Pics from our summer cruise

[scubaman]

TBH, it would be harder to plan a route without saunas than with them

A few quick pics from Tammisaari as it's a quite pretty little town. It too has a very well preserved old quarters with wooden houses right next to each other and tiny streets between them. Hope they are all careful with candles...

Town square is a mixture of nice old buildings and ugly 60's ones. Some in better shape than others.

High street is nice too, but as in Porvoo, there are interior decoration shops everywhere you look. All seem to sell the same stuff too...

Marina is cosy and well protected with a couple of restaurants and a good kids playground.

There is a nice restaurant on the pier.

And a beach stones throw from the marina.

Yesterday was nice and there was such a buzz everywhere. Today has been wet and windy and there is hardly a soul around.

Off to Hanko next...

 

[rbcoomer]

Pretty town indeed - love the fantastic reflection of the restaurant. :encouragement:

 

[scubaman]

A fresh set of pics from the last few days. After leaving Tammisaari behind we headed to Hanko ( https://goo.gl/maps/1mmdF ), the southernmost part of the mainland Finland poking just below the 60th latitude. It’s also a sort of divider between the eastern Finnish gulf and the western Archipelago Sea and has thus become a boating hub in the area. The marina is one of the most modern ones and the facilities are very good. Interestingly the main marina is on an island just across the Hanko waterfront and there is a small pontoon boat ferrying people across.

Hanko Regatta was due to start the following weekend so we continued further west to get out of the way. We had a F6 head wind which slowed us down for the first part but the skerries soon provided enough shelter for us to press on at 20+ knots.

Our next stop was at Kasnäs, another popular marina, but the place felt a camping site so we only stayed for one night and decided to try the adjacent Högsåra ( https://goo.gl/maps/dp9QR ). Wind had picked up from the previous day and although the we were on the sheltered side of the island, the strong gusts on the beam made picking the last free buoy and backing into the tight mooring a bit of a pain. I’m afraid the sailors got something to sneer at but no contact was made and no one was hurt so all ended well…

Högsåra turned out to be a wonderfully peaceful rural little village whose main attraction is ‘Farmor’s cafe’ that makes cake’s to die for. Nice.

Breakfast on the dock.

The winds eased for our next leg north west towards Turku. The archipelago sea really is quite pretty with literally thousands of islands and skerries so we decided to find an anchorage for lunch and a spot of watersports. The latter involved deploying our dinghy with a 4hp four stroke as a tow boat and the newly acquired donut as a water toy. For the record, the dinghy just managed to get on the plane with only myself on it and one kid on the donut. Speed wasn’t great but the kids loved it.

 

[scubaman]

Anyway, moving on, we ended up anchoring off an island called Seili ( https://goo.gl/maps/R0fNd ) for the night.

Today, the island is home to a Archipelago Sea Research Institute operating under Turku University but the place has a dark history which dates back to 1620’s when a leper hospital was established. Lepers were sent to live on the remote island where the hospital was self sufficient with agriculture and fishing.

Hospital’s main building.

The church built in 1733 became the place were both holy water and holy word, only known cures to leper, were administered. The lepers had their own section. The place reminded me of the ‘Exorcist’.

A wooden cross to commemorate the 763 lepers who died on the island.

There was a third cure for the decease: booze. They were allowed to prepare it for themselves, but unsurprisingly large quantities were produced and the surplus was sold to the passing sailors. All sorts of problems were reported but after leper disappeared, things calmed down as the island became a mental hospital for almost 200 years. Experimental psychiatry was exercised and while the patients’ well being probably was the ultimate target, the means to achieve it were sometimes quite brutal. Quality of diagnoses improved markedly when they got their first resident doctor only in the 1920’s. Until that time all sorts of reasons (health, political, religious) could result in a person getting a one way ticket to Seili. Finally in 1962 the hospital was closed and the buildings were sold to the University of Turku.

The buildings are still in use by the above mentioned instute.

We then left this peaceful but slightly disturbing place behind and headed to Naantali (https://goo.gl/maps/pAxY9 ) where we are now. The Intention is to visit Moomin land tomorrow.

 

[volvopaul]

Kivi, thankyou for these fabulous pictures showing us all over in the uk what were missing, you have such a fantastic cruising ground and I bet there is nothing much commercial about it at all. No silly marina rip off prices, scruffy showers and dirty toilets, boats bashing into you without a care in the world and rude arrogant marina staff.
Recently a buyer from Finland contacted me about a pre purchase sea trial, it was really good to meet him, I had a morning with him discussing his cruising ground, he wanted a bigger boat, he bought a 10.80 from here , he said he has a small island with power and a 25 mile commute from the mainland so a bigger boat was his need. It all sounds great, he also asked about me coming over to service it next year, and looking at these pics I'd be silly not to, then tag a week holiday on after. Keep the pics coming there a great interest to me, btw the phantom sure is a pretty boat.

 

[AndieMac]

This is developing into a really interesting thread SM, thanks for keeping it updated and sharing your excellent holiday. Loving the real life photos you are capturing around the marinas and villages.

There must be a real art to negotiating all those skerries and islands.

 

[Erik C]

Great thread, please continue.

 

[Gemini]

Kivi
Excellent photos looks like the family are enjoying themselves , keep the post running please, looks fantastic ,

Regards

 

[EAZ 2012]

Lovely photos!

 

[MapisM]

Great pics and report as always, K.
There must be another good photographer in your family, I reckon.
The framing and the DOF usage in the pic of yourself with the kids is beautiful.

