Parry's Sail To the Baltic

WE ARE BACK IN GOSPORT

kaikoura — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 09:35:00 +0200

After a marathon 3 day sail from Cuxhaven leaving at 10.30am on Thursday 28th we returned all the way back to Gosport arriving at 09.00 on Sunday morning. A trip of 446 miles completed in 70 hrs with three nights at sea. In five months we have visited 12 countries and covered about 3500 miles. An amazing adventure.

The first part of the journey was very unpleasant bashing into a 20kt westerley wind all the way from Cuxhaven to the top corner of Holland for 24 hours. However as forecast as we turned south along the Dutch coast towards Den Helder the wind eased and went round to the NW giving a good sail. Near Den Helder we turned SW to head towards Ramsgate. An interesting night passage crossing the very busy shipping lanes off North Holland with Di and I doing 3 hour watches.

The wind as forecast kindly went to the East and we had a wonderful sail across the North sea during the day on Friday including a BBQ on deck. Landfall near Ramsgate at the top of the Goodwin sands late afternoon was uneventful but we could not see land as the visibility was only 1 mile. We quickly sailed down the inside Goowin passage on the tide and slipped past Dover ready for the final night passage along the south coast to home.

An easy an uneventful night passage motor sailing as the wind had dropped with three hour watches we had to keep the engine revs down to conserve fuel. At surise we were making the final approach to Portsmouth harbour slipping through the Looe Channel at Selsey bill just bas the tide was turning against us.

Finally we arrived at 09.00 at the Royal Clarence Marine displaying the 12 courtesy falgs of the countries that we visited France (terretorial waters only), Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Arland Islands (part of Finland but independant State with own flag), Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. A wonderful trip seeing some remarkable places,

Throughout Hollie has been amazing coping so well with the long sailing passages she has grown up a lot increased even more in confidence and I hope has hugely benefited from the experience. Di has been fantastic looking after us and making sure we got to see most of the sights and places en route. As always she has been a source of inspiration and support – love her to bits.

Finally our friends as always been great. Jim and Rona after returning to Bembridge in the Isle of Wight in their boat on Saturday night sailed back over to Gosport to welcome us back and together with Chris and Chris we had a Chinese take away on Sunday evening aboard Rebel.

We have a few earlier bits of blog to fill in a and some final pictures to post. We will do one final entry with a quick summary and then sign off. Thanks to all those who have followed our exploits.

Cuxhaven

kaikoura — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:51:00 +0200

Slipped through the lock out into the River Elbe, the first tidal waters for 4 months. A short hop on the tide to Cuxhaven Marina to wait for the right weather window for our trip home. The weather has delayed us a bit and if we are all to get back home together in time for Hollie’s first day at school we are planning to do the 450 miles home in one hop. We prepare the boat watch the weather forecasts and wait.

Brunsbuttel

kaikoura — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:49:00 +0200

Said goodbye to our sailing pals Suzie Too this morning who planned to stay another day or so in Rendsburg before heading back to the UK via the Dutch, Belgian and French coast. We however are now on a mission to get Hollie back for the start of the school term…September 4th….ouch!

Motored along the canal and arrived in the drizzle (again) into Brunsbuttel marina right outside the lock gates of the other end of the canal. Had a quick wander into town, in the drizzle before dinner and planning time for the journey home…its looking like a stop at Helgoland before hacking it back to Ramsgate all in one go starting on Friday midday….300m or more arriving Ramsgate Sunday morning…........??!!! Might be sunny though!

Rendsburg again!

kaikoura — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:47:00 +0200

So after a rainy day in Keil we headed off at 8am towards the Kiel canal and our exit from The Baltic…....we were still waiting to get out at 10.30am as the lock was mega busy! It was a real every man…well boat for himself when we got the white light and after 2 huge Dutch boats went in first.There was then a brand new Oyster 65ft boat (British ensign) hovering at the bows of the Dutch boat and so with Suzie Too on the starboard bow of the dutch boat and Kaikoura on the port we made a Great Britain 1,2,3 into the lock getting pole positions for getting out…..Lewis Hamilton would have been proud of us! The lock was crammed!

We paid our 18 euros for the canal journey and then motored the 17 miles up to Rendsburg and familiar territory again…......had dinner in the yacht club…..very nice!

FULL CIRCUIT OF THE BALTIC - Straslund to Kiel -

kaikoura — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:30:00 +0200

Arrived at the Keil yacht club in the pouring rain….it has bascially pissed down since 9pm last night…all through our night sail where Suzanne and I got particularly wet when trying to cross the shipping lanes near Gesder and then Rodby….even in the middle of the night there were 4 ferries crossed all the time between Germany and Denmark (why???) as well as a shed load of tankers etc!!

Dossed all day on the boat…watched King Kong….an epic after an epic journey! and then got ready for dinner at the yacht club with Suzie Too to celebrate our round the Batlic trip.

We had all prepared our top ten memories and also top 10 places to share at dinner. Hollie had also drawn some of hers out as well which was fantastic.

