Cruising in the Lake Saimaa

[scubaman]

Cruising on the Lake Saimaa (gopro video)

Hi,

I’ve been closely following Hurricanes excellent Sardinia -thread and felt inspired, again in the interest of maintaining geographical balance on the cruise reports, to post this admittedly rather hastily compiled gopro-vid from last week.

Some may remember that last year we spent our summer holiday exploring the Finnish south coast and the Archipelago Sea. This year, however, we decided to stay closer to home and spend the summer on the Lake Saimaa.

So far we’ve spent close to three weeks on board and despite having spent 15 years here on our own boat, and many more years before that on my parent’s boat, we’ve managed to find many new places we haven’t visited before.

This vid was shot while cruising towards Lappeenranta, starting from around here https://www.google.fi/maps/place/Ri...2!3m1!1s0x4690712f440b19b3:0x9c2be8009128d58e



I’m under no illusion as to the attractiveness of these latitudes compared to those in the med, so this is not by any means an attempt to compete with Hurricanes epic thread. However, if I manage to capture nice pics along the way, I’m going to amend this thread, so feel free to check back if you’re getting bored with pics of constant sunshine and crystal clear seas.



Thanks!

 

[kashurst]

Thanks for posting - absolutely beautiful part of the world, not sure how to do it yet, but I would love to explore lake Saimaa. Not really fair to compare Sardinia with Finland as they are so different, best of both worlds would be to cruise both. ( and quite a few others too before I start a row)

edit; I thought the lake Alt is on in Ireland was pretty big but I just googled lake Saimaa, absolutely incredible.

 

[AndieMac]

Seems everything you produce on video or photography is great work SM, nice tune as well!

Your contributions over the years have certainly made your own country a desirable destination for a number of forum members, and a pleasure to view.

Hurricanes Sardinia thread will no doubt be the big one for this season, especially with so many forum members who have either been already or about to go out to join in.

Anyway you'll be there yourself soon enough

 

[scubaman]

Thank you for your kind words, gents. A charter in here is easy to arrange, there are a couple of charter companies with some decent boats, and there are plenty of places to explore. As it is often, finding the time is the challenge and especially prioritising the colder climate over guaranteed sunshine. But I dare say that those who decide to come, will experience something new.

That said, I can't wait for the forthcoming visit to the beautiful Sardinia .

p.s. should you ever find the time to visit the area, let me know if I can be of any assistance in arranging whatever needs arranging.

 

[MapisM]

Re: Cruising on the Lake Saimaa (gopro video)

So far we’ve spent close to three weeks on board and despite having spent 15 years here on our own boat, and many more years before that on my parent’s boat, we’ve managed to find many new places we haven’t visited before.

LOL, why am I NOT surprised to hear that?!
The world is indeed an amazing place, one life is not enough to see all of those beautiful cruising grounds of yours, let alone all the rest...!
And a brilliant video indeed - also unsurprisingly, I must say.
Thanks for sharing it with us!

 

[rwoofer]

Looked up Lake Saimaa and the most impressive facts and presumably why it is so interesting to cruise and find new places is that there is 9300 miles of shoreline and 14000 islands!

 

[AndieMac]

Looked up Lake Saimaa and the most impressive facts and presumably why it is so interesting to cruise and find new places is that there is 9300 miles of shoreline and 14000 islands!

...and that's just inside that lake, the coastal regions appear to have an incredible amount of islands as well.

 

[AndieMac]

Re: Cruising on the Lake Saimaa (gopro video)

LOL, why am I NOT surprised to hear that?!
The world is indeed an amazing place, one life is not enough to see all of those beautiful cruising grounds of yours, let alone all the rest........

Well I know at least one couple who are doing their best to experience as much of the world as they can cram into one lifetime...

 

[MapisM]

Hehe, actually if I would think of the couples that I'm aware you met, I should think that you are talking of the Flanders.
Myself and S are amateurs in comparison....

 

[AndieMac]

Hehe, actually if I would think of the couples that I'm aware you met, I should think that you are talking of the Flanders.
Myself and S are amateurs in comparison....

A similar modus operandi though, besides the lengthy sea passages.
Going into countries for long periods of time, mostly non-touristy, exploring and experiencing the essence of the different communities, at a community level.
Something you will never get from tour-group packages in big chain motels.

 

[scubaman]

Here are a couple further pics I’d like to share with you from our cruise so far. Pics are in no particular order. We spent the midsummer evening at our friends summer cottage. Evening was rainy but towards the evening the clouds started to lift.

Some days later in Anttola we encountered a historic car event.

I particularly liked the attire of this couple.

Nice Chris Craft as well

There were some really nicely restored old mercs (including a 60’s SL, a W113 I think), which I unfortunately didn’t get on film.

We also stayed over night on a very sheltered anchorage and enjoyed the hottest day so far (+30 C) with wind around F6, gusting F7. Things calmed down towards the evening. In general, the weather has been rubbish so far.

Enjoying the moon.

The anchorage was full and this latecomer turned away.

