Will We Sail Again?

So, we got our lovely new Hanse yacht, and we did spend a good part of last summer family sailing together. But how did it go? Was this to be our first and last summer of sailing, or will the story continue?

1300 Miles

A short recap of where we went and what we did.

Our first five-hundred miles was the maiden trip from Greifswald (through Bornholm and Visby) to Turku.

After that we did some short sails near Turku, including our very first time with the children and our Midsummer sail.

The main event was our summer vacation sail. We started from Turku, had our worst sail ever crossing over to the Åland islands, then continued on to Sweden and Stockholm. After enjoying the Stockholm archipelago, we had our most adventurous trip ever when we sailed nonstop to Tallinn, Estonia. After that we turned back, crossed over to Finland, enjoyed swimming in crazily warm water, and, finally, got back home again.

We went out a for a few really short trips after that, as well. Finally, in late October we sailed our dear yacht to her winter storage location.

My trip logger says we did about 1300 nautical miles in total. (The exact figure was 1191, and adding the missing Greifswald-Rønne leg it summed up to about 1279.)

It’s just a number, obviously, but honestly, it’s a slightly larger number than I expected 😄.

So, What Was It Like?

I interviewed all the kids as well as Charlotte. Here’s what they had to say.

M

(M’s real name is actually Chasmira but we all call her Mimmi, hence the M)

What was the most fun during our sailing vacation?

M: It was Mariehamn because we could go out and play together a lot. As long as we had our life jackets on! And we got to pat a lot of dogs with Lily (“Little L”). Tallin and Gröna Lund were fun too!

What was the most fun when we were out on the sea?

M: The night sail! At first it was a bit scary with the waves, but in the end everything was fun. And it was fun to be on a very long trip.

Do you want to go sailing next summer?

M: YES!

Where would you like to go next summer?

M: First to Gröna Lund, then to Tallinn, then to Mariehamn, then to Stockholm!

If you could choose some new places to go to, where would that be?

M: Hmm… I’d want to go where mom wants to go! To Norway!

When out on the yacht, is there something you’d like to do that you didn’t do last summer?

M: Yes! I want to turn the winches more. And then be on lookout and navigate. And help you out on the deck!

What was your most fond memory of last summer?

M: Mom, when she was sunbathing and holding her hands over her chest.

What is one thing you’d want to do next summer?

M: Shout at other boats near by that ‘come here! come here!’.

O

(O’s real name is Oliver!)

What was the most fun during our sailing vacation?

O: Gröna Lund and Tallinn! Gröna Lund because it had all the rides and Tallinn because it was so beautiful.

What was the most fun when we were out on the sea?

O: That we could sleep for as long as we wanted and didn’t have to go to school. And when we were floating in the water with the life jackets!

What was the least fun?

O: When I vomited and felt sick.

When out on the yacht, is there something you’d like to do that you didn’t do last summer?

O: I wanted to swim more! And… last summer I wanted to be out more to look at everything but because I had that stupid vomiting, I couldn’t..

Do you want to go sailing next summer?

O: Yes!

Where would you like to go next summer?

O: Wherever there is the warmest water! Cities? Well… to Oslo, because it was so beautiful when we went there by car. Also Copenhagen would be nice since I’ve never been there and some of my friends have.

What is your best memory from last summer?

O: That we were all together.

One thing you hope we will do next summer?

O: I want to night sail offshore so that we are all awake!

J

(J is Julius 😊)

What was the most fun during our sailing vacation?

J: To go to Mariehamn, because there we bought are own books. And the playground was close to the boat and we went there a lot. Stockholm was also great because Gröna Lund was there!

What was the most fun when we were out on the sea?

J: The new lego figures we got! And when we played with them.

What was the least fun?

J: Nothing really. Everything was ok. I didn’t get seasick at all either.

Do you want to go sailing next summer?

J: Yes!

Where would you like to go next summer?

J: To Tallinn and to the pirate restaurant. It was fun!

Where would you like to go next summer that we didn’t go this summer?

J: Hmm… maybe to Copenhagen. And Lego land!

When out on the yacht, is there something you’d like to do that you didn’t do last summer?

J: Well, I didn’t do so much. So next summer I want to do more. And… it would be fun to have the iPad on the boat also..

Little L

(Little L’s real name is Lily!)

My interview with Little L didn’t go very well. I think she was thinking of something else, so she ended up giving me the cold shoulder!

She couldn’t think of anything nice from our summer trip. She thought the absolutely worst part was swimming, and she was the only one who really would not want to go sailing next year.

I’m not sure, though, because all of this she said with a mischievous smile on her face. I suspect some foul play there! 👀

Charlotte

Finally, dear Charlotte.

What was the most fun during our sailing vacation?

Charlotte: Gröna Lund was good because I had waited for it since I was a child and now I finally got to go there. Tallinn was great, because I had never been there either. The best thing was being in the sun and being together.

What was the least fun?

Charlotte: When it was cold and raining, and lots of waves out on the sea. That wasn’t really fun.

What was the nicest things out on the boat?

Charlotte: The sea!

Do you want to go again next summer?

Charlotte: Yes!

Where?

Charlotte: To Norway to see the waterfalls! And I think I’ve brainwashed the children to think the same.

What would you like to do more, on the boat?

Charlotte: Well.. it would be nice to be less fearful of different things.. like steering.. and other things. I’d like to be able to do them without feeling so anxious about it. And of course I’d like to get more time relaxing in the sun!

One good memory from last summer?

Charlotte: Our day at the Rummu beach. It was a bit different from everything else. The children seemed to like it as well, and they were a bit more calm than usually.

One wish for next summer?

Charlotte: To see the waterfalls!

My Thoughts

It was wonderful listening to the children talking about our sailing vacation, and (with smiles and giggles) explain to me what they liked a lot, and what they liked … not so much.

The amusement parks and attractions were obviously popular, but I really did get the sense that just being together had been very important to all. (And how cool is that!)

I tried to think of my own fondest memory, but there were so many flashing through my head that it was hard to pin-point a single one; when O finally dared to go swimming, when J was happily sailing in the flamingo, when M and Little L arrived back from exploring Tallinn together. And so many more.

On the other hand, there were a few times in the very beginning (cold, rain, seasick children, seasick dog, nobody happy with anything) when I was almost ready to give up on the whole thing. Charlotte was the stronger of us then, refusing to fail so early on, and supporting me to do the same.

So maybe that’s my fondest memory.

Not one particular event, but the feeling that although the first few days weren’t very easy, we did the best to support each other, we did keep going, and, in the end, it all turned out to be quite wonderful.

Next Summer

My dream for next summer is that we really do go out sailing again, and that nobody in our newbie sailing family will be seasick any more.

As to where, I think Charlotte has brainwashed me as well, so the answer is obvious: to Norway and the waterfalls.

Sailing from Finland to the West coast of Norway is a huge undertaking, of course, and it’s quite possible we won’t get anywhere nearly that far.

Nothing wrong in dreaming, though.

Before this summer, I thought we’d only sail really close to home, here in the Finnish archipelago. In the end, we had crossed over to both Sweden and Estonia.

Well done, dear crew and family! ❤️