So the places that got 5 votes each were Parnu, Estonia and Anholt, Denmark…......sun sea and sand!

Stockholm, Sweden received 3 votes along with Utklippan, Sweden; Harstena, Sweden; Tallinn, Estonia; Hogsgara, Finland and Mariehamn, Aland Islands.

Ebeltoft, Denmark scored 2 votes as did Pavilosta, Latvia; Riga, Latvia; Sandhamn, Sweden and the Curonian Spit, Lithuania.

1 vote then went to Veere, Holland

Flensburg, Germany,

Hanko, Finland,

Massholm, Germany

Marken, Holland

Kurressaare, Estonia

Helsinki, Finland

We had a great night talking about all our memories too….......!! A very special evening had by all….......

Straslund

kaikoura — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:29:00 +0200

To be added

Neuhof Marina

kaikoura — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:26:00 +0200

To be added

Peenemune Museum

kaikoura — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:24:00 +0200

To be added

Ruden Island Germany

kaikoura — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:18:00 +0200

Left Kolobrzeg at 0800 and headed for Germany!! The German chap, Rainer who we hadmet in Ustka had suggested an island off the coast of Peenemunde and so we had a 65m sail and motor sail along the POlish coast….almost saw some hills too!??

Arrived in Ruden at just after 5pm before the black clouds came over head! and moored alongside the quayside which was very much like Uklippan, with quays on 3 sides. The island is a nature reserve and so we had a quick wander around the shooreline before the rain and then the most amazing rainbows….full ones right across the bay. The island was also the viewing platform for the V1 and V2 rocket developments by Germany during WWII which were developed in Peenemunde….our next stop tomorrow is to visit the museum there…......will be very interesting!

Kolobrzeg

kaikoura — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:34:00 +0200

Left Ustka at 0800 and sailed most of the 54m to Kolobrzeg, again in Poland. Got a stern buoy morring in the Port Jachtowy and then went for a drink to the club.

The weather was at last warm and so we decided to have a BBQ on the back of the boat…can’t remember the last time we did this! Then wandered back to the yacht club and a live band…..had a boggie wih Hollie and then to bed!

Ustka

kaikoura — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:36:00 +0200

Headed out from Leba at 6am this morning and bashed into the waves yet again….the Baltic sea gets really lumpy when you get a blow of 10kts or more….we’ve had 20-30kts over the past few days and so the residual waves are yuk! Plan A was to do a hop of around 75m to Kolobrzeg but we bailed out after nearly 5 hours and 35 miles into Ustka…..as it happens a very cute place.

We moored along the quayside next to a couple of restaurants and then wandered into the town.

I then decided to clean the boat and give it a zipwax….not sure why but at least the live band (pub singers!) who were now playing outside the boat to the restaurant audience kept me going with the cif and a scrubbing brush. In the evening we had a drink on Suzie Too with a German chap and his friend who were on their way to Estonia…..without charts!! So a deal was done and we sold our almost brand new (corrected to 1st July 2008) Estonian charts for 100 euros!

Leba

kaikoura — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 18:26:00 +0200

Got well and truly stuck here in Leba. The wind and waves are coming right up the harbour entry and its blowing a hooley! Time for DVDs and catching up with stuff on the boat. The marina is quite rolly so we are all feeling a little off colour and it looks like we’ll be here for another night before being able to get out.

Yep…..got stuck another night….shame we are seeing the Polish holiday spots in such rubbish weather!

Leba

kaikoura — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:16:00 +0200

Left Wlady…..wot not and headed west towards Leba 32m away. Had to motor sail but at least the swell and weather were okay….I even cleaned the stainless steel arch, there must be something wrong with me…..!!

The entrance into Leba was again interesting, another Littlehampton type affair this time with tyres all down the sides of the breakwater, worrying!

Arrived on a pontoon, of the Cherbourg bouncy type and moored up just before the rain came! Nice marina, its got washing machines and dryers, a restaurant and even a chandlery!!!!!!

Steve did some hunter gathering, cycling into town and the crowds yet again….the coastline is wonderful, lots of sandy beaches but its just mobbed! The pavements are crammed with tacky stalls and loads of people making it just too busy. I guess just like Blackpool at its worst!

Had dinner on Kaikoura with Suzie Too and then were treated to late night fireworks 200m off the back of the boat….prime position yet again!

Gdansk to Wladyslawowo

kaikoura — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:12:00 +0200

Got up early this morning and wandered into the centre of Gdansk before the crowds arrived, it was wonderful to see it in its full glory without the Dominican Fair stalls cluttering the place.

Left the marina in sunshine at 9.45, filled with fuel and then sailed with the wind behind out of Gdansk Bay. It must have been hot as I even had my bikini on sunbathing!

Hardened up to the wind around the corner of the Hel spit and then sailed along the coastline half a mile off shore and into the fishing port of Wladyslawowo. Had to moor alongside the quay as the yacht berths were all full or too narrow to slot into. Paid our 40ztls to a Polish harbour master woman who was dressed for clubbing not to receive sailing guests! and then walked into town.

