An adventure into the unknown (with vid)

[scubaman]

That's right, Aida arrived at Turku in 2012 and that is our ultimate destination via a couple of stop overs. After leaving Hanko we spent two nights in here -> https://www.google.fi/maps/place/He...ec45d6163b04170!8m2!3d60.0296146!4d22.2775473

A stunning place it has to be said, will post a few photos later. Currently we are moored in Nauvo -> https://www.google.fi/maps/place/21...a00b553b98e5750!8m2!3d60.1927157!4d21.9091942

Another very popular boating hub a convenient distance away from Turku and a good place to stop en route to the Archipelago proper. Marina is packed at the moment.

Regarding the sauna pics: I must confess to staging the pics a bit, we are on a mission to photograph different sorts of sauna's along the way (related to swmbo's work) and the 'bouquet' (love it ) on this occasion was just for show. But in general, it plays an integral part of the sauna experience and it's used to whip your fellow bathers backs after throwing water to the stones. Improves the circulation of the treated area no end and cleanses the skin... Also brings a nice smell to the sauna but on the downside, the bouquet (or 'vasta') sheds most of it's leaves during the process and leaves quite a mess to clean up afterwards.

Edit: admittedly the weather can often be challenging and that also explains why sauna has such a special place in everything that has to do with being outdoors. Often when people built their holiday homes (cottage can nowadays be a misleading word as many are now built with all the mod cons one would have at home) they build the sauna first.

 

[AndieMac]

............Regarding the sauna pics: I must confess to staging the pics a bit, we are on a mission to photograph different sorts of sauna's along the way (related to swmbo's work) and the 'bouquet' (love it ) on this occasion was just for show. But in general, it plays an integral part of the sauna experience and it's used to whip your fellow bathers backs after throwing water to the stones. Improves the circulation of the treated area no end and cleanses the skin... Also brings a nice smell to the sauna but on the downside, the bouquet (or 'vasta') sheds most of it's leaves during the process and leaves quite a mess to clean up afterwards.

Edit: admittedly the weather can often be challenging and that also explains why sauna has such a special place in everything that has to do with being outdoors. Often when people built their holiday homes (cottage can nowadays be a misleading word as many are now built with all the mod cons one would have at home) they build the sauna first.

I may have mentioned previously, we had a young Finnish lady staying with us last year, MapisM's fishing companion , who explained how the sauna scene is very much part of the local family culture.
As you say, having to deal with a lot of cold weather, a nice warm sanctuary at the end of the day would be a nice option.

 

[AndieMac]

Nauvo looks like great shelter, so many islands though, are the larger populated ones interconnected by bridges or car ferries?

 

[scubaman]

I had missed the fact that you had a Finnish visitor. I guess it’s difficult to have a conversation with a Finn without touching the sauna subject at some point . For some reason we have a need to bring it up all the time…

Anyway, the first one of the links on my previous post pointed to a place called Helsingholm which is was a place you didn’t think existed anymore. A couple in their thirties (and their school aged son) live on this small island year round and as a part of their daily routines they host the fantastic little marina in a bay sheltered from the prevailing winds. The place is just as one would imagine a farm in the archipelago would be and it has the wonderful feeling of time being stopped somewhere in the sixties, or maybe twenties, who knows.

Mooring is paid at the world’s smallest marina office, as they call it, and if you are short of change, you can go and see if the till box has suitable change.

They have many varieties of smoked fish, home baked buns and bread, etc. for sale for a very reasonable price.

They of course also have a sauna which is again in a very nice spot. Water was also considerably warmer, around 16 degrees.

The place was just beautiful. In the evening the marina was full with around 40 boats packed in really tight.

It looks like I missed baylabayla on his way back east and probably passing from the other side of the island at some point.

 

[scubaman]

Nauvo looks like great shelter, so many islands though, are the larger populated ones interconnected by bridges or car ferries?

Yep, Nauvo for instance is connected to the neighboring islands and the mainland both by ferries and bridges. A very popular motorbike route called 'The archipelago ring road' passes through Nauvo and following it you can tour all the largest islands in the area.

