Carra Tidings

We set off early from Seili, with a scrap of yankee (front sail) out we were screaming along across the open water. It was fairly breezy (F5) but at least it was behind us. The waves calmed down significantly as soon as we crossed the wide channel and had the protection of the land. We made our way up towards Turku, spotting a curious seal enroute, and with each open bay we saw the wind and waves increase until we were close to our destination.

We were due to stay with some friends Pia and Juhana at their cottage. They too are sailors and they keep their boat in a harbour close by. We have received several pictures of the entrance and a google maps imags the night before, which I had studied at length. But the closer we got – all we could see were reeds. Then suddenly you could see the top of a mast but there appeared to be no entrance, just a bank of reeds.

We arrived at the entrance which was marked by 4 white posts in pairs, each pair being about 6m apart and we started our approach. With a strong cross wind it wasn’t easy – and the narrow entrance was lined with reeds for about 100m. We could see Pia and Juhana standing on their boat indicating left and right as we came through the shallow bit – it was shallowing 2.3m 2.1m, 1.9m…. we draw 1.9m. They had said it was 2.3m so I assumed it was just weeds on the bottom and anyway stopping was not an option. Once in, we parked next to their boat Kuutti (Finnish for seal pup). This harbour was small but perfectly formed, it was about 20m x 20m, so we only had about 3m at each end to the bank. The close proximity of the trees and the sea protected by the reeds meant that despite the strong wind outside it was tranquil within. It was true Swallows and Amazons stuff – this was octopus lagoon, home to the Amazons!

It was a very special harbour and it has to rate in the top three of remarkable harbours I have a taken a boat into. Each of those harbour have a common theme – they are hidden, have very narrow entrances which afford them remarkable protection once inside. Every time there is a big sigh of relief and quite a buzz from just making it into the harbour. The first one was over 40 years ago. When I was 11 my father and I built a wooden mirror dinghy, which was as a result of my love of the Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons books which I had devoured as a child. I was enthralled by their adventures. As a result of this slight obsession, which included dragging my father to watch the film 5 times, my mirror dinghy being called Hirundo (Latin for Swallow), knitting a red bobble hat so I could be an Amazon (Nancy Blacket was a great female role model!) – the final piece was taking my mirror dinghy up to Lake Coniston to visit Wild Cat island (or Peel Island as it is called in real life). We had taken Hirundo into the harbour, which from afar it appeared as a minefield of rocks but only when you were close to the entrance did a path open up, the rocks parted and you could enter safely. Despite the wind whistling outside she was perfectly peaceful tucked up in her secret harbour. Quite magical. The other harbour was Utklippan, which is on an island 12 miles of the south coast of Sweden.

Pia and Juhana invited us for brunch knowing that we that we had had an early start and we sat in the sun catching up. We had a tour of their cottages – with the exception of the main house Pia and Juhana had built the other buildings, including their original cottage which is a sauna and guest bedroom and the terrace has a wonderful view down the sound. They also built Kuutti – she is the same size as Carra and it is remarkable that they built him (Kuutti is male) themselves when they had a young family – it took them 9000 hours. Quite an amazing achievement. At their harbour there was even a very smart composting loo for our use.

We cycled to see some of the island of Rymättylä, from the sea it appeared to be dense forests – but surprisingly the interior was made up of small arable fields. Our destination was to get some raspberries and strawberries. With the lack of rain and abundant sunshine they were small but oh so sweet! Yummy.

Once back at their summer cottage Juhana had smoked some fish and we ate our delicious lunch on the decking. We spent an hour relaxing, swinging in their hammocks before having a sauna and dip in the sea.

We returned to Carra gently bobbing about with Kuutti in their lagoon– just like 2 old friends catching up. Well I hope that is all they have been doing!

Pia and Juhana came for drinks and then we returned for a fabulous sea food paella before collapsing into bed.

I awoke to heavy rain but by the time we went for brunch it had stopped and the sun had come out. It was very thoughtful of Pia, she made us bacon and eggs. A real treat – as bacon is not easy to find in Finland. We walked around their island before returning to Carra.

It was time to leave…. Well this would be interesting. We tied Carra’s stern to a tree using one of their lines and pivoted on that point. As there was absolutely no room to go forward. It worked, so we threw back their line and soon we were gingerly heading out to sea following their leading lines past all the reeds. What a great weekend, we had been truly spoilt!

We left Oro following an intricate set of leading lines – most of these weren’t on the charts, which was not surprising given its military history. In Finland, leading lines are a science, in most places you are never more than 5 mins from seeing one (I am not exaggerating). Many times you can see more than one – and their colours contrast brilliantly against the dark green of the forests. With so many rocks and skerries there is always a convenient one to place the front leading marker. It is said that Finland has 50% of the world’s navigation marks, Sweden 40% and 10% for the rest of the world. Seems about right.

