Cruising the Baltic from Stockholm to Helsinki
Section II: Mariehamn to Hangö

  Day 12 - Small island east of Hangö

On Tuesday the 29th of June, we sailed off from our sandy beach. A fresh breeze was blowing - against us of course! We put a reef in the main and beat our way south.

Martin and Åke sailing in Sunny-Side-Up

Ralph and Sten sailing Spree Lady
Photos above taken by sailor from the Isle of Wight, representing that island's Laser youth team competing at the Inter-island Games.

We passed Lemland, and then east, through the southern part of the Föglö archipelago, making landfall at Bergskär in the evening.

There were well marked, safe water pleasure boating routes between Mariehamn and Hangö, but we were able to sail
virtually anywhere, so could experience the peace and tranquillity of much more isolated places. - click here for larger image

It is possible to just see the top of the masts in the photo above. - click here for larger image

In these shallow, rocky waters, the Wayfarer shows its best side.  We sailed straight over the shallow areas, reading the water surface ahead, looking for any changes to indicate shallow water. If there were any tell-tale signs, we knew that it was so shallow that even we had to be careful. If not - we just glided over. When the one-metre draft of the centreboard did ground, or hit a rock, it just swung back. (Since the leading edge of the board is protected by a brass strip, this caused no damage). But nothing more serious happened, and we just sailed on, unaffected.

With so many islands to choose from, there was very seldom any difficulty in finding an almost
perfect overnight anchorage each day in the late afternoon. - click here for larger image

We made our way to Kökar, passing north of the island and then on to the Skärgårdshavet, this is a large area between Kökar and Hangö, where the islands are a little more sparsely situated. Here we found marvellous islands to camp on, with a free horizon out over the northern Baltic.

This photo, looking out towards the open Baltic, was taken primarily to capture the glorious rainbow (centre horizon),
but it had nearly disappeared before being snapped. - click here for larger image

The weather was still favourable and we had a day with a nice southwest wind for a change, suitable to set the spinnaker. It was a pleasure to fly the kite, as the Englishmen say, through this archipelago landscape, enjoying the wind, sun and sailing.

Both boats were set up with spinnakers for the trip, but it wasn't until Day 9 that we experienced a following wind in order to hoist them. Although Åke and Sten had promised the likelihood of favourable winds as we were planning for the trip, there were only two occasions during the whole trip when we were able to fly our 'kites'.

Page 12. A weather change was under way, however. On Friday the 3rd of July, the forecast was for rain, with a moderate to fresh wind from northeast. From 10 a.m. the wind increased and it started raining, so we took in a reef. One of the boats nearly capsized, and as the sailing became difficult, we decided to head toward some islands a couple of miles away for some protection.  We found the protection we needed, but it also happened to be a military area. We persuaded ourselves that it was an emergency situation and went ashore. Fortunately, the military seemed to be on holiday, as nobody came and told us to go. We were wet and cold, but after we had finished lunch, the hot tea made us feel a little warmer and soon our steam was up to be off again.

Martin and Åke looking at the varied and intricate patterns in the rocks,
a feature very prevalent along the part of the Finnish coastline we cruised.
 

The wind had dropped and the rain had finished, so we could take out the reef and continue our sail in much greater comfort. The late afternoon was quite calm and we used the engine to reach some islands where, after some searching, we found a good night's anchorage.

Åke wading out to catch Sunny-Side-Up as it ghosted into the landing spot in the light winds.

Sten demonstrating the 'Roman Way' conveniently situated to save getting the crew's feet wet!

Page 13. We were now 15 miles from Hangö. We felt that if we could get to Hangö, we would also be able to reach Helsinki. Hangö had become a breakpoint that was psychologically important for us to pass. Once we had reached the mainland of Finland, we would soon be in Helsinki - that was our wishful thinking. But our good sense told us that we still had 80 miles to go.

This was a typical view to wake up to in the morning. It was a positive delight each dawn to be able to open up the rear of the tent,
put the kettle on, and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of a picture postcard view, whilst drinking an early morning cup of tea.

On Saturday the 4th of July we sailed on a reach in moderate northerly winds to Hangö. Rain was in the air, and it was grey and dreary, but the sailing cheered us up. In a little over three hours, we had made the 15 miles in ideal sailing conditions for a Wayfarer.

Åke and Sten  sailing Spree Lady to Hangö. Sten proved to be a master at navigation. We carried  large scale, detailed charts
of each section of the cruise, though even with these, it was far from easy to navigate between the profusion of islands.

Åke and Sten sorting our supplies for the last section of our trip into Helsinki. The nearest supermarket
was some distance away, so the trolley, loaded high with provisions, proved extremely useful.

With a good north-westerly breeze, we set a course eastward and soon we found peace and quiet on a little island 10 miles from Hangö.

Whilst it was usually little problem to find a suitable anchorage for the boats - except where the spot was already being used for a holiday home - it was often less easy for Åke and Sten to find a suitably flat and sheltered spot to pitch their tent. - click here for larger image