A bit of a shock! The town was mobbed 2-3 rows deep of people on the pavements and loads of tacky stalls! We are just not used to seeing this many people. The place was also a little run down but at least the Poles were having a good holiday!

Walked back along the beach, stunning!

A day in Gdansk

kaikoura — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:15:00 +0200

Armed with the map and rough guide we wandered into Gdansk again to soak up the atmosphere of the Royal route. Had a cafe stop for lunch in St Marys street and then made our way to the Maritime musuem over on the marina side of the river. We could see the rain coming and as the clouds came over it went very black….the wind then just picked up and it literally threw it down. Luckily we just managed to get inside the museum but people who were outside just got totally drenched. The tables and chairs outside the museum cafe got blown over and one umbrella flew up and ended up in the river. You couldn’t see anything infront of you! Never seen anything like it!

The museum was great but it was a real shame that all the descriptions were in Polish! The Poles have certainly built a lot of ships!

Had dinner on board and got ready for leaving the following morning…...got to go past Hel apparently!

Gdansk - Poland

kaikoura — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:59:00 +0200

The night sail went without incident, Steve was on watch until 2.30am with Hollie and I in the cockpit in our sleeping bags. I then did the 2.30-6.30 slot which was fine not much wind so a motor sail past Kalingingrad! Steve then did the next 4 hours and got soaked and I then did the last couple of hours into the bay of Gdansk.

We arrived in the Centre of Gdansk at 2pm Lithuanian time, 1pm local time (yippee gained an hour!) after motoring along the Kanal Portowy and Wislar River for 4 miles to the marina. We went past the ship yards which were the start of the Solidarity movement in the late 1970s. Also went past the monument where Polish people battled for something like 9 hours when the Germans invaded on September 1st 1939….and the beginning of WWII.

We moored up in the marina which is right in the centre of the city, sorted the boat out and then wandered into the City along what they call the Royal Route…....wow! The place has been rebuilt after the bashing it got during the war and the buildings are stunning. We’ve never seen such a row of beautiful Merchants houses (better than Amsterdam) along the Long Market. Theres also Renaissance gates and as well as the Renaissance buildings. The fountain of Neptune was also pretty cool too but we had nothing to sacrifice to him today…..Hollies last dummy went overboard to Neptune when she was 4 (we did it just like Ellen MacArthur sacrifices something when she goes around the World!)

Also walked down St Marys street, with its narrow cobbled street lined with old houses, jewellery workshops and galleries…....amber of course! Apparently Gdansk is the old Amber capital of the world!

Had a couple of cafe stops to ensure the bodies could be refuelled after the long sail and then wandered back to the boat for a well earned sleep.

Tomorrow its the maritime museum and more atmosphere!!!!! Marvellous!

Also had some texts from our sailing pals stuck down in St Malo…..The Rebels and Sandstorm are holed up there with rain and 50-60mph winds expected soon…....ouch, fingers crossed for them.

Nida and Back to Klaipeda

kaikoura — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:57:00 +0200

Went to visit the harbour master to pay. An interesting character who use to be in the Russian fishing fleet and had fished all around the north of Scotland and had visited Ullapool. He informed us that we were the only English boat that had visited Nida this summer. The Union Jack was flying in the marina on the flagstaff. Unfortunately there was also a German one that had been up there the day before – towels and beaches comes to mind.

We hired mountain bikes and set off to ride along the excellent cycle path that goes along the Curonian Spit. A lovely ride part along the lagoon and part through the pine and birch woods. After a stop in a nice cafe overlooking the Lagoon we went on a bit further a spent a short while on a small deserted beach and then headed back to Nida to complete a beautiful 20k round trip. In the afternoon we went to explore the sand dunes behind Nida these are the highest on the spit at 50 metres. At the top the sight was stunning. Miles of sand just like a desert with the lagoon on one side and the Baltic shimmering on the other. Quite awesome.

Late afternoon we sadly had to leave Nida to make our way back to Klaipeda and on for an overnight sail past Kalliningrad to our next country Poland.

Nida, The Curonian Lagoon

kaikoura — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 07:26:00 +0200

Decided to explore the Curonian Lagoon an inland stretch of water which is separated from the Baltic by a long narrow spit of land which stretches from Klaipeda in Lithuania into Kalliningrad, Russia . The lagoon is shallow and the spit consists of shifting sand dunes and pine forests, its one of the must see sights in the Baltic.

We set off for the 25 mile trip to Nida late afternoon. A well marked channel but part of the way the depth sounder was showing 0.1m and occasionally zero. En route the sight of 50 meter sand dunes was amazing looking like a misplaced desert. We managed not to go aground and arrived at 19.00 in Nida harbour, supposedly one of the most fashionable marina’s in Lithuania. We are now only 1 mile from the Russian border of Kalliningrad, about as close as we will get to Russia. We just managed to get a berth and went off to explore the town.

It was lovely place full of brightly coloured fisherman’s cottages. Popular with tourists so plenty going on. We finally settled on an evening meal in a nice outdoor setting, locally caught pikeperch. Finally a coffee and the local liqueur (999) in a bar by the marina.