Btw, I was really close to hit a submerged rock on entering the anchorage. The water level is unusually high and a small fender that had been placed to mark the rock was well under water. Only the frantic arm waving and yelling by the boaters already in the bay stopped me from hitting it. It was on the Navionics chart but so close to the anchorage marker that had I missed it.

Fast forward to Puumala, where we are now. I remember from my childhood the last signs of the colden age of timber rafting. The old men who had spent every summer of their working years in tug boats and who gathered in the jetties to tell stories of their experiences, the barges that were used to transport logs and the seemingly endless rafts that we encountered on our cruises. My mother used to own an old tug boat, which we used for cruising in these waters when I was a kid. A woman owning a tug boat was sometimes frowned upon by the old guard.

Anyway, Puumala was very much in the centre of these activities throughout the decades of timber rafting and it was nice to see these old, nicely restored tug boats, bringing back the air of the era gone by.

Tomorrow there will be totally different vibe, however, as the place will be a stage for a speed boat gathering. Plan to have my camera ready.

 

[rafiki_]

Great pics, many thanks, especially the moody ones at the start of your post. I guess not too many hours of darkness at this time of year?

 

[MapisM]

Yep, some beautiful images indeed!
K, just curious: did you use any fill light, for the flowers with the moon in background?
I don't see any flash reflections on the glass and steel rails...

 

[scubaman]

@Rafiki: Yep, it's pretty light throughout the night. In fact, I think the pic with the moonlight was taken pretty close to midnight. We only need to turn on the lights in the cockpit for reading after 11 pm.

@P, very well spotted. I didn't use fill flash on this instance. I normally probably would have, but had misplaced the flashgun so was only making use of the light sky behind the camera.

 

[AndieMac]

Lucky escape with the submerged rock!

Your Mum owned a tug-boat....what hope did you have to not become a boaty

 

[scubaman]

With our six week boat cruise behind us, it’s time to look back with a couple of pics. The weather wasn’t catastrophic but certainly wasn’t great either. Not raining constantly but a steady +16/17 C and often windy. Apparently it was even worse in 1962. Years are not brothers, as last summer was one of the warmest on record… Due partly to conditions, partly to the fact that we stayed on familiar waters, I was lazy with the camera.

Anyway, here are a few pics from our cruise.

On my previous update I mentioned the speed boat rally that was taking place in Puumala. It wasn’t a competition but a friendly 40-mile ride from Lappeenranta to Puumala and back. No one want’s to be the last to arrive of course…

Rescue services were on the scene just in case. Had it been a race, which it wasn’t of course, the finish line would have been under the bridge.

The event attracted a lot in interest

Boats started arriving

These guys had done a pretty good job of not carrying any extra fuel on board. They made it under the bridge but had to paddle to the the jetty.

Showing off.

The boats took a break before the return journey and the spectators had a change to see the boats up close and chat with the crews.

These babies belong to a nice fountain that rafted up to us for a couple of hours. I took a short vid of them leaving, the engines sound really nice. I’ll try to find the clip.

After a couple of hours resting and queueing up for refuelling, they regrouped for another pass under the bridge. Amazing no one was hurt as there were boats going in all directions…

 

[scubaman]

Our holiday cruise ended in Savonlinna at the end of July. In the spring it always amazes me how quickly the days (and nights) become lighter and lighter. Alas, the opposite happens amazingly fast as well. At the end of July, the nights are already getting darker.

Weather-wise we were offered some consolation last weekend, when we went out for a cruise to Tynkkylänniemi. One of our favourite spots from where I've posted pics before, located at the very eastern parts of the Lake Saimaa only ten or so kilometres from the Russian border. There is a small marina and a sauna right on the waters edge. We spent the whole weekend gathering berries from the forest, being in and out of sauna and just generally taking it easy. Amazingly we were the only boat there.

I couldn’t resist taking some ‘kitsch’ sunset photos as the evenings were very nice .

 

[MapisM]

"Lazy with the camera"?!? You must be joking, K.
Many thanks for some truly stunning pics of a stunning environment!
Among others, that spot in Tynkkylänniemi is particularly magic - though without cut & paste I'm not sure I could have typed that...
It's a pity that we missed it when we've been there, but I suppose it's pretty far from Lappeenranta?

And also the speedboat event must have been something!
Yes please, post that video if you can, I for one love the sound of a triple naturally aspirated big block setup.
By chance, was the boat that F47 which was moored in Helsinki last year?
I guess there aren't many triple engine Fountains around, in Finland...

 

[Pinnacle]

Really FAB pics and vids K..........please keep em coming. :encouragement:

We too cant wait for Sardinia......we only have about 3 weeks to wait!

 

[Hardmy]

Thanks K! It's always a great pleasure following your adventures in this marvelous Saimaa region! I love also your berries gathering & co stories, because you combine activities I am used to do in the alps WITH boating in one!

Because of the heat and especially overcrowded waters in the Med, I keep my boat on the dry in July/August. Would be paradise if I could move her back and forth between the Med and Saimaa...