Jellyfish! Lots and lots of small jellyfish next to our boat. I didn’t even know we had those in Finland but we were all very excited to see them. A good sign and a good send off for our next leg to the capital of Åland, Mariehamn.
How to Not Get Seasick
With lessons learned from our previous sail, we decided that if there was any weather, everyone would suit up and come out to sail in the cockpit. Aiko, our beloved dog, would sail outside always.
Seasickness is quite a mysterious thing, but most often, being inside without visual indications of what is up and down and right and left, is much more difficult than being outside.
Also, we reminded ourselves of the importance to both drink and eat, even when it’s a bit difficult to cook the food. And to wear warm clothes. The worse you feel, the easier it is for seasickness to get a hold of you, so better to do your best to avoid it.
The weather forecasts were showing decent weather again, though, but with hindsight, anything could happen.
It’s Coming Straight At Us!
The forecasts were right, this time. We had moderate winds and wonderful sailing.
When we got to the more narrow passages, our familiar cruise ships appeared. The children were extra excited as the cruise ships first seemed to come right at us, and then just moments later veered off and passed us very closely.
“It’s coming straight at us!” M shouted. “We’re going to crash!” she added joyfully.
We were all having fun. (And everyone, dog included, felt great!)
Longside in Mariehamn
Ending our otherwise uneventful sail (except for the cruise ships coming straight at us), we arrived at the MSF harbour in Mariehamn.
There was something very special about this place, to me.
Some years ago, I sailed with my friends and my previous boat to Mariehamn. We were walking around and looking at other boats, when we saw this huge yacht moored longside, outside of the marina. It was absolutely beautiful. A Hanse 575. The first Hanse yacht I had ever seen.
I remember getting that feeling then, that one day I want a yacht like that. And that’s really the beginning of my attraction to the Hanse brand. And the reason why we were now sailing with our own Hanse.
The yacht we saw was commissioned by Team Windcraft in New Zealand and here’s a bit more of their story.
Terra Firma
We spent a few days in Mariehamn and the children absolutely loved it.
They loved the sandy playground in the marina, they loved my favourite pizza place, they loved to go to the Pommern sail ship and the maritime museum. They loved to be ashore, on firm ground.
I think that is part of the sailing charm. To struggle (at least a bit) to get there, and then feel the better when you’ve arrived.
We washed our clothes, charged our batteries, filled our tanks. And just stayed there for while, because we weren’t going anywhere special, just being on vacation.
My mother’s brother actually sailed to Australia with her sister ship. That must have been quite the voyage.