Klaipeda, Lithuania

kaikoura — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 07:25:00 +0200

Had another epic sail from Latvia into Lithuania…84m in a lumpy sea again, too difficult to make food properly etc.

The journey took 11.45mins and so by the time we arrived we were pretty tired.

The harbour master came to say hello…or rather talk nonsense to us as we didn’t understand both Lithuanian or dodgy German! Suzanne was worse for wear too as she’d manage to fall across the cabin when coming into the harbour and smash her arm, there was a huge swelling and bruise already appearing!

We all retired early to catch up on sleep after sausage and mash which was just perfect!

10th August Morning

David went off to find a cash point and then we all met on our bikes at the ferry on Smiltyne side of Klaipeda and headed across into town…....?! Not a very big place but had the usual mix of cobbled streets, half timbered buildings and Soviet concrete buildings. The place looked more basic than either any place in Estonia and Latvia and people spoke no English. Found a market where the locals each had their own section. We bought various fruit and veg and particularly liked the lady selling carrots as she was washing them and then grading them into sizes! Really organised! Had a coffee stop and then decided to head off to Nida and the Curonian spit….one of my MUST DO places….I hope not to be disappointed!

Pavilosta - a day trip to Kuldiga

kaikoura — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:33:00 +0200

Got on the team Pavilosta Marina team bus and had a day trip out to Kuldiga, a provincial town appproximately 60km from the marina. First stop was the village (hamlet?!) of Edole and our first coffee stop! Then we went through Alsunga with a lovely lake and church before arriving in Kuldiga late morning. Kuldiga was very compact with 2 main cobbled streets with gingerbread house buildings, one was built in 1632. The sun was out and so we had a lovely stroll down to the river running through the town and to the Venta Falls (Ventas Rumba). These are 2m in height but 250 metre wide make it the widest waterfall in Europe! Really beautiful!

Then wandered back into twon for a spot of lunch….pork again! and then a quick stop at the supermarket before boarding team bus home…....with me driving this time…..great fun!

Really pleased to have taken the time to see some of inland Latvia.

Pavilosta

kaikoura — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:42:00 +0200

Said goodbye to Tasha and the Boys at 6.45am, they were off in a taxi to Ventspils airport and an internal flight to Riga before getting RyanAir home.

Did a quick clean of the boat and then we set sail at 9.15am for Pavilosta 35m down the coast. Had a great sail down wind with 15-20knots behind us all the way to the harbour entrance. The swell was still onshore and so getting in was fun. For those of you who have ventured east from The Solent the entrance was similar to Littlehampton but without the tide!! I small channel with surf rolling in but protected inside! Had to moor alongside a pontoon…....oh my goodness what do I do….am sooo used to bows to the quay and stepping dwon thw ladder on the side!

Suzie Too had arrived a couple of hours before us so they were already sunning themselves on the deck! Then we all wandered over to the other side of the water and had dinner out which was lovely….....we all had a main course, Steve and David had beer and Suzanne and I had a bottle of white wine (between us we are not that bad!) and all for a grand total of £35!

We then wandered back to S2 and watched an episode of HW series 2! Its been a long time so we had to rely on Hollie to tell us what episode we needed to watch, glad someone is on the ball!

P.S still sunny here!

Ventspils, Latvia

kaikoura — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:24:00 +0200

Woke up at 4.30am after only 3 hours sleep and set off for Ventspils and Lativa, goodbye Estonia….we loved you!

The wind was on the nose and the swell was horrid so within an hour of so all the kids were up and were on thier way to being sick. Both Alex and Yves did their fair share of reuniting us with the coco pops they had eaten previously but Owen just kept on eating! I had a quick chuck too as I’m not too good with other peoples sick around!

As you can imagine the journey was a hard slog particularly for Steve and Tash who held it together while I collapsed in the cockpit.

We eventually made it to Ventspils and moored up next to a Swedish boat who clearly saw how crap we all looked and so he gave us a shot to down…..the thought of it nearly made me sick again but after downing it I felt much better! Note to self, carry Vodka on board for emergency stomach settling!

We gathered all the kids up and walked into town leaving Steve to sleep! Found a restaurant and we all tucked into pork and veg! The heavens opened on the way back so we managed to hop onto a bus for a bit of the way back….arrived at the boat wet and tired…we all slept well that night!

Kuressaare

kaikoura — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 19:08:00 +0200

To be added

Parnu to Saaremaa Island - Kurressare

kaikoura — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:21:00 +0200

To be Added

Back to Parnu

kaikoura — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:09:00 +0200

To be added

By Bus to Riga, Latvia

kaikoura — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:23:00 +0200

Got the 8.50am very posh bus to Riga for £10 single each! and arrived in Riga at 11.30am. Dumped our bags in the Radi du Draugi hotel in the centre of the old town and went for a wander around in the sun. Did the churches and cobbled streets! before finding an outdoor cafe for a beer (Steve!) and a latte por moi! the coffee in The Baltic is wonderful….I’m becoming a convert from tea….sorry Unilever!!!