 

[Hakuna Matata]

Hello ! Could not resist of sending a message regarding the photos of saunas ! We just visited Örö island for the first time a couple of weeks ago and I am pretty shure you should have a photo from that sauna added to your list ! So on your way back , pop in and have a check-out !
Wishing you a good trip ( we will start our longer journey later in the month ).

 

[AndieMac]

Yep, Nauvo for instance is connected to the neighboring islands and the mainland both by ferries and bridges. A very popular motorbike route called 'The archipelago ring road' passes through Nauvo and following it you can tour all the largest islands in the area.

Sounds even more interesting now that you have used the word motorbike

Another nice berthing location. The earthy-red coloured paint appears to be popular on quite a number of Finnish coastal and lake-side buildings. Perhaps like the green window shutters in Italy?

 

[baylabayla3288]

It looks like I missed baylabayla on his way back east and probably passing from the other side of the island at some point.

yes We passed Helsingholmen just when the fog started to clear that morning on the way to Hanko, where the famous regatta took place. We were lucky to get the last place in Hanko as the marina and the whole town was completely crowded.

We had Helsingholmen on the list but we did a last minute change of plan and stayed at Brännskär, which was new for us. It is similar to Helsingholmen with a small marina with good docks, cafe and a proper sauna off course.

here is more info
http://www.brannskar.fi/en/hem

and here is the location

https://goo.gl/maps/Bc6rtepcL762

 

[scubaman]

Sounds even more interesting now that you have used the word motorbike

Another nice berthing location. The earthy-red coloured paint appears to be popular on quite a number of Finnish coastal and lake-side buildings. Perhaps like the green window shutters in Italy?

If I'm not mistaken, the red colour came from a certain type of soil that was used to make paint. It has since been considered traditional and hence is still popular.

 

[scubaman]

yes We passed Helsingholmen just when the fog started to clear that morning on the way to Hanko, where the famous regatta took place. We were lucky to get the last place in Hanko as the marina and the whole town was completely crowded.

We had Helsingholmen on the list but we did a last minute change of plan and stayed at Brännskär, which was new for us. It is similar to Helsingholmen with a small marina with good docks, cafe and a proper sauna off course.

here is more info
http://www.brannskar.fi/en/hem

and here is the location

https://goo.gl/maps/Bc6rtepcL762

Yep, I checked AIS as we got into Helsingholmen and saw that you were in Brännskär not that far away.

Thank you for the links. The place looked lovely as we cruised past it on our way to Nauvo. Must try to visit it on our way back.

 

[AndieMac]

yes We passed Helsingholmen just when the fog started to clear that morning on the way to Hanko, where the famous regatta took place. We were lucky to get the last place in Hanko as the marina and the whole town was completely crowded.

We had Helsingholmen on the list but we did a last minute change of plan and stayed at Brännskär, which was new for us. It is similar to Helsingholmen with a small marina with good docks, cafe and a proper sauna off course.

here is more info
http://www.brannskar.fi/en/hem

and here is the location

https://goo.gl/maps/Bc6rtepcL762

Thanks for the links BB, there seems to be a far bit happening on the huge amount of small islands. I guess the location between Stockholm/Sweden and the Fin peninsula makes them strategically well placed.

Looking at the first link to Brannskar and seeing the 60 degrees of latitude location, in our country, we (our high latitude state) are considered hardcore boaters for doing our thing at 40 degrees latitude!

 

[baylabayla3288]

Thanks for the links BB, there seems to be a far bit happening on the huge amount of small islands. I guess the location between Stockholm/Sweden and the Fin peninsula makes them strategically well placed.

Looking at the first link to Brannskar and seeing the 60 degrees of latitude location, in our country, we (our high latitude state) are considered hardcore boaters for doing our thing at 40 degrees latitude!

60 degrees of latitude is extreme when comparing to other places on the same latitude (Siberia, Alaska, Greenland and not forgetting the southern hemisphere) but thanks to the Gulf Stream and during the summer months, this is far from extreme . No tide, very seldom any storms, daytime temperatures typically between 20-25C, enough light for moving around even in the middle of the night. But the contrast to January is huge. One must really appreciate the toughness of the people who lived on these islands from small scale fishing and farming.

