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| -- 31st of July to 4th of August 2018 -- |
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Last visit to the Finnish archipelago
- sorry the Åland archipelago! The islands of this largely autonomous
region differ from their Finnish cousins by the fact that they are very
similar, but with another flag...
More photos of small islands of granite in our Pictures page.
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127 miles sailed
2452 miles sailed since the start
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| 31st July : Kylmäpihlaja – Seglinge (79 NM) |
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wind is well established in the South, albeit not very strong, as we
set sails and start a day of for long hours slowly tacking and tacking
again, towards Åland. Our progress against the wind is made even slower
by a stubborn current to the North... |
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After a full
day of these slow and frustrating tacks, we reach the north of the
archipelago around midnight, in the passage called "Globbet". The sun
sets completely now (that’s weird...), the wind dies too and we need
the engine to continue. It is getting darker, some channel lights are
indicated on the map as "occasional" and indeed, tonight they are not
to be seen. Nothing disturbs the darkness except the moon, beautiful,
and the stars which we greet like old friends, for the first time in
about 2 months.
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Red (Finland when it got independant) + Blue and Yelow (Sweden) = Åland's flag |
Islands unwrap themselves as the sun rises
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rocky islands around us are for the moment but black ghostly
silhouettes, which become sharper when the light returns after 4 long
hours. The outlines then become clearer, they regain texture and
colors, slowly turning pink, green and orange. We can see that here
too, the vegetation has suffered from the heat wave of the last month. |
In
the glorious morning light we arrive at Seglinge and enter the bucolic
harbor. We moor on a back buoy and stern to the wooden pier mounted on
stilts.
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Houses like piers: everything on stilts
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| 1st August : Seglinge – Bäno ön (16 NM) |
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Cultivated fields, it's a change from granit
| A few hours of sleep later, we go on and explore the island. Seglinge is known for its nice hiking path.
The
trail starts across fields, in the farmed countryside of this island
large enough to accommodate some farms (in addition to the ubiquitous
"mökki", the beloved summer cabins). |
Back to the
sea: here again it is Granite Kingdom. Rocks are very pink on this
island, maybe they belong to a granite type called "Rapakivi", which is
typical of Åland. On the hills grow the usual small pine trees. The
juniper and heather bushes are completely grilled in some
places... What a difference compared to 2 weeks ago in Turku
archipelago!
One aspect of the walk remains: the winged forest
dwellers, of the buzzing and biting variety. Here, horseflies are
particularly present and harass us continuously. After months of exposure to all kinds of insects, we have developped survival instincts and learned the appropriate reaction to each agression. Fly: let it be (except if buzzing close to your ear during your sleep). Mosquito: spray or smash. Horsefly: 1, stay still, watch where it lands and smash; 2 or more, run!
It is very warm (over 30 ° C) and we find a nice
granite beach to jump into the water. It is barely cooler (24-25 ° C)
but for 10 minutes or so we feel better. To think about it, we had the
same climatic conditions as in the Canaries Islands 7 years ago! |
Sailboat, granit and grilled trees, Åland in a nutshell
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Our neighbour is close, but at least it's a nice wooden boat !
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Back
to the boat, we leave to spend the night at the anchor in Bäno Ön bay,
following our friends’ advice. The anchorage is very nice, in a
perfectly clear water 2 to 6m deep - but it is well-known and we must
share the place with 8 other sailboats. The evening begins of course by
jumping in the water!
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2nd August : Bäno ön – Mariehamn (32NM) |
One more channel |
As usual we
leave in a beautiful morning sun, as usual sailing between the small
islands. They are more massive than the crumbled rocks of the Vaasa
archipelago, they are larger and less compact than those of Turku. But
they are still in granite, topped with pines and birches, edged with
reeds, inhabited by hundreds of birds, and traversed by perfectly
marked channels! |
After
a small detour by a beautiful channel, narrow and shallow, we reach a
wider arm of water where we can tack. Engine off, sails up … it is
quieter here … but not for long: huge ferries connecting the capital
Mariehamn to various other islands sail by very fast. They are so wide
that we sometimes wonder how they can pass!
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New surroundings, new locals ! These ones can't be missed...
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Rödhamn, litterally the red harbour. Yes, quite true !
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are also going to Mariehamn for a last, more urban stop before leaving
Åland. But before reaching the city, we stop for lunch break in
Rödhamn! This small island of pink granite (very very pink) has long
been occupied by a radio station and a pilot station. Today there is a
visitor harbor (always on a back buoy), a small café restaurant, and a
museum in the former radio building. From this nice little island we
can also jump into the still-surprisingly-warm sea water ... |
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few miles further, along the well-marked channel, we reach the huge
visitor harbor of Mariehamn East. It offers 300 berths on mooring
piles, in 1.5 to 3m of water. A storm gathers in front of us but we
pass right next to it without getting wet! Storms are becoming more and
more common these days, it seems that the Scandinavian summer is
melting away in lightning and liters of water... |
| 3rd August : visiting Mariehamn |
| At
each stop, we have a todo list of practical activities: shopping,
internet, shower (and sauna, the Ålanders did take up the best of the
Finnish customs). |
We imagine ourselves climbing up the huge masts, like the glorious sailors of the past...
| Cultural
activities also feature on the list, with the visit of the maritime
museum and its jewel the 4 masted boat Pommern. We learn that at the
beginning of the 20th century, no less than 45 giant sailing boats
(called “windjammers”) were based in this small island, mostly busy
with grain trade from Australia.
Yet the islands have a modest
origin, populated by Swedish-speaking peasants, who also sailed small
boats around the archipelago and to Sweden to carry some small-scale
trade. When Sweden had to surrender Finland to Russia following
military setbacks in 1809, the inhabitants retained their language and
traditions. Especially since following other military setbacks, Russia
lost the right to base its troops there: the islands are a
demilitarized zone. Where there is no military port, there is ample
space be a commercial port. Mariehamn was founded in 1861 and
immediately became a major regional trading harbor, both for cargo and
passengers.
1917: following the Russian revolution, Finland
becomes independent. This is not to the liking of Ålanders who consider
themselves as Swedes. The case is brought forward to the League of
Nations: after much discussions the archipelago will be Finnish, but
largely autonomous, with its own tax system, the use of Swedish as a
main language, and its own ship registration area.
That's how a
small piece of land stuck between two countries became in the 20's to
50's the great center for the last of the European tall sailing ships.
Today many ferries and cruise ships are still based in Mariehamn. |
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but certainly not least, we have the pleasure of a good dinner
(buckwheat pancakes) and even better conversation (long-distance
cruising on aluminum boats) with our friends from L'Escale. All this
accompanied by what some people call “cider”, who do not come from the
North-Western corner of France! |
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