 

[scubaman]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for the kind comments, makes the effort feel worth while

@ Paul: the marina prices are reasonable, we are typically paying 20 - 25 € per night including electricity, water and usually sauna. But you're right, having a marina is not business but PR for the places. Btw, do you have any idea when you might be coming to Finland?

@ Mapis: thank you, I'll convey your compliment to my wife

@ AndieMac: There are quite a few rocks everywhere, have a look at this zoomed out screenshot from Navionics

Good thing is that the fairways are well marked and the waters outside fairways are also well charted. But there are countless wrecks lying everywhere. I really don't envy the sailors of yesteryear who didn't have plotters or gps to rely on...

 

[powerskipper]

Thank You What a fantastic cruising ground. keep pics and story's coming , its great to see.

 

[David_J]

Hi
Some years ago when I worked for a Finnish company about twenty of us had a training course in Naantali. In the Summer time with long long days. We spent the weekend before the training on two rented yachts out of Turku cruising the archipelago. Didn't sleep on board though. They organised communal cabins on one of the islands for the overnight stops. Weather was great with flat seas but enough wind to get around. Each yacht had a professional skipper but one of them never stopped drinking the whole weekend! Mooching around that fantastic area was just one of the greatest experiences in boating. You are very lucky to have access to it. Finland is a great country.

 

[AndieMac]

Such a fascinating sounding country SM, lakes, skerries/islands and saunas, but not sure which are in the largest numbers...."marina costs include power, water and usually a sauna" ......love it!

 

[AndieMac]

..............@ AndieMac: There are quite a few rocks everywhere, have a look at this zoomed out screenshot from Navionics

Do you think anybody has ever got the feeling, as in a really difficult maze arrangement, they might be lost forever if their GPS failed?

 

[oceanfroggie]

What an amazing thread

Great post, superb photos and fab read.

Looking forward to more. Scubaman you probably have the best cruising ground I've ever seen on this forum.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for the kind comments, makes the effort feel worth while

@ Paul: the marina prices are reasonable, we are typically paying 20 - 25 € per night including electricity, water and usually sauna. But you're right, having a marina is not business but PR for the places. Btw, do you have any idea when you might be coming to Finland?

@ Mapis: thank you, I'll convey your compliment to my wife

@ AndieMac: There are quite a few rocks everywhere, have a look at this zoomed out screenshot from Navionics

Good thing is that the fairways are well marked and the waters outside fairways are also well charted. But there are countless wrecks lying everywhere. I really don't envy the sailors of yesteryear who didn't have plotters or gps to rely on...

Puts our simple coastline into perspective! Are there many instances of boats hitting rocks?

Another great series of pics and reports, those cakes had me salivating!

 

[RogerRat]

What an amazing thread

Great post, superb photos and fab read.

Looking forward to more. Scubaman you probably have the best cruising ground I've ever seen on this forum.

So true, this thread has it all. Educational, well deserved PR Finland. Fantastic photographic support with stunning views everywhere.

I'm ashamed that I didn't realize how many islands and inlets there were up there. So many of us tend to dismiss the northern latitudes as the weather when bad, is extreme and the season shorter. We find it cold enough in the UK and look to the Med' with envy.

Not so much after reading this thread. As with many replies, thank you SM for taking the time to share this trip and holiday with us all.:encouragement:


BTW. I loved all the pictures but there something about this one...

 

[AndieMac]

So true, this thread has it all. Educational, well deserved PR Finland. Fantastic photographic support with stunning views everywhere.

Yes, he just gets it right every time.

 

[scubaman]

We’ve been having a bit of a city break for the past week or so.

First a few days in Naantali ( https://goo.gl/maps/06lhf ) where we met friends and made the eagerly awaited visit to Moomin land.

Naantali is a pretty little town with a very busy waterfront, plenty of restaurants and yet more interior decoration shops.

My wife found new scatter cushions for us…

We were very lucky to get one of the best spots at the end of the pontoon with views to both the waterfront and the open waters.

Nice sunset.

Leaving Naantali behind we headed to Turku ( https://goo.gl/maps/6RPv3 ) which is the oldest city in Finland, home of the first university and the capital of the Finnish side of Sweden back in the old days. Later during the Russian period the capital was moved to Helsinki. Some say that civilisation left Turku at the same time but that’s mostly the people in Helsinki. Anyway, the history has left it’s mark into the city and there are many nice historical sites to visit.

Our route into the city took us around Ruissalo and up a narrow waterway leading to the mouth of river Aura. There were many very nice old villas lining the shores.

Entering the heart of the city to see if we can land ourselves a berth.

There are pile moorings on the west side of the river and with a bit of queuing we managed to find ourselves a nice berth just outside the harbour managers office.

The navy was is town for their annual celebration. It was open doors for the public but sadly I missed this opportunity to have a look inside their newer craft.

The weather was absolutely fantastic with temps as high as 31 C and nice gentle winds. People were making the most of the warmth and the river was busy with all kinds of craft.

There is a small cable ferry (called ‘Föri’) taking pedestrians and cyclist across just upriver from our berth.

Even the evenings were nice and balmy.

Of all the 'nice in the summer' -cities in Finland I think Turku shares the first place with Savonlinna. The river at the heart of the city is home to all kinds of activities and the maritime history of the place is present everywhere. To top it off, the archipelago sea just around the corner makes it a very special place.