The old town has a great feel to it, bigger than Tallinn and it feels like a real City! Its got lots of park areas with the river Daugava running through it.

In the afternoon we headed for The Occupation Museum which was really upetting. The Russians did some very bad things…...not least trying to rob the Latvians of their identity by randomly deporting a large proportion of the population to Siberia in 1941 and again after the war in 1949. That coupled with German Occupation during WW2 made life very difficult. The museum was free too.

In the evening we had dinner out and wandered back to the hotel for a good nights kip….not!?

Parnu - days on the beach!

kaikoura — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:13:00 +0200

Our holidays officially started today!! We have decided after the hard slog of sailing round the Baltic to have a few days off. The weather is hot and the beach calls. We first make sure our bus is booked for our trip to Riga on next Tuesday and the see that there is a big classical music festival in town. Parnu has a world class new Concert Hall that attracts top performers. We book for Sunday night for a Brahms evening featuring the Latvian National Orchestra and Choir and the brilliant Japanese violinist Akiko Suwanai - a bit of culture!

Off to the beach – it is very busy but plenty of space to camp for the afternoon. The beach is sandy and the sea very shallow, surprisingly the water is almost Carribean in temperature reaching 23C in the afternoon – a nice change from the Scandinavian temperatures. We cook ourseves until nicely done then back to the Sailing Club for another meal.

It is much cheaper here than Scandinavia (at least 50% less) so we can have the occasional treat. In fact since we arrived in Tallinn we have spent about third of what we would have done in Sweden and Finland. Things like museums and transport are next to nothing in Estonia, while in Sweden we were paying about £20 between us to get into a museum or art gallery. Even the concert tickets for top performers were only £9 each.

26th July

Next day (26th) much of the same, a whole day on he beach, still very hot and sea is even warmer. We can take a lot more of this. Hollie says its the best part yet and that the beach is brilliant. It is very safe with such shallow water and no tides. We round the day off with a BBQ on the boat and treat ourselves to a film in the evening.

27th July

Sun and Sea….a day sunbathing on the boat! In the evening we got dressed up and went to the concert which was part of the David Oistrakh Festival. It was the Latvia State Orchestra, played Brahms. The first half was the double concerto for violin and cello….....the Japanese woman was awesome! In the second half the orchestra was accompanied by The Lativan Choir and they played the German Requiem…..again top quality.

What a great night!

28th July

Sun, sand and sea….again! In the evening we packed our bags (and passports) ready for the trip to Riga, Latvia…..and to pick up the Pollards!

We like Estonia!

Haapsalu to Parnu

kaikoura — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:45:00 +0200

An early start for Parnu at 0600 with 90 miles to go. There is a lot of navigating through shallow waters including the notorious Moon Sound with narrow channels and lots of rocks and boulders if you stray. In reality it wasn’t too difficult just needed a bit of concentration. The weather is hot and sunny with a good northerly breeze to blow us south. With mix of motor sailing and sailing to keep up the speed and one fantastic 12 mile reach averaging over 8 knots we arrive at the corner of Parnu Bay but still have nearly 20 miles to go. We finally arrive at 18.00, 90 miles in 12 hours is not a bad days work.

The marina is in river just off the bay and is very nice with an excellent yacht club founded in 1906. They are famous for ice sailing on small skiffs that have two outriggers each with a double blade to grip the ice. Apparently these can exceed speeds of 80 miles and hour!!!! Fortunately no ice at present. The beach is nearby, the water shallow with temperature reaching 25C!

We decide to treat ourselves to dinner in the yacht club. The food is excellent, I never had grilled pork on fried bread before but it worked for me.

We look forward to a few days relaxatio in Parnu with lots of time on the beach. The mid-European high is here and scheduled to stay for a while.

Lohusalu to Haapsalu

kaikoura — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:02:00 +0200

Set off from Lohusalu at 9.00 in bright warm sunshine and a lighter wind than previous days. Unfortunately it was still SW the direction we were headed for for some 25 miles. The head on swell was much reduced and we motored until reaching the northwest corner of Estonia and then headed south through shallow waters to Haapsalu. An excellent sail through narrow marked channels and the final turn west into Happsalu harbour whre we had planned on going to the Yacht Club rather than the Marina which rumours had it was not open due to some political issues. In little over 3m of water we found the marina and were about to go round it to the yacht club to be met by a guy we had telephoned earlier at the yacht club in a motor boat showing us into the marina not the yacht club!! As the depth sounder showed zero we turned back into the marina and eventually moored up on a concrete pontoon with keel in the mud. It turns out that the marina is closed as the guy who owned it did not have permission to run it so he built an extended pontoon blocking the deep channel to the Yacht Club. The Yacht Club put deeper draft boats in there but can’t charge them for staying so the result a free night!!!

I guess things are a bit different but the country has immense charm and there is evidence of a lot of building and investment alonside very basic run down properties.

