Turku - Tallinn - Riga - Warszaw - Berlin - Paris - Italy

Having done my admin I wasn't keen on flying back, at least not with Vueling on the grueling flight from Barcelona - Helsinki that I had arrived with. 

Turku house with fresh snow 

Seiko mug

I did a Seiko mug design with the help of a professional freelance designer on Fiverr. It is really easy, find the freelancer specializing in the task you have at hand, then you upload the material you have, explain what you are after and also include a rough sketch if needed. Then wait for the result and correct as needed, the better you explain in the beginning the less there is to fix in the end.

Received from postal courier

Trip to Genoa

As I needed to have some watches serviced I took the train to Genoa and at the same time made a date with my ex Chief Engineer Daniel for a meet up as well as checked that Pier had his watch shop open. 

Train station Genoa Brignole

Schiff Classic article

Schiff Classic edition Nov/Dec 2024 came out with an article about Anny von Hamburg, I have below translated the article for those whose German might be a bit rusty. 

Front page

Seiko "Ukiyo-e"

Having seen all sorts of watches whilst browsing Seiko I came across some very fancy ones displaying paintings on the dials and I got interested in the origin and meaning of these. There is very little information online but I managed to find out that these watches are mostly from the 70's and they are actually mod's (modified watches) made back then. On these watches only the dial has been modified though and they display various motifs from the Ukiyo-e artform that was prevalent during the Japanese Edo era.

Seiko "Ukiyo-e" on an Actus, by artist Toshusai Sharaku

"Ichikawa Ebizo IV in the role of Takemura Sadanoshin"

Watch collectors funnies

Having been bitten by the Seiko fly some years ago I have come across several different meme's, some of them funny some of them not but some I thought worth saving so I have posted below the perhaps funniest ones that tickled my funny bone. Hope you enjoy and get a chuckle of the day 😃

An actual Seiko ad from 70's

Anny von Hamburg in media

Below are translated articles of Anny in Finnish media that build some sort of a political narrative of how things move along in the corridors of power, click the links for related pictures and original text in Swedish.

Anny in the background alongside GH Fyren

Anny von Hamburg calling Vålax

Article 7th October 2024 by YLE (Finnish national broadcasting company), click link for pictures and the original text.

The 110-year-old beauty Anny von Hamburg was on a return visit to Vålax in Borgå

Text and pictures by: By Jonas Sundström

Today everything shines and is in excellent condition

Ringö returned to Vålax as Anny

The local newspaper in city of Borgå published an article about Anny von Hamburg after a cruise to her old trading waters when she was named Ringö, pictures by Kristoffer Åberg and text in Swedish by Jannika Lindén.

Anny von Hamburg

ULTIM trimarans

3rd October the Ultim trimarans were arriving Antibes having finished the 5 day race from Finisterre. We followed onboard their track on the AIS and saw them going along with 40kts+, the first ones were arriving already on the 2nd Oct evening when others came in 3rd Oct assisted by their teams respective "tug" boats. One of them had allegedly ripped their mainsail as they had encountered 70kts winds off the Spanish coast.

Banque Populaire trimaran

Vacation in Finland

Having gone on vacation it was scorching in Mediterranean and so I booked flights to Finland to go visit my family and various places as seen from the pictures below:

The moomins were as usual welcoming me at Helsinki airport

Daycruising Anny von Hamburg

"Anny von Hamburg" alongside GH Fyren

Having visited Anny von Hamburg in Ekenäs (Tammisaari) I was invited by Captain Juha Pokka to join (and assist) her for a daycruise in a couple of days time. It is always pleasant to go out to sea, especially in the Finnish archipelago so I was keen as mustard. *)

Spar for Anny von Hamburg

Having arrived Kustavi to stay with my sister she expressed her wish to have an old larch tree felled as it was growing too close to another spruce and was anyway making a mess every autumn when it dropped its needles on the ground. It was also taking up precious sunny area on the lot next to the garden so one morning I decided to put the felling in action. Originally it had been planted by our father but he doesn't visit Kustavi anymore these days so thought it was no problem.

