Legend has it that there once was a princess who was so impressed by the beauty of these islands that she offered here crown to the sea. Victoria adds: hence the name Gullkrona, golden crown. Wolfgang read about this legend many years ago and, as is the way with these…
Now it is a research outpost of Turku University but Seili has seen it’s fair share of a grim past. Victoria adds: Seili housed a leper colony until the mid-18th century when the last leper, who had been confined to the island for over 50 years, finally died. The building…
A little marina awaited us at Nagu. It is surprisingly large and seems to be a centre of activity for the Fins, as it can be reached by car from the mainland. Bars, restaurants, fancy marine-themed shops nestle around the harbour. We got some sopping, showering and work done and…
A fantastic sail from Högsåra to Nagu. Quite a bit of wind was coming from west to south-west and we let Akka run. She had the second reef in the main and according to the course, I not only trimmed the genoa but also reefed it, approx. 15 times during the…
Akka is a lady from the 70s and the orange (not a bright orange, more a baby shit yellow-brown affair) gelcoat inside shows this very much. However, after a few weeks the anti-slip orange floor gets very dirty and on my nerves. Here a before, during and after. A success…
And another charming island- Högsåra. 2 small harbours, picturesque villages, sandy beaches and a Kaffeekuchenhaus. Perfect!
Rosala has a Viking museum just round the corner from the harbour. We were not sure what to expect, as museums on small islands can be a rather basic affair. Not the Rosala Viking Centre! We were even greeted by hand-shake! But it turned out that the owners were waiting…
Victoria was not feeling too well, so we decided to stay another night on Rosala. This time we moved to the proper harbour just around the corner. Very nice indeed.
A fantastic sailing morning turned into an exciting beating against a 5+ wind into a missing harbour. We left Hanko in glorious weather and had a perfect sail east. Sunshine and a nice breeze took us through a wonderful archipelago. Champagne sailing! During the day the wind got up and…
Before we arrived at Hanko we were interviewed by the police! This was a first for us and quite exciting. As we approached Hanko we saw a rib making a beeline for us. They came to our port stern and with lots of shouting they asked us where we were…