Finland

We've been in Finland for about a week, and we have crew! Ian and Mary joined us in Porvoo, Finland's second oldest town, and at one time an important port. It is full of pretty painted wooden houses, lined along a peaceful river. Lots of tourists visit on day trips from Helsinki, some by bus and some in the old ...

Well ahoy there sailors!! I am your guest blogger for today... Ian and I joined Karen and William on their Baltic adventure last Sunday and we’ve been having fun in the sun... and rain..😱 Finland is an awesome place and exploring the islands has been lovely. The sunsets have been incredible - and it never gets dark! We very much ...

After four days island-hopping along the Finnish coast reacquainting ourselves with the joys of 'love hut' dry toilets, we were all in serious need of a long hot shower as we reached Helsinki. These huts on Kaunissaari are actually quite upmarket. The previous days heading west had provided some exhilarating sailing, beating in 20-25 knots, well reefed, round the buoys ...

The plan had included a visit to St Petersburg ever since Karen found out it wasn't easy..... But all up the coast from Denmark through Sweden and Estonia to Helsinki, various sailors we met shared their stories of all the ways it could all go horribly wrong. So we wimped out and bought train tickets for the Allegro Express, and ...

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 ...

There are two marinas in Hanko, the port at the tip of mainland Finland, and an essential stop before heading out to the Åland Island archipelago. We chose the island marina, set on rolling granite rock, with wild flowers growing in the cracks, and wooden walkways to the sauna. It was very nice indeed. A little marina boat took us ...

Just outside Mariehamn, the capital of the Åland Islands, is a little treasure of a harbour, another of our racing Finn's top tips. We managed to squeeze our bow into the pontoon and pick up a stern buoy, then set off for the harbour master's office to pay our fee. The aroma of freshly baked cakes and kanellebulle, (cinnamon buns) ...

This month's guest blog is from the visiting crew of Mazu, currently in Sicily, via a transatlantic crossing last year. We've had so many super sailing adventures with these two, and it is such a pleasure to invite them on board in return. They say they wanted to cool off from the Med, and we were absolutely able to oblige ...