Sonen Martin hade kommit på besök från Luleå och det var han som uttryckte en önskan att ta sig ut till Stora Nassa, där vi hade varit många gånger under våra tidigare seglingar. Det skulle bli en Herrsegling eftersom Hilkka är redan i fullt arbete efter sin semester. Själv var jag något tveksam till att ta oss till ytterskärgården med tanke på vindprognoserna (ålderstecken?) trots att det finns krypin för de flesta vindriktningar. SMHI hade lovat sydväst 8-12 för vår första seglingsdag, sedan en lugnare mellandag med vridning till ost, följd av en tredje dag med sydväst 12 - kuling 16.
Vi lämnade hamnen på Norra Vindön på onsdag vid middagstiden och hade en skön om än något guppig resa över Kanholmsfjärden, förbi Möja och sedan österut mot Stora Nassa. Det var gott om vind, ca 12 m/s mellan kryss och halvvind och Sir Francis var i sitt rätta element.

Väl ute vid Skötkorpharan, den sydvästliga ingången till Stora Nassas skärgård, var det dags att ta ner storen och hitta vägen mellan klipporna. Mastskärets nordöstra sida, där vi hade planerat att förtöja, visade sig inte så inbjudande som förväntat, så vi fortsatte norrut förbi Bonden med sina fina fiskestugor och vidare förbi Bäckskäret till norra sidan av Gubben. Där kändes det betydligt lugnare och vi lade oss bakom Gubbens höga norra klippa med fören rakt mot sydväst.

Det kändes skönt att vara tillbaka på denna världens finaste plats, det har gått rätt många år sedan vi var där sist (jag undrar varför?). Vi upplevde en fin solig kväll med promenad runt Gubben och när solen hade försvunnit var det dags för en fullmåne att lysa upp skären runt omkring. Natten blev något kyligt men med dubbla duntäcken blev det snart varmt och trevligt.

Nästa morgon börjar med ett dopp i det 14 gradiga vattnet…. inte för skepparen, men väl för gasten. Efter frukost blir det ytterligare en långpromenad. Vi hittar en förbindelsestig mellan Gubben och den intill liggande ön Gumman, och det tar oss ett par timmar att kliva runt på alla klippor för att beundra panoraman i alla väderstreck. Även idag skiner solen och vinden har vridit mot ost och avtagit, exakt som SMHI hade lovad.

Efter en enkel lunch beslutar vi att ta oss tillbaka mot innerskärgården - prognosen om morgondagens 14 - 16 m/s står fast och det känns inte rätt att stanna kvar. Hemresan gick lugnt till i den nu nästan obefintliga vinden. Trots det så tog vi oss in hela vägen till Vaxholm, där vi lade till i Gästhamnen i en nu frisk sydostlig sidovind som krävde snabbt arbete från fördäcksgasten.

Efter middagen på Skepparkrogen blev det en valförtjänad nattvila - åtminstone för gasten. Skepparen låg mest vaken och lyssnade på slamret av färjorna och den ytterligare ökande vindens ylande.

Resan in mot Hammarbyslussen blev rätt obekväm - den byiga vinden växlade mellan 8 och 14 m/s, och då blir det svårt att få upp farten - i stället blir det antingen för lite vind för det revade segelstället, eller en plötslig nedslag till 40 graders lutning men för kort för att få upp farten. Efter några tappra försök fick vi ge upp och ta ner seglen.

Till slut blev det riktigt bra segling inne i Mälaren, förbi Hässelby och norrut till Stäketbron. Hilkka tog emot oss i hemmahamnen, där vindmätaren visade 13 m/s - inne i hamnen. Tilläggningen gick bra ändå, och det lovade ösregnet brakade loss precis när vi hade satt os in i bilen för hemfärden.   

Due to a miserable weather forecast promising five days of pouring rain, we hurried up and arrived in Helsinki a day before our guests.

Back in the NJK harbour, we were awaited by the crew of Anahita who we had met a couple of times before, cruising in the northern Baltic. They had reserved a fine berth for Sir Francis, and we finally had an opportunity to share sailing memories over a dinner at the NJK club restaurant.

Next day was washing- boat cleaning- and shopping day. Before getting serious with work, we started with a breakfast at the market place, where farmers and fishermen sell their products every day starting at 07:00.

Our guests arrived in the afternoon and, contrary to the weather-god’s forecasts, we enjoyed another beautiful sundown accompanied by a bottle of dry champagne of the best sort (thanks, Håkan and Ulla, for this treat and sorry you could not join us).

