Utö,
Finland
From
Holtenau, we motor-sailed on smooth seas and in an all-engulfing fog
to Utö, Finland's outermost island. Utö has always had a special
place in our hearts, not least because Pekka spent the first five
years of his life on this rocky little island. As it was the last
place we visited when we left Finland eleven years ago, it was only
appropriate that it was our first port of call now that we had
returned.
Back in
the 90's when we started taking sailing more seriously, Pekka
remembered reading an article in the Finnish Boat Magazine on “Real
Sailors” who gather in Utö every year on the 6th
of December to celebrate Finland's Independence Day. As we too wanted
to become real sailors it was only natural that, on the 5th
of December, we set off for Utö. During the passage, an icy sleet
began to fall and soon our deck was like a skating rink, and all the
lines were frozen stiff. We arrived in Utö as the night was falling
and the wind picking up and, of course, there were no other boats to
be seen!
During
the night, the wind increased to gale force and was eventually
blowing close to 70 knots from the south. We spent the following two
days tied up to the L-shaped dock, our good boat Sarema tilting so
fiercely that nothing could be kept on the tables. We passed the time
watching pilots crawl on all fours along the dock to see how their
boats were doing. Oh, those were the days!
NATURE
FIRST
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