East to Estonia (via Finland) - 60° 15' 25" N 20° 44' 11" E

 

Cat Statue - for Jenny!

A cool shortcut through a canal with a bascule bridge, then a wiggle through the archipelago 

It was a quick and easy motor-and-sail to Remnarhamn.  It was notable for two reasons: It was the first sail of the year that it warm enough for the whole crew to wear shorts and it happened to be Sean's birthday.

NOW it feels like summer!

  

While underway, Kate manages to bake and ice a cake for Sean's birthday!

We arrived late in the evening and celebrated in style.  Happy birthday Sean!   

With the forecast being for persistent westerlies, our need to get Pat to a drop off point near an airport and our desire to do a bit of sailing, we changed plans.  Rather than pottering and wiggling our way through the rocks to Helsinki, we decided to head south (through different rocks) then plot a course to Tallinn in Estonia.  

Our next couple of anchorages were in Finland so up goes the flag

So, with a look at the charts we came up with a couple of anchorages that would head us in the direction of Tallinn before the overnight hop across the Gulf of Finland.  And didn't we nail those anchorages! 

Björkö, meaning Birch Island, is quite the common name around these parts

Our first anchorage was Björkö. A great little bay with a VERY narrow entrance.  We anchored but there were several boats tied to the rocks.  Had it not been for the stiff breeze, we may have attempted a rock tie ourselves.  There were a few huts and a sauna (this is Finland after all) and birds, birds birds.  We were obviously having way too much fun as we have failed to take a single photograph in the anchorage!

Colour coordination is a key element of a successful passage!

Following a great sail through the rocks (my goodness there are a lot of rocks!) we landed in the little harbour of Örö.  We had simply plucked the name off the chart because it was in the right direction and it was a handy location for our jump across the Gulf of Finland.  We did not realise we were landing in 'A unique pearl in the Archipelago'. 

We tied up in the little harbour just as it started to rain

Örö Fortress Island was a military area and off limits for 100 years.  It was part of the system of maritime forts build by Peter the Great of Russia across the Gulf of Finland to protect St Petersburg.  It is now a national park and sports some of the most important concentrations of endangered species and habitat in Southern Finland. Again, spring is following us (or we are following spring) so lilacs and flowers abound.  And, of course, the sauna.  There is always a sauna!

Beers, sauna, happy boys

Next port - Estonia!