The following week, we slowly moved on along the Finnish south coast past Tammisaari (Ekenäs), and Hankö and up the Turku archipelago where we said goodbye to our guests, who by the time had been upgraded to “crew”. Fortunately, the sunny weather stayed with us all the time and we were able to offer the new crew a “sailing” experience that is not so common in these waters: hot day temperatures, water temperatures over 20 degrees and no wind, meaning Penta-sailing most of the time and afternoons with lot of swimming. afternoon drinks and sundowners.

The wind came back when the guests had left and we had some fine sailing days from Nagu back to Stockholm, via Bänö ö, Rödhamn, Arholma and Finnhamn. In Rödhamn, the wind forecast said 6-10 m/s southwest, right against our course for crossing the open water between Åland and Sweden, Ålands hav. This was not what we wanted to hear, especially as stronger southwesterlies had blown the last three days, which means uncomfortable seas. So, we went out of the protected harbour with an alternative plan - to turn back north to Mariehamn to wait for better winds. 

We shouldn’t have worried: fortunately, the forecast was wrong again and the wind came from south east instead, giving Sir Francis her favourite going: beam-reach and quite comfortable and fast (in our opinion). However, after arriving in Arholma on the Swedish side, we met our berth-neighbour from Rödhamn who had left the harbour a half hour after us in an X42: he claimed he had arrived one hour before us. I bet he was lieing, despite his boat’s LYS of 1,39 (we have 1,03).

We then continued via Finnhamn to a small Marina on Värmdö. Thanks to our sailing friend Tobbe, we could borrow a berth for Sir Francis for a few weeks, which means some more sailing weekends in the archipelago rather than in lake Mälaren.

In total, this summer was definitely one of our best cruising summers so far. We have seen many interesting places, met friends and made some new new ones. Weather-wise we must have been extremely lucky according to the reports we regularly got from some of our sailing friends who choose to sail the Swedish East- and West Coast.

Southern Finland and Lake Saima are cruising areas we definitely can recommend to everyone who wants to get away from crowded harbours; and if you (like us) love to have a sauna bath before dinner, there sure is no better place to go.

The small island of Santio, the border control station, was a good place to rest after the choppy trip from Viborg. We stayed there overnight alongside the stable concrete jetty and enjoyed the marvellous flat rocks on the island?s southern beach. Weather is still hot, I will not say too hot as this might upset the weather gods, and Smilla is fully occupied with letting us know that it is time for a swim again.

We have to be very happy with the weather so far. After some really wet days right in the beginning, we had mostly sunshine and temperatures far above 20, sometimes above 30C. The bad thing is there was little wind in general, and when there was some, it was against us, so we had to choose criss-crossing against the wind with 2 knots or starting the engine. I must confess, Mr Penta had to work quite a lit this summer.

From Santio, we continued to Hamina, a small town with a large harbour in the south-eastern corner of Finnland. The harbour was quite nice (guest harbour of the year 2008) and the reasonable harbour-fee of 18? included both electricity and one hour private beach ?sauna. The town is interesting with its old wooden houses, but I missed the charm of a naturally grown society ? streets were symmetrically arranged in a hexagon-shaped manner with the town-hall in its centre.

Next trip was about 30 miles southwast towards Lovisa (wind from southwest, of course), where we stayed overnight in a small boat harbour at the old fortress of Svartholmen. Had to rig the sunshade to get some shadow, and some swims to cool off a little bit (a large Gin and Tonic helped, too).

Now, we are tied up as the only boat on a jetty in Bockhamn on Byön, a nature-harbour-like pool, completely protected and with the cockpit towards west, prepared for another sundown from a blue sky. Life could hardly be better!

From Puumala we continued southwest to a place with the best sauna so far.
Ruhonsaaret is a sandy island with a horseshoe shaped bay facing north. We
tied up at the jetty early afternoon and were able to book the wood-fired
sauna before dinner.

Late afternoon, the jetty populated with a number of boats and it started to
feel a bit crowded. Also, the sun disappeared behind trees, so we moved out
in the bay and dropped the stern anchor to fully enjoy the late evening sun.

Next stop was Lappeenranta (Villmarstrand in Swedish), where we planned to
continue to the Saimaa Canal the day after.

Hilkkas friend Auli, who had been sailing with us for some days a week ago,
visited us by car and brought some Karjala specialities.

Weather report promised 8-12 m/s southwest for the track between the Canal
and the Finnish border at Santio, ca 45 miles straight southwest. This would
mean a rather inconvenient trip that can not be interrupted due to Russian
border regulations. So we decided to stay another day in Lappeenranta, and
this was the year’s hottest day so far with 30 degrees in the shadow.

Poor Smilla with her black fur coat needed a lot of cooling; fortunately the
water is not far away. Also Skipper and mate needed some cooling;
fortunately there are a lot of bars selling beer along the beach.

