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. *)
Arrived the day before with Cheche to check out Anny and find our ways so we decided to drive from Åbo (Turku) the scenic route and exited the city by highway but then after Pikis (Piikkiö) veered off to Kimito (Kemiö) island, passing Strömma canal to Bjärnå (Perniö), there hang a right and then onwards to Ekenäs.
Strömma canal, old bridge
Strömma canal, info sign showing the new bridge some 500m to west
1. |The new canal
2. Old canal
3. Ex pilot house
4. Bridge guards old house
5. Bridge operators new house
Strömma canal, old sign prohibiting running over the bridge with 10marks fine
Strömma canal, view towards another bridge
Strömma canal, old bridge
Traffic was very light and weather good, benefits of a nice autumn. So far had been very lucky with the weather, we stopped at the Kimito intersection for gas and continued, we passed the bridge Pungböle bro (Rungonsalmen silta) onto Kimito Island. It is the largest island on the Finnish coast or 2nd largest in Finland after Åland main island (Ahvenanmaa). I used to live here in another life and the island is truly amazing in the summer. Still, as we arrived Kimito "city" we didn't tarry, but hung a left and continued towards Strömma canal.
Strömma canal is a bascule bridge (or rolling leaf) bridge that can be opened for shipping. The smaller canal and bridge was originally built in the 1800's when Finland was a Grand Duchy of Russia to enable barges easier access to the Mathildedal iron works where they mined iron. The current bridge in use superseded the original one in 1968 and enables ships with 5.5m draught and 28m width to pass through.
Ekenäs church spire
Ekenäs old bath
After this we arrived Bjärnå city where we stopped to buy a bit of provisions and continued towards Ekenäs. This city is my father's childhood locale and it is still surviving as a community. Contrary to the link for Bjärnå I am not so sure the city has much to offer but it is centrally placed for other venues in the vicinity, I would consider it a good base for excursions in the area.
Capt Juha Pokka on the wheel
Capt Juha Pokka on the wheel
Cheche having a go
Our deckhand also on the wheel
Some half and hour later we arrived in front of GH Fyren restaurant in Ekenäs. Ekenäs in itself is already part of the Swedish speaking community out in the archipelago where predominantly Swedish is spoken. The history here is also quite interesting with the Raseborg castle nearby as an attraction. Opposite the town is the long stretch of mainland that ends in the city of Hangö (Hanko) which in stormy weather is the critical point when sailing the inner archipelago route to avoid the inclement conditions. Going around this headland the archipelago becomes quite "thin" and vessels are exposed to wind and waves, testament to this are the many shipwrecks that have happened around those waters.
Eventually we parked close by to get onboard Anny with our overnight bags. There we met Juha who was refurbishing the crew quarters and so I got to helping him straight away. Once that was squared away we had a walk around on deck and talked about the next days cruise consisting a group of locals. We also had some freelancers joining for the day to assist with sails and guest service. Then settled into the forward guest cabin for the night after we had a nice dinner at GH Fyren restaurant. Like any "summer" city in Finland even here in Ekenäs most restaurants had closed for the season and only the main ones remained open.
Rough roundtrip Ekenäs - Ekenäs
Next morning we were up early and after some coffee we tidied up places and went for a walk around town prior sailing. The old bath house and casino building looked very classic as well as the old town houses quaint in the archipelagic style. Lot of the buildings appeared to be for sale. We returned back onboard and started preparing sails for departure with our other freelancing crew. As the gusts arrived and we got the greenlight that everyone was onboard we let go and started motoring down the narrow fairway going south.
The channel is well marked and we puttered down at a leisurable pace until we got to a bay giving us and passing boats the space for us to hoist sails. The wind was northerly so it suited us going on a southwesterly course. We hoisted the mainsails on the forward and aft masts and then we hoisted the forward 3 sails on the bowsprit, then we stopped the engine.
Fore sails
Fore sails
Main sails
The wind was not very strong so we sailed at 3-4kts only, but it suited us fine as we were only doing a roundtrip intending to return back to Ekenäs later. Hoisting the sails was a very popular happening for the guests and they followed our antics keenly. After this everyone disappeared under deck for some salmon sandwiches and coffee. I was keeping rudder for some time and enjoyed how one could feel the sails getting filled up by the wind and rudder getting the pressure from the water.
As we got closer to the port of Lappvik (Lappohja) it was time to head back whilst guests were still under deck enjoying themselves (and refreshments), we turned upwind and started getting the sails down which also had it's own tricks. Some lines got a bit crossed but eventually it was all untangled and we got the sails down as guests started coming up on deck to look at what we're doing.
Engine was started and we motored upwind towards Ekenäs. Some of the guests wanted to get a go at steering Anny under engine going back to home, all of them were from Ekenäs so I guess they knew the waters here like their own pockets. One elderly gentleman started pointing out to me good places for catching herring.
Anny back alongside as the evening sun comes out
The trip back went in the end quite quickly at 5kts again and soon enough we were approaching the jetty off GH Fyren. I was at the bow giving distances to Juha as we prepared to moor Anny alongside. With great skill Juha turned Anny around and came port side to as we put lines ashore and ties her fast. Then it was time to rig the gangway and let the guests off. As they disembarked we set to stow the sails properly and coil lines in neat bundles where needed. The galley was cleaned up and a debriefing held in the saloon as everyone prepared to head home. We still stayed another night as we planned to visit places next day on our way back to Turku. It had been a fantastic day and hopefully I'll get more chances in coming summers to enjoy sailing the archipelago with Anny...
PS: In case interested in chartering Anny von Hamburg or getting in touch with Captain Juha Pokka, you can visit their website.
*) Footnote: Finland is a bilingual country so I am putting the Swedish language placename before the Finnish language placename (in brackets) for those that wonder. In the Archipelago all placenames are predominantly Swedish after our heritage from the west.
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