Felling tree

Archipelago boating

My longtime friend Heidi called on 6th September and asked if I was interested to join her on the 7th for a day of boating going to the old naval fortress of Katanpää from Uusikaupunki where her boat was moored. I agreed and we set out from our house in Kustavi early in the morning by car. Arrived about an hour later and set to prepare Heidi's boat for the trip, it was already fueled so it wasn't much more than a bit of snacks and drinks.

Getting local pilot knowledge whilst Cheche is photobombing us

Refitting Anny von Hamburg

In 2023 my friends and colleagues, Captains Jan Rautawaara & Juha Pokka managed to procure another old lady as a project for the future. It was s/y "Anny von Hamburg", a 29m historic three-masted schooner built in Germany. 

Anny von Hamburg postcard (1980's)

History of Anny von Hamburg

Anny von Hamburg is a historic three-masted schooner, originally built in 1914 by Conrad Lühring at Hammelwarden yard in Germany. Initially named "Anny," the vessel was designed as a cargo ship. Throughout her extensive history, she has undergone several name changes and transformations, reflecting her diverse roles from cargo schooner to cadet training ship to passenger sailing vessel.

Anny von Hamburg complimentary postcard (1980's)

History of Kalizma

I was doing a post of my experience on Kalizma and included a history section in it but discovered that there is quite a bit of it on the net so I separated it here and added to it, enjoy:

Kalizma, built in 1906, is considered the world's oldest yacht with a rich history. It has survived world wars, plagues, changing ownerships, and various life events, making it a symbol of resilience and endurance. The original name though, Minona, is after the African Goddess of sorcery and  fortunetelling. Still I wonder how much of the original steel remains in her keel though...

Robert Stewart

Realdo

Had the chance to walk around in another quaint small village pretty high up in the Ligurian mountains. The village was pretty well maintained albeit the restaurant was closed for the day. Water was running everywhere and the way of old was still left to be seen with a rubbish chute down the mountain where it ended maybe 50m or more down below on the slope. Only met 2 residents and I assume another 2 tourists so it was very quiet. The two residents were avid mountain bikers and said the worldchampion had been about recently.

Triora

Whilst venturing up the valley we stopped in the witch museum. The village rides hard on the witch heritage (that apparently is based on 3 girls from neigbouring Glori), and they celebrate all the pagan highlights like samhain etc. The shops sport all kind of sorcery trinkets and would well fit into a Harry Potter backdrop.

Pieve di Teco

This day I went for a Sunday outing to Pieve di Teco in the hopes of seeing the antique market.  We drove there at first via the coast through Imperia and up the valley. 

Local bridge

Glori

Went for a walk in the village of Glori, this time the weather was a bit uncertain so didn't walk over the mountain. 

Local orchid

Cartagena

Had the chance to visit Cartagena and see the sights there. In the center are great monuments of Roman heritage as well as on the waterfront there is the naval shipyard of Navantia and a Naval museum with displays of the Spanish highlights as well as their first submarine. Very recommendable city to visit. Just outside the city is an informal settlement on naval land where people have erected "summer houses". The Navy tolerates them as long as they're not built further or any more land is occupied.

Cartagena center onwards

Vacation in Philippines p2

 As we had returned from Malaysia the traffic and people got really heave so were kind of confined to Calatagan and only scootered around to beaches etc.

Calatagan market lighting

Trip to Malaysia

As I was in Philippines for a short time I decided to go visit my Malaysian friends in Lumut area. The trip started a bit roughly with us spending a day in Singapore and in evening taking the overnight bus to Sitiawan. It was not bad but the AC in the bus was freezing and I hadn't packed any long-sleeved clothes so ended up huddling all night whilst dog-napping. Whilst in Lumut we got taken around all the nice restaurants serving different Chinese cuisine as well other ethnic groups. Always nice to visit Malaysia for food. Below are some pictures from the few days spent there.

911 MB, not Porsche ;)