Wed. 7/10/19
Dep 12.18pm, arrive 5.57pm. 24.7nm. 5 hrs. 39 mins.
For a higher-resolution map of this route, click HERE:
Wednesday dawned bright and sunny with good wind that promised a brisk passage to Kasnäs. By now my initial conservative sail plan had given way to a more confident outlook and with about 10 knots on the beam we hoisted full main, 140% genoa and mizzen for a brisk sail with the wind alternating from a beach reach to close hauled.
Grace and Knut swapped on and off at the helm while I concentrated on navigating. But while the day stayed sunny as the afternoon wore on the wind eased and by 3.30 were were barely moving under a full press of sail, although our tans were certainly progressing nicely. Soon the wind kicked back in however and we enjoyed a brisk sail right to the entrance of of the Kasnä harbor, before we dropped sail and fired up the genny.
The harbor is divided into outside and inside berths and I tried to find an inside option before discovering all the choice spots were private. No surprise there, I suppose. As the wind continued to rise I was forced to turn the boat around in tight quarter that left my crew – and a couple of the local boatowners – a little nervous, but we made it out without incident and came in on an outside berth with stern buoy. Once we tied up snugly and our heart rates returned to normal we had a look around, noting clean and modern facilities, a nice terraced bar overlooking the marina, laundry, sauna showers and quite a large restaurant – or raventola, as the Finns call it. There were holiday chalets lining the marina area suggesting this was a not just a destination for yachties. We had dinner on the boat and one bottle of wine turned into two. I was eager to turn in because I had a deadline the following day, but Knut and Grace felt differently, and I believe they woke me up around 2am to watch a huge, lustrous Finnish moon rise in the distance. It was quite a moment.
Thurs. 11th: For me the day was consumed with a newspaper deadline but Grace and Knut took the chance to explore. I did take a break at tea time and I was very glad I did. On the advice of the harbor master we took a ten minute walk up the road to the most adorable tea house, nestled in the forest down a quiet lane. The grounds were awash in granite outcroppigs and local wildflowers, and three of us ordered tea. Hibiscus for the crew, green tea for me. The tea came with a tray of freshly-baked focaccia with three toppings, including a spicy aoli and a yummy onion marmalade. Since they had fast wi-fi I stayed to work while the crew headed back to Arcturus. Twenty minutes later the heavens opened and I spent a very enjoyable hour inside the tea shop, sitting in a comfortable chair and listening to the pulsating percussion of a Finnish rainstorm on the corrugated iron roof. It was quite a special moment.
Leave a Reply