Heading West

It was pouring with rain as we met Hope and Howard off the evening train in Helsinki, and not the best welcome for two sailors coming from the climate in Sicily. But by morning, the skies had cleared, and our destination of the small harbour of Lahteela to the west made for a good sail, and great scenery.

We tied up to a little wooden pontoon and wandered ashore for a look around. There were covered barbecue pits, and a log cabin, full of logs and a big axe to chop your own wood for the fire pit. The chops and spuds have never tasted better.

Next stop was Rodjan on the Island of Algö where we squeezed onto the end of a wooden jetty, having been warned by the local Finnish sailors that our first choice was likely to be too shallow.

The island is a national park, with a marked trail starting at an old fisherman’s cottage, now a museum, then had us scrambling over rocks, and wandering through pine forests, picking wild blueberries – unfortunately nowhere near enough for a pie!

After a few G&Ts and a bit of craic on board, the crew tucked up for the night, then realised our skipper had gone missing. We eventually found him in the wee small hours, bonding with the park ranger and his mates inside the museum over a locally brewed beer. Trust William to find a lock-in!