We had a much nicer trip to Estonia
than our lumpy voyage from Gotland to Latvia.
It was a bit of a grey day, but we were able to sail or motor-sail most
of the way. There was some interesting
navigation for Charles to get his teeth into, and a few very strong gusts to
keep Alexander busy on the helm. Here are the men at work …!
This is the narrow, dredged channel
into Kuressaare Marina on the island of Saaremaa …
The banks either side are a breeding
ground for thousands of birds – gulls, terns, geese, swans – and they made an
incredible cacophony of squawking as we passed and got our first glimpse of the
castle …
We eventually managed to tie up
safely in Kuressaare marina in a gusty wind after a bit of a palaver with the
stern buoys and some assistance from the Cruising Association members who had
arrived early for the rally. Later we
were invited for dinner on board Anders’s boat – and a very delicious spread he
produced for 9 people …
The next day we walked into the
attractive little town of Kuressaare and enjoyed some well-earned refreshment
and a lovely lunch with Alexander before he left the boat and set off for
Tallinn …
Many of the houses here have a
definite Scandinavian feel, but are smaller and a bit less smart …
However, there is quite a contrast,
with lots of new building and renovation work going on. Here is a rather more grand, traditional-style
house …
… and an example of new, very modern
architecture – all within a stone’s-throw of each other …
It was mid-summer’s eve while we
were there, so we enjoyed joining in with the celebrations. Everyone seemed to be out to watch
traditional Estonian dancing …
… and the ceremonial lighting of the
massive mid-summer bonfire …
These children were beautifully dressed in
national costume …
The following day the Cruising
Association Rally, ably organised by Nicholas, got under way. We were warmly
welcomed by Oskar, the harbourmaster, who is also the CA’s local
representative. The Rally started with a
tour round the island.
We saw some interesting medieval
churches – this is Valjala, the oldest church on Saaremaa island – an
interesting feature is that the tower is located to one side near the altar,
and the façade has a number of differing styles incorporated in it, including
Romanesque and Gothic …
We then visited the fascinating
meteor crater at Kaali, where you can clearly see the perfectly round shape of
the small lake and shards of dolomite which were thrown up by the impact …
This was followed by a delicious
lunch of smoked fish and ‘farm beer’ in a traditional hostelry…
… and a visit to a former Soviet
cold-war missile site, which is now a nature reserve, but still has quite a
sinister atmosphere. It is the site
from which Gary Powers’s U2 reconnaissance aircraft was shot down in 1960. This is one of the tunnels through
which the missiles were moved to the firing site …
Back at the marina, one striking
sight is this huge sculpture, which looks like some sort of celebration of
fishing …
… and hidden away under the eaves of
the marina building, a nestful of baby swallows waiting for their dinner!
We had a tasty meal at a local
restaurant – once we had found our way in! For some reason, there are quite a
lot of doors at first storey level in Estonia, but I was unable to find out
why!
I wasn’t quite brave enough to try
the garfish, a sort of eel-like fish, on this occasion …
… but the following day enjoyed a meal
of smoked fish in a local country restaurant which felt like we were being
invited into the lady’s own home …
The food was delicious …
… and in the back garden we could
see how the smoking was done …
We had two very interesting tours of
boat-building companies. We were surprised and impressed at how much of the
process is still done by hand – perhaps it helps to explain why boats are so
expensive!!
This is the underside of the deck
moulding having layers of fibreglass matting applied with some sort of resin at
the Saare Paat works, a high-class Estonian boat brand – the pungent smell
would have been a glue sniffer’s paradise!
Here is the teak deck being laid out
within a very accurate template – it will be glued and fitted together with
caulking and expoxied to the upper side of the deck in one piece …
We also visited the factory where
the Swedish brand, Arcona, builds its yachts before motoring them across the
Baltic Sea mast-less to Stockholm where they are equipped and finished off to
owners’ requirements. This is the inside
of an Arcona 410 having the bulkheads and furniture installed.
The ‘pièce de resistance’ of Kuressaare is really the
beautiful moated Bishop’s Castle which dates back to the 14th
century …
It is one
of the best-preserved medieval castles in the Baltic states and is built with
local dolomite. It contains an
interesting museum which explains the island of Saaremaa’s history – mostly being invaded by Russia or
Germany, and sometimes by Sweden and Denmark in between! Visiting such a modern European country as
Estonia is now, it’s hard to remember that for more than half my lifetime it was
behind the ‘iron curtain’ and not able to be visited freely at all. There are some harrowing tales of the
hardships endured by the Estonian people over the centuries.
Here’s a rare photo of me (I'm usually
taking them!) on the battlements with a view of the marina and coastline in the
background …
This is one of the beautifully
preserved corridors inside the castle …
Later that evening we had a medieval
banquet in one of the castle rooms – the Bishop’s Dinner. This is the master of ceremonies welcoming us
– the lady beside him is our translator.
We had music played on medieval instruments and a display of dancing, which
we were later encouraged to take part in.
The food was delicious – soup, cold
meats and cheese, roasted wild boar, honey cake and berries – all washed down
with red wine …
The feast was served in earthenware
crockery, with a wooden spoon and single knife as our only utensils. There were
no such things as napkins or serviettes in those days, so we were invited to
wipe our hands on the edge of the tablecloth …
This was the final day of the
Cruising Association Rally, so Nicholas made a presentation to Oskar to thank
him for all his help and advice …
Here’s a last glimpse of the
beautiful and atmospheric castle at dusk …
Off tomorrow towards Tallinn,
Estonia’s capital, with a couple of stops on the way.
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