September south coast cruise (with pics)

[scubaman]

At the risk of boring everyone with an yet another pic post, I thought I'd do one from a recent trip we did on the south coast (of Finland that is).

A friend of mine has an older Fairline Squadron 59 which he keeps in Helsinki. There is a group of friends that have met every year for the past 21 years
and this time it was his turn to organize us a weekend getaway. The plan was to leave Helsinki on friday after work, head west and stay overnight on a
marina along the way. Then continue to Hanko on Saturday and make it back to Helsinki on Sunday evening.

End September is not the best time for a cruise as the weather can be anything. Amazingly we were blessed with an absolutely gorgeus weekend with temps
maxing at +22 C.

These guys are spending the off season right next to where we started our cruise http://goo.gl/maps/zdF44 .

We headed out of Helsinki asap to enjoy the nice weather.

We stayed the night in a very nice little marina called Jakob Ramsjö http://goo.gl/maps/nKtE4 which is very popular in the summer but this time we were the
only visitors (the sailboat belongs to the couple who owns the place). Unsurprisingly we had a sauna before a very nice evening meal in the beach hut. The
morning dawned equally beautiful.

I can imagine the buzz in a warm summer evening when the marina is full.

Anyway, after the breakfast we decided to take the inshore route west to enjoy the scenery the islands provide. To me this is more like what I'm used to so
would have been happy to take the offshore route but I was in a one man minority...

Some people still live permanently on the islands but as the older generation moves on to calmer waters, the places are converted or re-built to meet the
today's standards and are used as holiday homes.

A small shop and a fuel berth.

After emerging from the shelter of the islands we did see some open waters. There are quite a few small islands and skerries (and rocks) along the way.

The military has occupied the island of Jussarö http://goo.gl/maps/iQE5Y for decades, but it has recently become fully available for leasure use. The route

cuts through the island where there is a small but well sheltered marina.

 

[scubaman]

Around 5 pm we arrived at Hanko http://goo.gl/maps/yW6ay . It's one of the biggest marinas here and absolutely packed in the summer. They host a very
popular regatta for the sailors and a poker run -event which is when the mobos gather to have a party. Very quiet at the end of September though...

Some of the berths are on the island just across the marina so there is a small pontoon boat ferrying people across. We had a sauna booked on the island
for the evening.

Drinks at the boat before heading to town for a dinner.

Beautiful weather again on Sunday. Bit of maintenance before the very laid back, 10 hour pootle back to Helsinki. This time taking the off-shore route.

This was an interesting looking vessel. Not perhaps the prettiest but defo one of the more robust ones around. A one-off boat made for commuting between
mainland and the owners holiday home on the outer islands.

One of the ferries leaving for Stockholm.

Can anyone identify this?

People enjoying the summer evening.

The place where we all met and no, it's not a prison

 

[scubaman]

Back home.

We are planning to take our own boat to the coast next summer so it was a nice opportunity to have a preview of the places to visit.

Thanks.

For some reason I couldn't get the -links to work. Has anyone else had problems with them?

 

[MILLIE BOO TOO]

Very big or very small crew member ?

Nice pictures

 

[scubaman]

Would be great to have him help me with the stb side impeller...

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Great pics K as always, thanks for posting. Always fascinated by the Scandinavian boating reports, it's so different to anything I've ever done in UK or Med.

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[Pinnacle]

Fab pics (as always) K. At least you have now got another set of pics to look at during the next 6 months to remind you that the sun can be shining brightly in the blue sky!

 

[oceanfroggie]

Fabulous post Scubaman. Really super photos which were very interesting. Your cruising area is staggeringly beautiful, vast and diverse.

 

[lisilou]

Great pics! Crisp and clear....could almost be there. Don't much fancy a walk along that pontoon...the drink shot one! Is that how it really was or was it photo distortion?
L

 

[MapisM]

Fabulous post Scubaman. Really super photos which were very interesting. Your cruising area is staggeringly beautiful, vast and diverse.

OF said it all, I can only second all that.

Among other things, I'm particularly impressed by the after-sauna patio on the seaside.
Does also the sauna inside have windows on the sea?
Fantastic place anyway, I'd love to give it a try.