We decided to cycle into town and have have a whirlwind evening tour. An amazing huge medieval castle in remarkable condition. The place is a mix of modern and traditional. It is surrounded by the shallow waters of the Baltic with a beach area and an attractive promenade. We sat on a stone memorial seat to Tchaikosvky who visited here and wrote some of his music. The seat had his music piped from behind – very whacky.

Got back at sunset and felt we had got the feel of Haapsalu so we decide to push on tomorrw to Parnu a beach resort furher south in the Gulf of Riga. We will stay there for a short beach holiday!!! before visiting Riga by bus and picking up Tash and the boys.

Lohusalu Yacht Club, Estonia

kaikoura — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:12:00 +0200

We leave Tallinn and head west for the first time in over 3 1/2months. The wind is blowing force 4 SW on the nose and the sea is rough. However we decide to push on and motor to start our way back West. On arriving at Lohusalu we are very pleasantly surprised by the marina and its surrounding pine woods and beaches . The facilities are excellent new shower block, sauna and full power electric hook up and a fat pipe wi-fi connection for free.

We chill out after the roughish conditions and decide to explore tomorow. We stay up until about 2am catching up on pictures and writing for the blog site and as you can see we are pretty well much up to date with lots of new piccies.

The following morning after a leisurely start and a few loads of washing we get the bikes out and go to explore the local village a few clicks away.. A lot of new beach properties are being built. Not the high rise apartments we are used to but large wooden houses with double garages set in a few fenced of aces of woodland. I guess a county whose population is only 1.3m has the space to do this.

We find the local village, a lot of houses but one tiny store in a wooden shed. We buy a few bits and head for the resort hotel nearby on the beach for refreshments. When we ar cycling back along the road Hollie looses control of the handlebars and take a purler. Poor girl a gazed cheek and knee and a badly sprained thumb – ishe was really brave and thankfully it was not worse. When we get back the washing was still not dry so Di being resourceful realises that the sauna is still on so at 10pm she takes her book with her hangs the clothes in the sauna and by midnight they are dry and she is a little overheated!!!

Tallinn day 2

kaikoura — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:36:00 +0200

To be added

Tallinn, Estonia

kaikoura — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:08:00 +0200

Made it to Tallinn, Estonia a major objective and as far East as we go. Only 1000 miles from Gosport as the crow flies so once we leave here we are on our way back.

Had a cracking sail all the way to Tallinn 65 miles broad reach no engine! Arrived at Pirita marina complex 6km from the city centre as there are no marinas right in town. The complex was built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics and so looks like the typcial concrete affairs! So far bagged 2 Olympic complexes the previous being in Keil, Germany….this one is better looking slightly!

We arrived and parked in the now familiar fashion with a stern buoy in very little wind….thank goodness we did so as 5 minutes later the sky turned black and within 1-2 seconds the wind went from 10 kts to 35 kts…..noboby stood a chance of getting the sails in if out to sea, it came from nowhere!

Had a wander around the complex bought the Estonian charts which like Finland are really nice looking! Then got ourselves organised for the bus tirp into Tallinn tomorrow.

Tallinn Day 1

Went to the nearby hotel and found the cash machine! Then bought some tickets for the bus…..off into town!

What can I say Talliinn was everything I expected and more! Wandered around the city walls, wonderful churches, great little cobbled streets and all in glorius sunshine!

Had a spot of lunch in the main square before looking around some more…...churches and views! All in very good nick I might say! Then it was time for early evening drinks…..my choice was the Ice Bar where they serve vodka shots in glasses made of ice and Steve wanted the Beer Hall (surprise surprise!)....we gave Hollie the casting vote…....well done Hol the Ice Bar won and very cool it was too! Did the medieval dinner affair in the evening, medieval food, wine and minstrels….and candles! The menu even had bear on it….no thanks!

What a great day…..another one yet to come…...yippeeee!

Hanko

kaikoura — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:03:00 +0200

Made coffee for Barry and his friends this morning, all members of the cruising assocation! They sail every year in the Baltic and leave their boats here. We had a good British chin wag and then headed back to the boat and set sail for Hanko, our last stop in Finland….....so perhaps Finland (heading at the beginning of our blog) is now officially AND Finland!

Pretty grotty grey day for sailing but at least the wind was okay! It was a bit of ‘around the Lizard’ kind of a route into Hanko as we decided not to take the short cut route on the chart as this was labelled 2.4 lowest depth! The Finnish charts are marvellous as they give the routes you need to go (do not go off the track…...tooo many rocks!) and the lowest depth along that particiular part of the route…...sailing by numbers!

By mid afternoon in Hanko it was sunny again and so we headed out for a walk into ‘town’....the one horse type!

Our last evening in Finland was spent out to dinner with Suzie Too as they were heading on towards Helsinki, we are now off to Tallinn, ESTONIA!!!!! Its only taken me 5 years to get here…..with only 65miles to go!!!

Hogsara anchorage

kaikoura — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:14:00 +0200

Another day another bay…...quote, Fat Face!