After two days in Lappeenranta it was finally time to continue to the canal.
At the first lock, Mälkiä, we stayed to visit the Saimaa Kanava Museum and
continued then to the Finnish border at Nuijamaa, where we were we stayed
overnight. Next morning, after Sir Francis had been thoroughly inspected by
the Finnish borderpolice, we continued to the Russian border at the
Mälli-lock, where it took about half an hour to check the boat’s and the
crew’s documents. After another five locks, we arrived at the last one,
Brushnicnoe, where we stayed for the night after having been thoroughly
checked once more by the Russian border police

On Monday morning, we continued, passing the now Russian town Vyborg through
Russian territory in a “controlled passway”, ca 45 miles southwest towards
the Finnish border station at the island of Santio. First no wind at all,
then increasing south-westerly starting with 4 and increasing to 10 m/s. The
last hour before Santio, it was a bit choppy and all three of us were happy
to be back in Finland. A friendly border officer helped tying up and after a
final control of the ships and crews documents, we were granted re-entering
the EU.

This great moment was celebrated with a glass of dry rosé wine and some
snacks made of dark bread. Caviar and fresh onions.

Now, temperatures have fallen a bit, but are still around 20 degrees, and today we had a number of heavy rains and thunderstorms. Feels safe with Sir Francis’ mast quite a bit lower than the bridge just a few meters away.

Tomorrow we hope to find a nature harbor, if we are lucky we might find one with a wood-fired sauna, as we did some days ago. A hot sauna bath interrupted by some cold water dips and a couple of beers – that’s happiness for a Finnish soul and I do feel kind of Finnish myself these days.

The following day we continued to Savonlinna. After a first night in a rather lumpy guest harbour, we moved to an empty jetty in front of a little hotel right in front of the famous castle. Håkans wife Ulla and Sir Francis’ regular woman-skipper Hilkka had been travelling from Stockholm to Helsinki and were now on their way by car towards us. Now was the time to hoist the buntings, a series of flags reaching from the bow via the tip of the mast and down to the stern. Sir Francis was shining in such glory that the hotel owner came down to the jetty and invited us for coffee and cake, telling us that he considered our presence as sales promotion for the hotel.

We had been rather concerned about the weather for this important day – an Opera evening in foul weather gear was not what we had planned and the forecast said heavy rain in the afternoon but clearing up in the evening. So we were rather relieved when the heavy rain stopped, just half an hour before our so much longed-for wives arrived.

Håkan had spent all his culinary art to prepare some snacks to go with the champagne that had been cooled for some days in advance. After this delight, it was time to dress for the opera visit (unfortunately we had no ticket for Smilla who had to act watchdog on board). We all were impressed by the professional performance.

Next morning, Ulla and Håkan signed off and Auli, Hilkkas friend since school days some 40 years ago, checked in into the aft cabin, to stay for the three days trip from Savonlinna to Kuopio.

Unfortunately, the wind was against us, ca 1 – 2 m/s right from the bow, so Mister Penta had to do some work the first day. Sunny and warm day one and two, heavy rain on day three, when we tied up in the main guest harbour of Kuopio. Now we have reached the journeys destination. We had been talking about this trip for many years, charts had been purchased 10 years ago, so it was a big moment for us, despite the rainy welcome.

The journey had taken exactly one month, first week with Hilkka and Smilla, second week all by myself, third week together with Håkan and last week with Hilkka, Smilla and Auli.

Tomorrow is the big meeting day – about a dozen of Hilkkas relatives and friends will show up and visit us on Sir Francis. We are looking for the reunion but as we never before had that many people onboard, we hope that the old lady will keep floating despite the additional load.

Some reflections about sailing on Lake Saimaa:

The southern part between Lapeenranta and Savonlinna reminds of Stockholms archipelago (the middle part between the mainland and the barren outer islands), the northern part is very similar to Lake Mälaren, some parts a bit mountain-lake alike.

Everywhere you find lots of protected anchorages and there is no need to use guest harbours unless you need food supplies or fuel. The lake water is a perfect shower substitute and swimsuit is normally not needed – no people within sight.

During a days sail you meet no more than a few other boats, except in the surroundings of larger towns like Lappeenranta or Savonlinna. Probably this is one of the reasons why everyone is greeting with a big gesture and when coming into a guest harbour there is always someone taking your bow-ropes with a friendly greeting.

Even after all our years at the beautiful Swedish east coast, the Saimaa was a new experience – a magic landscape paired with the possibility to find your own paradise every evening.

