Its been more than a month since we again left each other in Helsinki, Finland – where does the time go? And our fellow classmates – where do they go – We can only hope a better place, but they are remembered, each of them, by ourselves. These get-togethers seem more meaningful each time we do them.
Once again, a fantastic effort by Kai to put together a wonderful trip for us. The three boats of the last time were eclipsed by a fleet of 4 this time under his direction as ‘Admiral of Fleet’ and fellow captains, Ole, Simon and Satu. What a brave lady to join our group and very much part of the group she became!
In Kai’s words
Now that the Turkey reunion is only a few months away, it is time to think of the next one. As I have written earlier, another sailing trip in Finland is a possibility in mid-August 2019. Below please find a brief outline of what to expect. Those who came last time will, of course, already know a lot more. We would be sailing in the same area, but not necessarily visit the same ports – there are so many to choose from.
We would be sailing in the Archipelago National Park . Kasnäs is the point of departure and arrival. You can also see information on the charter company . The boats take a maximum of six people each, and one of these must have a certificate of sailing proficiency for the charter company. As all the skippers who came previously (Simon Lagoe, Dave Nockels and myself) have indicated an interest in repeating the experience, we should be able to charter at least three boats.
Each day would consist of 4-6 hours of sailing before mooring at a village port or guest marina. Many of the possible ports of call either have a restaurant or the possibility to buy fish (fresh, smoked or pickled), so dinner can be had either onshore or onboard.
There is also the possibility of some activities before and after the actual sailing. Dinner at my yacht club is highly recommended (or what would those who participated last time say?). Last time we visited the Viking village close to Kasnäs before setting off. Another possibility is to go to Bengtskär lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in the Nordic countries, also in the vicinity of Kasnäs. Of course, I am open to any suggestions.
As it happened, we were on the boats August 17th-24th, and a smaller group visited Tallin, Estonia, on the 25th. We departed Helsinki for the boats on the 16th and spent the initial day visiting the lighthouse and staying onshore at Kasnas. On the 15th and 24th, we had get together meals in Helsinki. Most gathered in Helsinki on the 14th and 15th and did some touring of the city.
I guess the standout event of the trip for me must have been the rescue of our boat after we lost the prop (don’t ask) by a RIB – the self same we had a part in designing all those years ago. As always though, it is the memories of the shared times we had together – still classmates after all these years.
Below are links to galleries of images provided by some of the participants. I have tried to put them in chronological order – Emily identified hers by location, and I have included those in the file names of here images.
I hope to create a short movie of the trip from the material collected, but I have yet to get around to that. It’s busy being retired! As before, click on the thumbnails, and you will be taken to a larger image, and you can proceed from image to image. If you want one of your images removed, please let me know. If you want an image of you removed, contact the person who took it and have them contact me. Each image has a file name and numbers so I can identify them and in the description under each is the maximum pixel size of each – If you want a full-size image I will send it to you (I may also be able to make it larger depending on the quality of the original) I also apologize if you think your image got altered – nearly all I tweaked a little, straightened and or cropped.
Hope you enjoy them
And all the best – Ross – Oct 2019