Enjoyable night on anchor

[scubaman]

Sounds all good. A charter holiday there is now firmly on our list of things to check out. How long is your boating season?

We start in early May as soon as the ice melts and continue until October. For chartering I'd definitely recommend July or August. July, if you like some buzz and enjoy the best that Finnish summer has to offer as almost every Finn is on holiday then and all the activities are focused around July. There will still be enough places to enjoy in private without others being in the way. August, if you wish to max the solitude and still enjoy decent weather. So it depends on what you're looking for but July is by far the best time to visit, IMHO.

 

[oceanfroggie]

We start in early May as soon as the ice melts and continue until October. For chartering I'd definitely recommend July or August. July, if you like some buzz and enjoy the best that Finnish summer has to offer as almost every Finn is on holiday then and all the activities are focused around July. There will still be enough places to enjoy in private without others being in the way. August, if you wish to max the solitude and still enjoy decent weather. So it depends on what you're looking for but July is by far the best time to visit, IMHO.

Thanks. Are there any charter companies you would recommend which operate good specification boats?

 

[scubaman]

Thanks. Are there any charter companies you would recommend which operate good specification boats?

This is a new outfit with new boats -> http://www.saimaaboating.fi/fi/venemallit

There are others such as:

http://www.saimaanvuokravenho.fi/?clang=en
http://www.yachtcharter.fi/index_uk.html

but based on both their website and what I've seen, their boats are more modest.

Some charter their boats privately, for example Hardmy off this forum chartered a boat here on several summers. Worth a PM to find out where he found his.

I have no personal connection/experience with any of the operators, so unfortunately can't give better recommendations as to who are good and who are not. If your plan materializes, I'll be happy ask around for more alternatives/recommendations.

 

[AndieMac]

?......... The only minor thing is that the summer is maybe five months too short...

Perhaps it's all relative SM, if you are acclimatised to certain conditions such as cold weather, it doesn't take much of an increase to make you feel like going boating, particularly if you know your season is short.

I imagine you have possibly done as much, if not more days aboard than other lower latitude boaters. It's very easy to become complacent and put off a cruise thinking 'there will be other times later on', resulting in the boat hardly being used.

 

[scubaman]

Perhaps it's all relative SM, if you are acclimatised to certain conditions such as cold weather, it doesn't take much of an increase to make you feel like going boating, particularly if you know your season is short.

I imagine you have possibly done as much, if not more days aboard than other lower latitude boaters. It's very easy to become complacent and put off a cruise thinking 'there will be other times later on', resulting in the boat hardly being used.

There is a lot of truth in there. I don't remember ever putting off going to the boat because of the weather, it's just a matter of wearing the right gear. So far we've spent around 50 nights on the boat this summer and are hoping to do a lot more before the season ends. And having the boat in the shed for six months makes it all the more fun to be back on the water.

Still, hankering after the life in the sun sometimes gets the better of me