he came to tell me that he had fired up the sauna, so whether I wanted to or not. Well I did. After the sauna in adam’s costume into the sea, after repeating this several times, you take a bucket of hot water from the sauna heater, then a bucket of cold water from the well (no running water on the island) with those two buckets you go into a kind of Finnish wooden shower cabin and rinse/hash yourself with fresh water. Delicious.

Tuesday 28-7-2015 Hundholmen – Vasterkogen Hagen. 35Nm
Left at 07.00. Quiet weather wind variable 0-1 later East 3, then subsiding again to 1. Slowly sailed, 3.8 kts. Fishing line set with blinker. No catch, drop anchor at 1500 in bay Snacko / Viberholm 60*07.1N 21*42.7E. Swam for a while, although I found the water very cold. After measuring it turned out to be 12.2 degrees. The swim didn’t last long.
After a nice meal, I made a cup of coffee. Now I am sitting on my aft deck with the setting sun, temperature still fine, with on the left a homemade Drambuii, on the right a coffee, in my hand a syrup waffle and actually I want to light a cigar, how much luxury you can wish for. I am alone here with nature (and a clambering cat in the muck).
Tomorrow I will continue in the direction of Mariehalmn of the Aland islands.

Aland islands in the Gulf of Bothnia

The Aland Islands
This group of islands comprises 6500 islands and dates back to the time of Finland’s oldest inhabitants. It is an autonomous province of Finland but outside the EU tax system. It has its own flag, prints its own stamps, registers its own ships, is a member of the Nordic Council. In the 19th century it dominated the world in grain shipping, owned by Gustaf Erikson.

Wednesday 29-7-2015 Snacko/Viberholm – Mariehalmn 56Nm
Left again at 0700. No wind, mirror-smooth sea. I have decided not to do this trip all at once, then I would arrive around 20.00, but to anchor somewhere relaxed again.
Around 13.30h I just entered a narrow passage, grafted by a rib of the Finnish coastguard.

The man came on board, wanted to know where I was going, if I had a life vest and then I had to blow for alcohol. This is the first time I have experienced that. 14:12 Seal spotted beside the boat, looked at me with his fawn eyes and he was gone. Anchor out in beautiful bay at 15:00.

Thursday 30-7-2015 Anchor Bay Aland Islands
Wake up at 06.30. No wind, lots of clouds and potential showers. At 08.00 it closes, I hear the foghorns of the ferries as a loud noise. All of a sudden it starts raining and gets dark. According to the grib’s we are a little south under the core of a layer, 990 Mb, which is moving eastwards. so the wind will vary from east to north. Outside 13 degrees Celsius, inside 17, just turn on the stove to take out the cold and moisture. I’m just waiting for it to clear up a bit, after all Mariehamn is only 20 miles, 4 hours sailing. At 1545 I moored alongside a pontoon instead of nose in. The pontoons are too low for me.

Friday 31-7-2015 Mariehamn

A memorable day, my brother had turned 71 today. It’s a pity I can’t share all this with him anymore, I’m sure he would have been proud of his little brother.
Today I visited Mariehamn, find the appearance of the city a bit disappointing, expected more authentic houses. The harbour is ok with all facilities, but pricey with €27,-.
After some necessary groceries, I decide to go out to the exit of this archipelago and anchor there somewhere. Nice anchorage found near the only fixed bridge of 3.5 meters high. At 3 meters of water in clay soil anchor out, drinks on mine brother.

See also Baltic 2015 Part 5 Sweden – Denmark