Sally and Simon left Scotland in 2015 on board Shimshal to begin a slow circumnavigation taking in various high latitude destinations. After 3 seasons in Greenland we sailed south to Lewisporte in northern Newfoundland. In 2019 we cruised the Canadian Maritimes. In 2022 & 23 we cruised via New England, Chesapeake, Florida, Cuba, Cayman, Providencia to Bocas del Toro. In late 2023 we transited the Panama Canal in readiness of a Pacific crossing in 2024.
Log 150 miles, Sally, Simon & Carol
A very grey, drizzly and windless start to the day. We left at 0450 and motored, once again, out of the harbour before turning south and then south west for Gotland. Our last views of Finland were of low rocks melting into the foggy murk. The wind was a feeble 3-5 knots from the south west and, once again we were forced to motor making the journey long and monotonous. We were visited by some migrating birds en route which we eventually identified as red backed shrikes and spotted fly catchers. They stayed with us most of the way leaving deposits all around the companionway. The Quantum of Solace was shown in the afternoon but Carol and Sally remained dutifully on watch.
By night the fog was back and the flycatcher had died. We considered dodging into an anchorage on the north side of Faro as the passage through Faro Sound was partly unlit and very narrow. Fortunately the fog cleared a couple of miles north of Gotland and we docked in Farosund Marina at 0328.
The fuel station opened at 0830 and they lent us a trolley so we bought 120 litres of diesel and siphoned 85 litres into the tank. Excellent showers then got rid of the oily residue. We drifted off the dock at about 1045 and motored north east against a light but contrary wind. As we turned south for Kokar Island the wind did so as well. We were passed by many large ferries going from Stockholm to Turku as well as several smaller inter island ferries. By the afternoon the sun had gone behind some high cloud and the forecast rain arrived by early evening.
Sandvik, our last Finnish port, was deserted and all ashore was locked up so we took the dinghy on a 12 km round trip in to find some sign of life. We went down the very narrow sound that forms the eastern shore of Kokar and passed under a bridge to emerge at another guest harbour and an open restaurant. To our surprise the proprietor agreed to cook us a meal and she proved most hospitable. The excellent lamb and warm, welcoming atmosphere meant that we didn’t mind too much when the rain arrived and it came time to climb into the dinghy for the return trip.
The excellent restaurant on Kokar
Back at the boat I siphoned the water out of our redundant 600 litre tank directly into the bilge thus getting rid of our port list that we had carried ever since Oxelosund where the overzealous boat yard had filled the wrong tank. We had also had a recurring problem with the toilet whereby it would, intermittently, refuse to prime. I had dismantled it, cleaned and oiled it on several occasions only to find that it would work a few times and then fail. Eventually I hit upon the idea of gluing a couple of washers to the clean water outlet valve to “encourage” it to close more effectively. Thus far a bit of araldite and a couple of stainless washers appear to have done the trick so we are keeping our fingers crossed.
In idyllic sunshine and with very little wind we raised the anchor and motored a few more miles to the guest harbour at Rodham where we picked up a buoy and tied the stern off onto the nearby jetty. The old pilot’s harbour is tucked in tightly between islands on the northern side of Rodham. Unusually there were a few other boats sharing the harbour with us. A couple of motor boats and a small sloop. Ashore there were some very good composting toilets and a replica of the original pilot’s house. The harbour itself was closed until June.
Sunset from Rodham Guest Harbour
Rodham Guest Harbour
After breakfast ashore the first stop was the excellent Chandlery about 3km out of town where we finally bought the charts of the Aland Islands and the route to the south as well as the usual bits and bobs that always seem to appear at the checkout.
The Donkey Boiler on the Pommern
In the late afternoon we cycled out to the Ramsholmen Peninsula just west of the airport. This delightful nature reserve was alive with flowers and deciduous trees. Some photos are included below.
Swan at Ramsholmen
Wood Anemones at Ramsholmen in the forest meadow
Tall ships tacking north
Log 111 miles. Sally, Simon & Carol
Clear blue skies and light northerlies. We left early and sailed a little before being headed and forced to motor. We were shown up by a couple of classic boats who were determined to short tack all the way but we pressed on with the engine on as we were keen to get to the Aland Islands which were still over 100 miles upwind.
We did, however, find time for an idyllic lunch stop at Grisselholmen (page 194 of the Pilot). A very picturesque anchorage full of duck, swans, terns and gulls.
Grisselholmen
Our evening anchorage was at Rodloga and by now the wind was strengthening so we dug the anchor in very hard as one forecast predicted winds to 50 km/h through the night. Though it blew it never got anywhere near that but we did hesitate the next morning when a near gale warning was issued for the Aland Sea and sure enough it was to come from exactly the direction we wanted to go. Identifying a raft of Tufted Duck delayed us somewhat too. We did, eventually, decide to go for it and Sally and Carol duly downed their sea sickness tablets and remain comatose as I write this (about 12 hours later)! The wind turned out to be a “fresh northerly” which, at this latitude in the Baltic means it was cold. The sea too was cold as I found out when I took a Baltic wave down my neck. Very fortunately, after motoring for an hour or so up through the last of the Stockholm Archipelago, we were able to bear off to the north east and sail close hauled direct for the southern approach to Mariehamn. Reefed heavily we bounced along at 8 knots most of the way and made light work of the “near gale in the Aland Sea”. I did, however, regret leaving the tender on its davits as, with the chop and the angle of heel, there were a couple of occasions when we were dragging one of the floats sideways through the water at great speed.
We passed south of the wind farm at Nyhamn and headed up to the narrow entrance that leads to Mariehamn’s Eastern harbour. By now the wind had built and so we motored the last few miles directly into the wind. With the combination of strong winds, a strange harbour and no pilot book we decided to anchor off the guest harbour for the night and visit by tender. That was the plan but now I find that my crew are in an Avomine induced stupor and cannot be budged. I have had to resort to typing up the blog and trying to log onto WiFi. Anyway it’s great to be in Finland and at our most northerly latitude on this cruise (60 degrees 05 minutes north and 19 degrees 58minutes East). The forecast is for more northerlies so let’s hope that we have finished the upwind sailing!
Steel works at Oxelosund
Log 47 miles. Sally, Simon and Carol (Darwin)
We flew out on Sunday afternoon and spent Monday sorting out a few snags that had arisen. The solenoid on the windlass had stuck but was quickly sorted out by stripping and lubricating. On the first night we had some excitement when two of the saloon lights went on fire. Fortunately we spotted it very quickly and no serious damage was done. But why did they spontaneously combust? The mystery was solved the next morning when we discovered that some 12 volt replacement bulbs had been fixed in the 24 volt circuit – they were certainly bright! On a similar note the next morning the forward heads started to flood the boat but this was quickly sorted by putting the old valve back in as the new replacement that had been fitted was by a different manufacturer!
These and other minor snags were quickly sorted and on Tuesday morning we left the harbour on a gloriously sunny day with a light north westerly wind. We motored past the steel works and the curious island that has been completely trashed by nesting cormorants. After that we turned more easterly and made steady progress under sail. About 5 miles from our short cut through the Landsort Peninsula we were struck by a powerful little squall that set us pounding along at 10 knots.
Stora Ramklov is a few miles east of Landsort offering good shelter from northerlies. As we were anchoring the wind went round to the south so, after a cup of tea, we pressed on for Rano where we knew we could get shelter from all wind directions. We had a lovely evening sail in a light, cold easterly and entered the anchorage just as the wind died altogether.