Having been on small islands since Kardla – we needed a food shop so we popped into Rosala to get some essentials from the little shop there. Also it would allow the wind to move round to a westerly enabling us to sail. We anchored in Helsingholm – a sheltered bay with the requisite wooden red houses and wooden staging for boats.

With only 18nm to go the next day it was a relaxed start and our sail was set within 10 mins of leaving. As we left the outer archipelago and the density of forested islands increased as did the number of boats. With schools starting after the weekend there was a steady stream of yachts returning to Turku. I think we will be on our own next week!

For the last few months we have not seen land that is greater than about 5m above sea level. So this part of the archipelago with high rocky islands made a pleasant contrast and in the sunlight the colours of the granite looked magnificent. Lots of islands here are called Hogholmen (high coast).

Coming towards us was a yacht and I suddenly realised I recognised it – it was S/Y Duo and Saku (minus Merja) – we had been on the rally earlier in the season with them and with whom we had spent a lovely day in Helsinki. We waved frantically but Duo and Saku were soon passed in a flash.

We sailed all the way to Seili and anchored in the shallow bay – off a sweet little church. A perfect spot, sheltered from the strong southerlies that we were expecting for the next few days. We were surrounded by wide beds of reeds on 3 sides and bobbing between them were a few grebes with their adolescents chicks.

We have reached a milestone – we have been sailing for 100 days. I must admit it doesn’t feel like 100 days – we have a rhythm and pace and the days just pass, the only reason we know what day it is: my strip on my HRT tells me what day it is. Though I know it is time to come home soon as Mags is down to her last puzzle book!

We watched boats come and go from the little pier – the windy weather meant no one stayed very long – but with our anchor well dug in and sheltered from the wind, we had a relaxing day. When we had been in Espoo, I had been to my favourite wood whittling place and made several things including a shelf for a cupboard out of an oak floor board. Although I had never got round to putting it up – so a day at anchor with no distractions was perfect.

The next day we rowed ashore to explore the island. The island is very well maintained and since 1964 has belonged to Turku University as a research station. The building are well cared for and lots of red wooden houses surround a large stone yellow main building with a central courtyard. We wandered down to the other harbour past the wood fired sauna.

Everywhere we go there are information boards in Finnish, Swedish and English. The first signs of life here dates back to 500 BC. But it was in 1619 that Seili became a leper hospital, the chapel where we are anchored opposite dates back from 1733. The bell tower is quite unique.

From 1840 – 1962 the island was repurposed and became a mental hospital for the chronically ill female patients. They have preserved a cell in the main yellow building – it is tiny and the straight jacket on the bed is quite chilling. The “hospital” seemed more about isolation than it did treatment. It was quite shocking and thought provoking.

By now the really strong weather had come in and with gusts expected of 40 knots we were glad to be back on the boat. We could see the trees on shore being buffeted in the gale, the boats on the jetty shuffled their positions to try and escape the cross wind. But we hardly moved – how much less stressful it is being at anchor.

We left early with a couple of other boats who were crossing back to Finland. We have enjoyed the 3 weeks we have spent cruising Estonia and everywhere you feel the sense of pride in this young nation – which earlier this year celebrated 100 years since their first declaration of independence in Parnu. The regaining of independence some 30 years ago has seen this country grow as an entrepreneurial beacon – it is still developing but you feel it is on the pathway to success. Though they are always have the constant threat of their sabre rattling neighbours to contend with.

Despite it being a hot sunny day the visibility was barely 2.5nm, and with little wind we were motoring. Using all our electronic wizardry, we crossed the shipping lanes without any dramas. Just after lunch the wind filled in and we had a cracking wind and with all 3 sails setting, we soon found ourselves back amongst the rocks and skerries of the Turku Archipelago. It is strange how different the geology is in Finland compared to Estonia – yet at their closest they are only 45nm apart. Estonia with it’s sandy beaches and round boulders and Finland with granite islands and skerries everywhere. As we sailed past some of the bigger islands we were able to summer cottage spot. But having just been to Latvia and Estonia we were aware of how affluent most of the summer cottages appeared.

We anchored in Rosala – Notholm. There was space at the little harbour but it was good to anchor again and enjoy the peace and tranquillity. Not to mention it is better for our cruising budget. In the evening the wind died, the water being glassy still and the reflections were all around. Quite beautiful in the late evening sun.

Our next destination was the charming harbour of Brännskär, run by a young couple – who had turned this small harbour, well one pontoon to be exact, into a little gem. Arriving just after lunch we picked up a stern buoy and watched the harbour gradually fill up. Just when you thought it was full, the boats would create a space by just forcing their bow into a gap and squeezed fenders would pop out. This reminded us another reason why we like anchoring as you don’t have to be squeezed in closely to your neighbours.