Håkan telling stories

We decide to make a long first day trip of 60 miles, to the island of Fagerö south Kotka, to create some slack for the coming days. Rather tired, we turn into the pinwood of sea-marks leading through the extremely rocky area around the harbour.
Fagerö is the main pleasure boat recreation spot for Kotka people, and there we even found a genuine finnish tango dancing palace, with a long haired trubadur and some finnish cuples dancing closely with dreamy expressions on theyr faces.

Next day trip was to Santio, a small island, where the customs clearing for pleasure boats is done by customs officers coming by boat from the mainland when requested. Sun was up until late night and the water 21 degree warm, inviting for a refreshing evening bath.

Next days forecast was 8-10 m/s from northwest, perfect for the 45 miles to Nyborg. Unfortunately, the forecast was wrong, we got rather gusty winds from northeast, exactly on the bow, and up 15 15 m/s. Sir Francis had to show her hardwind beating capabilities - she performed well according to both skipper and crew.

We stayed overnight at the first lock of Saimaa Kanal, the Brushnocnoe lock. Next day, we were surprised by the efficient people running the locks, in most cases we could go right into the locks without waiting, and tie up at the floating bollards.

The entire kanal took us seven hours, and after another hour we found a berth in the center of Lappeenranta.

Unfortunately, the high pressure system is definitely gone now, and the weather forecast is promising rain and cold weather for the coming week. Maybe we have to see the opera dressed in our foul weather gear.

Surprise - when tied up, I found myself parked side by side with a German boat we had met at the start of our journey, in Gräddö - they are on their way to Helsinki too.

Sunday morning, on my way to Helsinki, I changed my mind and lowered anchor in a small bay just 10 miles west of the city. It was again a wonderful day with temperatures between 25 and 30 C, and 21 C in the water. The afternoon went with swimming, rowing and a short walk in the wilderness of a little island.

Today, monday, I finally made it to Helsiki, where Håkan will arrive tomorrow evening, to join me and Sir Francis all the way to Savonlinna. It was a great moment for me to tie up at the jetty of NJK, on a small island right in the center of the city. It is now 31 years ago when I was here during the 1978 R8M worldcup, as a crew member on R8M Katarina. After a series of races, we came number three overall, but mainly I remember all the festivities arranged by the officials every evening during the week, and the headaches when it was time to race again the mornings after.

Although I have been in Helsinki many times since then, I was overwhelmed by the sizzeling life I found in the city this time. Partly it may depend on the beautiful weather and summer temperatures, but I believe another reason is that economy is going well for Finland - Helsinki sure has got an international touch.

The NJK guest harbour was a pleasant surprise with professional service by the harbourmaster helping to find a nice spot, and then taking and tieing up the bow-ropes. There is an exclusive restaurant in the club house, but they have a “sailor’s special” for a very reasonable price for us poor sailors spending all their money with boatstuff.

A short sail, only 10 miles to the cottage of our old colleagues and friends Ulf and Maritta, and a nice afternoon/evening with barbecued “bjorneburgers”, a sauna and a few hours soaking in their big hot water barrel. Maritta was still at work in Helsingfors, with two weeks to go before vacation, but Uffe made a great host and we had a good time until we said good night at around 1:30.

Next day, I planned to go to Kasnäs, ca 35 miles south-east. As the weather was fantastic and the wind favourable, I decided to continue to Hangö, another 15 miles. Hangö is the southernmost point of the Finnish mainland, and a well-known sailing centre. I found a nice spot to tie up. The sizzling live and disco music from different boats’ stereos, added to the tones of a troubadour playing for his life in the harbour café and desperately trying to be heard, was a bit of a shock initially. After a shower, some food and a couple of beers, life felt a lot better.
Next morning, I was in every shop of the little town, trying to buy a SIM card for mobile Internet, without success. Unfortunately, this means expensive Internet access via roaming.

After filling up the diesel tank (there had been quite some hours of motoring during the last week), I continued into the Bay of Finland and found a nice and quiet anchorage south of Ekenäs in a little pool called Gropen. Unfortunately, due to narrow and tricky waterways and the wind coming right from the bow, Mr Penta had to work all the way. Half of the lagoon was reserved by Finlands exclusive sailing club, Sjöbjörnarna (the Sea Bears), where non-member guests are not welcome (they do, however, happily enjoy the hospitality of other clubs’ harbours abroad). Fortunately, I found a perfect place just outside their reserved area, marked by green buoys.

As I am ahead of the time schedule, today I lowered anchor in a protected place only 10 miles further east. Temperatures have risen again, and now, the inside thermometer reads 32 degrees C (yes, the hatch is open, and air is flowing through the boat). I spent the afternoon with a two hours walk on the beautiful island and some swimming when back onboard. Unfortunately, it is too hot for beer drinking, so I settled down with an ice cold Gin and Tonic instead. Now, it’s time for another swim.