 

[KevB]

Wow! amazing cruising pics. Thanks

 

[volvopaul]

Would be great to have him help me with the stb side impeller...

I'd agree with that !!

 

[scubaman]

Great pics! Crisp and clear....could almost be there. Don't much fancy a walk along that pontoon...the drink shot one! Is that how it really was or was it photo distortion?
L

Lol, hadn't noticed that, must have been just the right amount of shots...

See two pics up, there is a walkway which causes it to look wonky in the out-of-focus part

 

[scubaman]

Among other things, I'm particularly impressed by the after-sauna patio on the seaside.
Does also the sauna inside have windows on the sea?
Fantastic place anyway, I'd love to give it a try.

Hi P,

Yep, the sauna has windows facing the sea. It was nice in this weather but would also be really exciting to sit in the warm and admire an autumn storm through the window.

Why not give it a go. Come over in July when you have the best change of good weather. Staying overnight eg. in here would be interesting -> http://www.bengtskar.fi/

If timing would work, we'll take you for a cruise around the archipelago on our boat.

 

[BartW]

don't be so humble K,
you know we all love your pics and your cruising ground,
very very nice report as usual,

do you jump in the sea after the sauna ?
water temp ?

 

[scubaman]

There is a ladder near to avoid the slippery sloping rocks. Water was around +16 C, iirc (can be around + 20 C in july). Some jumped in, I skipped this time, benefits of growing older and wiser

 

[MapisM]

Why not give it a go. Come over in July when you have the best change of good weather. Staying overnight eg. in here would be interesting -> http://www.bengtskar.fi/

If timing would work, we'll take you for a cruise around the archipelago on our boat.

Wow K, that's a very tempting offer indeed!
Many thanks also on behalf of S, we really appreciate.
Let's stay in touch in a few months, because Jul also down here is pretty much the peak of the season, and we often have friends coming to visit us during that timeframe.
That's the reason why I can't tell in advance if we'll be able to make it, but we will surely try.
Oh, and goes without saying that we would be more glad to reciprocate the hospitality, whenever you would fancy a taste of Sardinia!

 

[scubaman]

Wow K, that's a very tempting offer indeed!
Many thanks also on behalf of S, we really appreciate.
Let's stay in touch in a few months, because Jul also down here is pretty much the peak of the season, and we often have friends coming to visit us during that timeframe.
That's the reason why I can't tell in advance if we'll be able to make it, but we will surely try.
Oh, and goes without saying that we would be more glad to reciprocate the hospitality, whenever you would fancy a taste of Sardinia!

Ok, no worries, let's see if works out. And thank you for the invite, I will keep that in mind

And thank you everyone, I appreciate your kind comments

 

[MapisM]

Ok, no worries, let's see if works out. And thank you for the invite, I will keep that in mind

Thanks to you for your suggestion! Yep, agreed, let's keep that in mind for the time being.
Just FYI, knowing that you surely would appreciate a diving opportunity, you might be interested to come down here between mid of May and mid of Jun.
In fact, during that timeframe, there is the pretty unique chance to dive inside a "tonnara", which is the traditional way of fishing bluefin tunas, with a huge fixed net deployed during the seasonal passage of the beasts.
This gives the opportunity to see many (and by many, I mean HUNDREDS) of these impressively big fishes, in an almost completely wild situation, because even if they are "trapped" inside these very large nets, they can swim around freely - before the net is pulled up to catch them, that is.
BartW already experienced that, together with some of his diving mates, and btw it's not granted that this opportunity will still be there in the future (actually, I can't be 100% positive even for 2014), because this type of fishing is rather expensive, and it's becoming every year less economically justified, so they might well decide to stop it, rather sooneer than later.
But IF it will be possible (which is usually confirmed for sure around Mar/Apr), that alone is worth the trip.
There are other nice dives anyway, not to mention all the cruising grounds which you have seen in the pics and clips I posted...

 

[AndieMac]

"At the risk of boring everyone with yet another picture post"..............



Love your work SM. Looks an amazing place to visit!

Btw, going back to the delivery trip of your new boat, did you launch her at a port near Hanko, the name rings a bell when I looked at the google map image?