Boat delivery to the sea (with pics)

[scubaman]

As much as we have enjoyed boating in and around Lake Saimaa we felt that we wanted to try something new this year, so decided to head for the sea and spend the summer exploring the Finnish southern coast line. Two of my mates and myself took on the burden of delivering the boat to Helsinki, in very demanding conditions, to be ready for the family.

Our trip began from Puumala (https://goo.gl/maps/8c0dO) from where we headed to Lappeenranta (https://goo.gl/maps/jRGqE) on friday evening.

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Said mates making sure their bins work, checking for a buoy… or was it ladies on a nearby terrace, I’m not sure…

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After a good breakfast we headed towards Saimaa Canal, a 43 km waterway leading to the Baltic Sea with eight locks and a decent of 75 meters. Three of the locks are on the Finnish side with five more on the Russian side, the sea is reached at Vyborg, Russia.

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Entering the first lock at Mälkiä (https://goo.gl/maps/zT0Sl).

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The border is crossed on lake Nuijamaa with the Finnish border control on one side and the Russian on the other.

Filling the customs declaration and having the crew lists stamped.
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Crossing the border.
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In the first lock on the other side two ladies from the Russian border control checked our passports and crew lists and then wished on our way 10 mins later. Russian customs is just outside of the very last lock at Brusnichnoye where we parted with a further copy of the crew list and a copy of the boat registration certificate. All went very smoothly and we were again on our way a few minutes later.

A mile or so downstream there is Lavola resort with a fuel pontoon. Filled up to the brim at 0.80€/ltr.
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Shores around Vyborg (https://goo.gl/maps/1l9Dw) were full of people enjoying the beautiful day (around +28 C). There were also some nice looking villas lining the shores mixed with some older ones.
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The route then took us through Vysotsk, a working port with a coast guard station.
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[scubaman]

Finally open sea ahead of us.

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Ships on anchor waiting to enter the port.

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On the way we were contacted by the Russian coast guard over the VHF who wanted to know our position and heading probably to plot us on their radar.

The conditions were absolutely perfect.

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On approaching the Finnish side we requested passport control from the Finnish Coast Guard who then met us at Santio (https://goo.gl/maps/eUfq9). The ice hockey game between Finland and Czechs was about to begin so we moored up at the coast guard station to watch the game on telly.

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Wandered around a bit with the camera.
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We the decided to continue a bit further before the night fell so casted off around 9:30 pm and headed towards Kaunissaari (https://goo.gl/maps/3xN1N) for an over night stop. Conditions were still bearable.
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Kaunissaari is an old fishing village with a fairly new little marina for visitors. The marina entrance was tight, but the marina itself is well protected by a good breakwater.
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Found a spot for the night.
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[scubaman]

The village was nice with a small restaurant, shop and a fishing museum.
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On our way again with an another 4 hour drive ahead of us. Conditions didn’t let us down on Sunday either.
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Approaching Helsinki (https://goo.gl/maps/TmJ4D).
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Btw, the boat on the left was called Aquarius. It was there a week later too so made a good visit.

Our new home berth for a month before we begin our six week holiday. Plan is to explore the Archipelago Sea west of Helsinki and maybe visit Stockholm but no firm plans yet.
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A very nice trip in absolutely gorgeous weather. More pictorial spam to follow in the coming weeks…

 

[AndieMac]

Another stunning trip report SM, just fantastic!

Your mates were very brave helping you out during this very trying journey

Look forward to the next instalment.

That sunset shot is superb!

 

[Greg2]

What a great trip and some fantastic photos. Perfect motor boating weather too!

 

[Vitesse]

Thanks for the pics. An interesting voyage.

 

[Pinnacle]

K

You do indeed seem to have some very difficult and demanding conditions to deal with in your part of the world! Some fab pics and, as usual, a good story too. Keep the pics coming.......

P

 

[Harpsden]

As always a really interesting trip with fantastic photos.

Thanks for posting

 

[KevB]

Excellent Pictures. How come diesel is only 0.80€/ltr

 

[longjohnsilver]

Hope you're fully recovered from those arduous conditions! Great photos as always.

 

[scubaman]

Hello All,

Thank you, made a full recovery (of skin to the ear lobes ). Sadly the weather can only go downhill from there...

We refuelled on the Russian side, hence the low price. It would have been even lower had I used a credit card, but I was in cash mode so paid a slight premium for it...

 

[MrB]

Fantastic pics and write up. :encouragement:

 

[lanerboy]

fantastic report thanks for taking the time to show it to us

 

[kashurst]

Beautiful part of the world and such a flat sea!
how are the Russian customs to deal with?

 

[pks1702]

Great images and write up :encouragement:

 

[MapisM]

Hi K, stunning pics as usually. And a great report too, many thanks!
It's definitely not a matter of IF, but just of WHEN I will come to see those places for real.

 

[S1975]

Great pictures and update on an interesting voyage. Plse keep the updates coming on your Baltic shores cruise.

S1975

 

[alt]

Hey scuba if you need some help on the return journey you know where to find me

 

[scubaman]

how are the Russian customs to deal with?

They have always been very swift, if slightly less formal than what one has gotten accustomed to. Years ago when delivering our Sealine, the official was sitting beside the canal fishing with his mate. On approaching him he donned his hat, inspected our documents and stepped into the boat (more out of curiosity than anything else). While chatting with him it became obvious that grain derivates had been consumed... It was friday night after all. A very friendly gentleman.

Some years later, on another friday night, another official was again fishing using a net cast across the canal leading into the lock. After checking our documents and letting us pass, he casually resumed his fishing activities.

On this latest occasion the official didn't leave his hut but was equally swift.

My first time ten or so years ago was more exciting as I didn't know what to expect and stories of all sorts of happenings ran wild. Due to lot of hassle with the pilot we had to have then, we had to return to the Brusnitšnoje lock for the customs close to midnight in heavy rain. I didn't have a copy of a boat registration document which the official required so he escorted me to the lock keepers tower (operated by Finns) to borrow their copy machine. Unfortunately, the original registration doc was laminated so didn't go through the lock keepers copy machine. The official then said we should go to his hut and sort this out. On turning to leave, the Finnish lock keeper whispered to me "don't pay". "Pardon", I said. "Don't pay much", he repeated. Ahh, ok. The customs hut was/is a small wooden building on the side of a field, just where the thick forest begins. Walked up to the hut in pitch black an all wet but as it turned out, he had a copy machine in there. Copies taken, everything ok. I offered to pay for the copy but he refused.

To be fair, all my crossings have been very early into the season so the officials haven't had a great deal of boats to check. But all in all, never had any problems.

 

[scubaman]

Hey scuba if you need some help on the return journey you know where to find me

P, N and others, there is a thought. Maybe a forum mini-cruise for volunteers in August/September. Might not be easy to arrange due to timetables, etc. though...