There was a café selling lots of yummy things and we came away with some pulla ( Finnish cinnamon cakes) and knackerbrod (cracker bread) all baked on site. Most harbours in Finland you get a sticker or ribbon to display to show you have paid.  We stick them on a board – which has also been called our logbook by some friends. Here you got a small block of wood with Brannskar beautifully written on it. By the evening there was a fire pit alight and several Finns went off to the 2 saunas. Given that it was still +30C we didn’t feel the need.

We left before most people had surfaced and within 10 mins were sailing. We picked our way through the rocks – which would be quite impossible without a chart plotter – sailing with just the Yankee up as we were dead down wind. We dropped our anchor just after lunch and had a lazy afternoon enjoying the peace and quiet of Benskar.

All week we had seen towering clouds build – some forming in the shape of an anvil (Cum Nimb) – you can get lightening with these clouds – but they had come to nothing. But today we were expecting lightening in the afternoon. We had picked Benskar as it was close to our next harbour of Örö as we wanted to make sure we were in before the thunder storms.

It is never good being in a thunderstorm with a big metal mast sticking up. At least in a harbour you can play Russian roulette with the other masts if the lightening hits the harbour. Also as this harbour has a particular tall radio mast we would be safer. We motored through a delightful part of the archipelago with lots of small islands each with a summer cottages and a perfect little harbours. But the sky got darker and darker to the point of being very dark steel grey – which provided a lovely contrast to the green of the pine trees and the red rock. Just out of the harbour the lightening forks started – very visible against the grey. The sky was incredible – as if someone was stirring the clouds with a big stick. The air was being sucked up into the centre of the storm – creating the most incredible cloud formations – which were clearly laden with rain. We tied up just as the heavens opened and the downblast and rain were impressive. Lightening and thunder indicated we were close to the centre . So we retreated down below.

We had noticed a boat that was decked out with flags and white flowers on the guard rail it looked beautiful – clearly a bride and groom we soon to tie the knot. You had to feel sorry for them – we have had weeks of sun and this was the first rain we had seen. Thankfully the rain stopped when the bride emerged from the boat – a few hours later the boat had a sign “Just Married”.

We had planned to meet some friends in Oro and at one point the thunder looked like it might prevent them from coming. But the storm passed and Pia, Anni and Jukka battled their way through the rain and arrived in the bay in their speed boat – they cruise at around 27-28 knots – as opposed to our 5-7 knots! Anni had made us a little boat complete with Union Jack and named Carra. It was lovely to catch up with them as we hadn’t seen them for 4 years since we stayed on their island: Horsholm. Sadly we were too big to moor near their island.

We had lunch and the sky looked like there were signs of blue – we decided to go for a walk but – the rain started again – so we retreated with pulla ( cakes), ice-cream and tea and coffee.

The ferry moored overnight just behind us and we realised that we would not be able to get out until after it had moved at 0930. Not a problem until we need to leave but to give us flexibility so we could leave earlier we decided to move to the only free space. It was the first move of the day.

The fortified island of Örö has only been open to the public for 3 years, because for the last 200 years it has been part the military defences of this area. First by the Swedes and the British, then Tsarist Russia and more recently the Finns.

The Russians used it as part of the Peter the Great defences of St Petersburg. Scattered throughout the island there are lots of old defensive installations, as well as wooden red huts that were part of the garrison. The island has a backbone of cobbled roads – thankfully you could cycle to the side. We cycled the length of the island, it is covered with small stubby pine trees and areas of open heath land with heather in full bloom. On the west coast unusually there was a sandy beach with sea kale growing abundantly.

We returned to the harbour to find we were the only boat left on our pontoon. The hammer head wasn’t the best location for the windy weather we were expecting. So we decided to move – the second of the day. Just as we did a motor boat – well it was more of a ship / size of an apartment block arrived. They went on the hammer head that we had just vacated and would provide a sizeable wind break. We moored up on the deserted pontoon and had just finished putting our storm warps out to be told by the harbour staff that where we had move as it was reserved – despite the harbour being empty. So we moved again – the forth of the day. OK the music has stopped, can we stay here please.

A day of windy weather allowed Mags to see if she could reset the rev counter – which hadn’t worked since early June. We now had all the codes/ settings to attempt this. However, it failed to resuscitate the patient.  In discussion with the engine manufacturer who got her to try another test using our new posh multimeter (after our cheap Chinese one had been rubbished by our friendly mechanic back in Sweden) – he is 99% certain the rev counter needs replacing. We can live without it temporarily but annoying.