4 - 8 July: Helsinki with 'old' and new friends!

We left Tallinn on quite a windy day; other boats seemed to be only going along the coast, not across the open sea.  But once we got out there, it was actually an enjoyable, lively sail in sunny weather, even though we were heeled over a fair bit …

We sailed into Helsinki past Suomenlinna Fortress (also known by its Swedish name of Sveaborg), a huge fortification on a group of islands off Helsinki, built in the 18^th century when Sweden ruled Finland, as a maritime fortress and base for the fleet.  Swedish is still spoken in several parts of Finland and is an official language of the country, and all road signs and notices are written in both languages.

We also passed Klippan island where Jo went to a friend’s wedding last year …

… on our way to the NJK Marina on the next-door island of Blekholmen which enjoys a fabulous situation in the very centre of Helsinki harbour. The Nyländska Jaktklubben (NJK) is the oldest yacht club in Finland and was founded in 1861 when Finland was still part of the Russian Empire …

It has a wonderful, old clubhouse dating from 1900 …

… which is just as attractive inside as out, with stained glass windows in the Sailor’s Clubroom where we enjoyed a delicious meal at a ‘special’ price because we were guests in the marina!

The massive ferries which come into Helsinki harbour from Sweden, Estonia and St Petersburg dwarf the yachts in the marina – ‘Astraia’ is on the left – it’s impressive to watch these huge ships turn round and dock in such a restricted space …

The ferries also dwarf the Helsinki skyline!

One strange sight we saw chugging past our marina berth was this mobile floating sauna, smoke billowing from it – the sauna was invented in Finland and the Finns are very keen on it, but I’ve never seen such a quaint contraption as this before!

We had a lovely view from Blekholmen of Helsinki at sundown – about midnight!

The next day we met up with ‘old’ friends Paul and Teri, who coincidentally were in Helsinki on a cruise ship at the very same moment as us!

I went to Suomenlinna Fortress with them in the morning – an unusually foggy day, but luckily it cleared enough for us to see the lovely island …

… old cannons with wooden wheels …

… the remains of the fortress and underground munitions stores …

… and the pretty little church, which was built as an orthodox church for the Russian garrison and originally had five onion domes. It was converted into an Evangelical Lutheran church in the 1920s after Finland became independent, and the Russian-style domes became a single tower. A lighthouse still operates in the church tower, signalling the letter H in morse code for Helsinki, making it one of only three church lighthouses known to exist …

The redesigned interior décor is also light and simple, and the orthodox decoration and icons have been removed …

Back at the Helsinki waterfront there was a busy market in full swing …

… selling unseasonably warm items like fur hats and woolly gloves and socks, as well as delicious local fish dishes …

We met up with Charles and visited Temppeliaukio (the Church in the Rock) which was quarried out of the natural bedrock in 1969. The interior walls have been left as natural rough rock face, and apparently the acoustics are excellent, but unfortunately it was closed for a wedding, so we could only look from the outside …

Charles and I also visited Senate Square, which is in the oldest part of Helsinki.  It is surrounded by impressive neo-classical architecture including government and university buildings and Helsinki Cathedral …

Later from the boat’s cockpit at the lovely marina on Blekholmen island, it’s hard to believe we can see this peaceful, rural scene in one direction …

… and yet be so close to a big, modern city in the other direction …

The following day we headed round to the Helsingfors Segelklubb (HSK) marina on the other side of the city, which is close to several chandlery shops and marine businesses, as we had some repairs and maintenance to do.  We had to wiggle through a very narrow channel, with quite alarming rocks close on both sides …

… and negotiate our way through the 49er Class European Championship fleet  having a close race …

We were met by a very friendly Cruising Association member, Kalevi Westersund, who helped arrange a comfortable and convenient berth for us and provided us with lots of useful information – in return for a couple of cold beers!

The next day we tackled the worst of the maintenance jobs – the loo!  Here’s Charles with the old pipe – I can just hear the girls saying ‘too much information, Mum!’  But it’s the reality of life on board – it’s not all blue skies and sunshine the whole time!

And here’s me cleaning out the pump …

Later, after a relaxing sauna and shower, we treated ourselves to a well-deserved, tasty meal at the marina’s open-air restaurant, where we met a very friendly couple, Kati and Mikael, and their two dogs. Here we are enjoying drinks with our ‘new’ friends on board Astraia – Kalevi, Kati, Mikael …

… and Coco, who seems to be getting very friendly with Charles!

Another lovely midnight sunset looking one way …

… while the moon is already well risen in the other direction ….