After arriving to Turku we got a little nervous about the incoming storm. People in the harbour told us that it should be the worst storm in 15 years in this region, ropes were doubled and many boat owners came to check that everything is in good order. We decided that the best way to prepare for the storm is having a Linien Aquavit together with Neptun. And sure enough the forecasted windspeeds were lowered to a maximum of 40 knots. Not too bad. The day that the storm arrived, we spend on the boat watching the Anemometer, knitting and writing Applications for a life after this sailing trip. It got clear that we picked a good harbour, we experienced gusts up to 38 knots with only little wave. Only a headsail of a neighbouring boat unfurled itself which was furled in again after a moment by the aware people in the harbour, otherwise the day was uneventful.
Unfortunately the strong wind decided to stay a little longer with us, reducing the time that we could spend in the Turku archipelago. At the end of the week we wanted to be in Mariehamn to pick up Pauls parents. They will be our crew while exploring the Åland Islands. With that goal set, we left Turku after a beautiful day in the city. The wind was still between 20-25 knots which is usually the edge of our comfort zone. Knowing that we will encounter barely any waves in the protected waters of the archipelago, we had a very nice sailing day to Konungsskär where we hid the boat behind the island and moored it to the rocks. What a nice feeling to be back to an archipelago. In this fashion we continued our journey to Mariehamn, 100 Nm in three days with a lot of headwind and many big ferries inbetween the islands.
Mariehamn was an experience for us. The first night, a Saturday, was emotionally the low point. The car tuning scene decided to show off their sound systems and kept us awake and Desiree vibrating. From that point on it only got better and better. Together with Pauls parents we explored the cute maritime city and visited the Seafarers museum together with the 4-mast bark Pommern. It turned out to be the best museum we have seen in a while with many interactive exhibitions. Very impressive to see a Tall ship that size that has sailed cargo around the cape Hoorn many times without an engine intended for propulsion on board. My favourite takeaway was learning to splice an eye into a rope.
Now we are at Rödhamn, a small island south of Mariehamn and something like the pearl of the Åland Islands, voted for the harbour of the year in Finland. And it knows to impress, especially the home baked Kanelbullar in the harbour café make us feel like we are in small island archipelago paradise. This morning we woke up to a lot of fog, what a nice mystical feeling, even more when you hear the fog horns of the close passing ferries.
Our next steps will be exciting. Tomorrow we will get back to Mariehamn, this time to the west-harbour where we will leave Désirée for some days to travel to Denmark for a big Event! Liv’s mother is celebrating her 60th birthday and of course we do not want to miss out.
See you there,
team Désirée
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