Sailed all of 9 miles today to another gorgeous spot. There is a small beach, play area and sauna which we booked for an hour this afternoon! Did the sauna followed by swim in the sea a few times….wonderful. Also made two trips to infamous The Farmers Cafe in the village, the first time to sample the tea and cakes and the second to have an evening stroll and drink whilst listening to some music! Also met an English chap on his boat who is a member of the Cruising Association, he’s not seen English boats here for a few years and had been asking after us! We are meeting him for morning coffee tomorrow.

Yet another great sunset!

Helsingholmen anchorage

kaikoura — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:10:00 +0200

Had a wonderful morning wandering around Gullkrona in the sunshine. There were spectacular views at the top of the hill at the pilot station and also a quaint walk/nature trail with wooden troll sculptures. It was a great place!!!

We then headed for Helsingholmen and met up with Suzie Too. We were then joined late afternoon by Yacht Isabella and Hollies Finnish friend Alice, really great to see them again. They too had a Walker Bay and so late afternoon saw the Finnish Archipelago Walker Bay Regatta! Robert, Heidi, Alice and Oliver then joined us and Suzie Too for champagne to celebrate reaching Finland!

Hollie and Alice then went off for a horse ride and we continued to chat before having Sunday Roast on Tuesday aboard Suzie Too….and of course an episode of HW…series 2!!

Gullkrona Island

kaikoura — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:08:00 +0200

Left the guest harbour in Korpoo at 9.45 after waving goodbye to Alice and their yacht Isabella and sailed all of 17m to the anchorage at Gullkrona.

What a beautiful place! The rain came down and so we stayed on board for the afternoon…..we’ll go and see the island and the trolls tomorrow!

Korpoo Island, Finland Archpeligo

kaikoura — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:48:00 +0200

Left Mariehamn, Aland at 7am and set sail for the Finnish Archipelago, change of flag again!

What a beautiful sail, 10kts of wind and lots of wonderful islands. This feels very different to the Swedish archipelago, much more isolated and natural. I think its because its just island after island with no mainland in site.

Wind picked up so put a reef in and with Suzie Too behind us we sailed into the narrow gap towards Korpoo. The marina at the near end was too exposed to the south west wind that was funnelling down and so we made our way to the far end. There was a small pontoon and stern bouy mooring which was tricky as the wind was on the beam…..made it tough with the help of a Finnish family on Isabella next to us. The a Swedish boat came along and made a total hash of it, got our stern line caught under their keel, got pinned on sideways to us and another boat. We had to take our line off the bouy and secure ourselves onto Isabella. The little girl on board the boat spoke perfect English (she went to an English speaking school) and was the same age as Hollie. A great friendship in the making!

Managed to sort out our Swedish boat just in time for Suzie Too to arrive and drag a bouy under their keel, its not easy manouvering with 20kts on the beam. It all worked out okay in the end, all except for the bouy which was left 15m away from its original position!

Another 65m logged today in 9 hours.

Mariehamn Arland - day 2

kaikoura — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:10:00 +0200

Day trip round the Island with David at the helem (of a Volkswagen)

Mariehamn, Aland Islands, Finland

kaikoura — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:38:00 +0200

Made it to Finland

Moja, Krikviken Guesthamn

kaikoura — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:30:00 +0200

Had to say goodbye to Chris and Chris today…boo hoo. We had checked out ferry times back into Stockholm from a number of islands and decided that Moja was a good bet. Once there we found that there were a number of potential ferry stops and so it took a couple of stops to find the right place! We ended up mooring the boat in the tiny Berg harbour next to another Legend (Hunter in this case) 33. After a coffee we said our goodbyes and waved them off on the lunchtime ferry back to the city.

We then decided to stay overnight and get prepared for our next sail in the morning North East to The Aland Islands, Finland!

Ladnafladen Anchorage

kaikoura — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 04:19:00 +0200

The plan this morning was to sail to an anchorage with Chris and Chris and to show them the park with stern anchor and a rock to mooring. The weather however was terrible, raining……not used to this! We therefore decided to stay put until it stopped and so had a lazy day! Steve impressed the guests when he made fresh bread for the crew! The rain stopped late afternoon and so we then headed off to the anchorage.

Once there we had a couple of rock to options and so checked them out. The first wasn’t sheltered enough and so we proceeded to the second. This involved negotiating round a submerged rock (1.6m below). As the water began to get shallow Steve decided to reverse as he thought he was going over it, the wind then took the bows and heh presto our first Baltic bump and with company too! We just rode over the rock! The rock to mooring was also quite tricky as it had been raining all day and the rocks were therefore slippery! I got off, as always, but nearly ended up in the water as I slid down the rock. Luckily I sat down and saved myself. Had a curry complete with Steve’s home made naan bread………..very impressed crew twice in one day!

Grinda Island

kaikoura — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:05:00 +0200

Said goodbye to Stockholm this morning, what a great city and headed off to Grinda one of the Islands with Chris and Chris onboard. We followed Suzie Too who had with them The Rebels (Jim, Rona and Mathew) as well as David’s daughter and her boyfriend, Lisa and Mark. The sail took us past Vaxholm via a very narrow and shallow channel to Grinda where Suzanne had booked lunch for us all. It was a lovely spot overlooking the boats and we all had a really relaxing day. We then had a short walk around the island and then had to sadly, say goodbye to The Rebels as they headed for the late afternoon ferry back to Stockholm. Chris and Chris then stayed another night with us off Grinda, perfect!