 

[MapisM]

Looking at the first link to Brannskar and seeing the 60 degrees of latitude location, in our country, we (our high latitude state) are considered hardcore boaters for doing our thing at 40 degrees latitude!

Haha, just think about it: 40°N crosses Sardinia just about half way, and according to swmbo the northern part of the island (not to mention Corsica) would be too cool for her...

PS: that said, we did enjoy a lot our 60°N cruising experience (thanks again scubaman!), and in spite of the fact that we made it in September, the weather was not bad at all.
S even managed to jump into 12C or so lake water after a sauna, go figure! She still can't believe that, when she thinks about it....
I don't think I'd dare trying 60°S though. Well, maybe with that huge explorer ship which we saw in Hobart - just!

 

[scubaman]

Haha, just think about it: 40°N crosses Sardinia just about half way, and according to swmbo the northern part of the island (not to mention Corsica) would be too cool for her...

PS: that said, we did enjoy a lot our 60°N cruising experience (thanks again scubaman!), and in spite of the fact that we made it in September, the weather was not bad at all.
S even managed to jump into 12C or so lake water after a sauna, go figure! She still can't believe that, when she thinks about it....
I don't think I'd dare trying 60°S though. Well, maybe with that huge explorer ship which we saw in Hobart - just!

S was indeed very brave leading the way into the lake!

But as BB said the latitude can be somewhat misleading. Quickly comparing the forecasts between Southampton and Naantali (where we are now) shows almost identical temps. The weather so far has been a bit rubbish with plenty of wind, temps around 18 - 21 C and occational showers so pretty similar to central europe, I would imagine.

 

[AndieMac]

Haha, just think about it: 40°N crosses Sardinia just about half way, and according to swmbo the northern part of the island (not to mention Corsica) would be too cool for her...

PS: that said, we did enjoy a lot our 60°N cruising experience (thanks again scubaman!), and in spite of the fact that we made it in September, the weather was not bad at all.
S even managed to jump into 12C or so lake water after a sauna, go figure! She still can't believe that, when she thinks about it....
I don't think I'd dare trying 60°S though. Well, maybe with that huge explorer ship which we saw in Hobart - just!

As you already know, we don't get the same very high summer temps as Sardinia, 30 C is our max., more usually 25 C, the Southern Ocean is too much of an influence, which is fine by us anyway.

 

[scubaman]

An update on our travels. Since my last update, we continued to Turku which is a very pretty town in the summer. The river Aura runs through the city and all the life seems to be centered around it's banks.

One very warm night we were having a stroll and spotted these guys enjoying a cruise on the river.

Heated outdoor tubs are very popular here but this is the first time I've seen a floating one with an electric motor. The sight of them enjoying a cruise was surreal.

We spent a week in Turku and had many friends and various members of family visit us for a short cruise.

We then wanted to leave the urban life and head to the outer Archipelago. Utö was our destination -> https://www.google.fi/maps/place/Ut...c85058692e3f8a6!8m2!3d59.7793979!4d21.3779501

It's the southernmost inhabited island in Finland and indeed it is pretty far 'out there'. The weather favored us so we got to see the best side of the island and I must say it is pretty. I had a change to take out the drone for a shot video for you to see for yourselves.

 

[Nigelpickin]

Stunning!

 

[baylabayla3288]

Beautiful views, the marina seemed quite crowded. It is a very special island with a scool and a church. Btw wave hights in excess of 14 meters has been measured outside Utö. Southern storms pushes water on shallows of the beginning archipelago which gives spectacular waves.

Here is a live webcam of the harbour
http://www.uto.fi/webcam/

have a look at this place in january

 

[MapisM]

Stunning!

Positively +1.

Btw K, it must have been a bit challenging to park your boat in that spot, I guess...? :encouragement:

 

[AndieMac]

Thanks for the update SM, and nice drone work also. Looked like a great little harbour refuge, the google map link really highlights the amount of rocks and islands, which never ceases to amaze me.
What were the radars for, couldn't see an obvious airport runway in the footage?

Loved the floating hot tub