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.
Category: Sailing
From Turku to Åland — And Uh-Oh Crap
Our sailing vacation finally started! It was a cold and cloudy Monday. We left quite late and had only one objective: to get just a bit away from Turku so that it wouldn’t feel like being home anymore. The next day, though, was to be both exciting and— for a few— quite terrible.
Don't Reef the FCL Jib
Last week we found out that 20+ knots of upwind with one reef in the main and a fully rolled out jib equaled too much sail for our newbie family sailing. Previous experience suggested that reducing sail area by partly furling away the jib wasn’t a good option. But what would have been? I asked the knowledgeable people over at myHanse.com as well as Elvstrøm Sails, the provider of the Hanse’s FCL furling jib.
Sailing Is the Most Terrible Thing Ever!!!
Charlotte and I woke up at about four in the morning to the sunrise and the wind changing. We both looked out the window and gasped. Out on the sky, there was this beautiful rainbow painted onto an equally beautiful archipelago background, all colored with redish morning sunrise.
Sleepover in a Sailboat
Midsummer is the holiday in June when people flock away from their workplaces and city apartments towards their summer cottages and boats. The weather looked nice so we thought this would be the perfect time to go out sailing, all of us, and see what it would feel like, to spend a few days, as well as nights, on the boat.
With Charlotte, Children and a Dog
It looked like the perfect day to try it for the very first time: to go out on a short boat trip with the whole family (including our newly arrived rescue dog from Romania), and see whether it would turn out ok or a disaster. I was pretty exhausted after our delivery from Germany, but after having talked and thought about it for almost a year, I think Charlotte and I both just finally wanted to do it.