Stockholm post b'day

kaikoura — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:45:00 +0200

With the gang (Rebels, Britesparks and Suzie Too’s) still in Stockholm we had a packed day organized to ‘do’ Stockholm. Firs port of call was tha Vasa Museum right next door to the marina. The Vasa was the Swedish Mary Rose that sailed into Stockholm Habour on her maiden voyage, in the first 10 minutes she turned turtle and sank. Seeing the amazingly preserved ship you can see immediately that she wouldn’t float with 90% of her hull above the water line. It wasn’t helped by the fact that the cannons had been fired as a salute and all two stories of gun ports were open Duh! The degree of presevation is incredible and as good as the Mary Rose is it looks like a couple of wet planks in comparison.

Then on to a local bar for more celebratory drinks and on to the ferry for a wander around Gamla Stan (the old town) in the afternoon. It was great to wander about such a nice town with our sailing mates. On return to the boat we knocked up a BBq feast and more bubbly to wash it down with. Another great day in Stockholm.

Stockholm - the big one

kaikoura — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:19:00 +0200

I woke up on a sunny morning in Stockholm on my 60th birthday – how did that happen!! It promised to be a great day, Jim, Rona and Matthew were arriving late afternoon and Chris and Chris late evening. The day started with pressies and cards, some carried with us when we set off in April! A lovely book from Di and Hollie on the Swedish Coastline, a great reminder of our time here, a nice teeshirt from Andy and Debsand of course the famous D300 camera – brilliant. David, Suzanne, Lisa and Mark came over mid morning for bucks fizz with a very nice present of a bottle of Grappa and two lovely wonky shot glasses.

Ian and Helen both phoned to wish me happy birthday, lovely to hear from them, a great pity they couldn’t be here to celebrate with me but I am sure we will have a few drinks when we return.

We all went for a nice lunch in the Sailors bar on the waterfront sitting outside in the sunshine. and then went for a wander round town. Jim Rona and Matthew were arriving at 6.00 to go out with us for a meal. With everyone togged up we went to their hotel to meet them, it was great to see them all again. The restaurant just know as Resturang served Swedish/Oriental fusion food and the choice was 3, 5 or 7 dishes each with a particular main flavour chosen from a list of 20 each served with a selected wine. The food was fantastic and together with great company made for a very memorable occasion.

After the eal we had to nip back into town to met up with Chris and Chris who arrived from the airport by bus at 10.30. After the usual mobile ping pong we finally found them and went back o Jim and rona’s hotel for drinks – not the cheapest round we have had!!

Back to the boat for a final night cap with C&C a memorable day with good wine, good food and great friends made up for the fact that I am now eligible for a bus pass!!!

Stockholm 2nd-3rd July

kaikoura — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:09:00 +0200

Another early start from the Gamlastan Theatre in Oostersuund for the final part of our Inlandsbanan journey back to Stockholm. We wound our way back through the now familiar pine forests and lakes. An early stop for coffee and cakes another stop for an 11.30 lunch! The places were quaint, almost like the Canadian backwoods with reindeer skins, sheath knives and local crafts to tempt you. Di bought me a rather nice very sharp knife for my birthday, a nice memento of the trip.

We finally made Mora the final stop of the Inlandsbanan with a few hours to explore before catching the express train back into Stockholm. Mora was a nice surprise on a lakeside, a pretty town with the excellent Zorn Museum. Anders Zorn (1860-1920) is Sweden’s most famous artist, a very successful portrait painter, a contempory of the impressionists. An excellent display of his work in a great setting.

After a nice lunch and ice creams by the lake we headed for the tarin and made our way swiftly back to Stockholm. Arriving back at the boat about 9pm we were treated to a homecoming dinner and a few slugs of red wine aboard Suzie Too, one of the joys of cruising in company!

The next morning another trip to Nikon headquarters to drop in the malfunctioning D80 camera which had caused such frustration. Nikon were brilliant they had agreed to fix the camera a second time and lent me another D80 for the rest of the holiday together with a wide angle lens that I wanted to try out – very impressive customer service.

While I was away at Nikon Di and Hollie visited Junibacken which is based around childrens stories the most famous of which is Astrid Lindgren’s Pippy Londstockings – they had a nice time glad I was visiting Nikon!!

In the afternoon we cycled to the Sodermalm district of Stockholm ‘one of the most desirable places for Stockholmers to live close to the stylish bars and restaurants that are favourite haunts of Stockholm’s young and terminally hip’! Not sure what WE were doing there but what the hell we went for a drink at Benny Anderson’s Rival Hotel.

Later in the evening David’s daughter Lisa and her partner Mark arrived for a week on Suzie Too. We went to say hello and had a quick drink. Lisa had kndly brought out my birthday present from Di – a new camera!!! "the dogs" a Nikon D300, which I was not allowed to open until the following day.