July 20th 2013

Northbound

From the Polar Station, it took us almost 24 hours before we reached our

next stop. We first motored through narrow sounds where occasionally floe and

drift ice made our passage difficult, and then continued along wider passages

where we could admire magnificent glaciers glowing white and turquoise in

the light of the midnight sun, forever present!

When we finally arrived in our destination, there were two polar bears on

the ice covering the end of the bay. Of course, this was exciting but

photographing-wise it was a real waste of digital space: they were much

too far away to be seen properly even through the binoculars.

Next morning we left for the north. Our intention was to sail to the

northernmost anchorage in Franz Joseph Land and also visit Cape Flora, the

place where Nansen had wintered in 1896. However, we never made it because

of the weather forecast. 
 

There was a low pressure area approaching from the South-West with 20 to 30 knot 
winds which quite probably would push ice into our passage. So when we had 
reached 81° 33,847' N, 58° 23,815' E, we did a U-turn and headed back to the 
Polar Bear Bay which we thought would be safe in these weather conditions.

July 19th 2013

Saving the Sarema!

From the Walrus Bay, we sailed only for a few hours to another, much

bigger Polar Station, this one still in use for meteorological studies. In

the past, there had been more than two hundred people living at the

station all year round but, according to the Station Head, then came

Glasnost and Perestroika and the station's downfall began. 

And what a downfall it had been: the whole place was like a giant scrap yard with

thousands of rusting barrels everywhere, some empty, some still leaking

chemicals, rusty vehicles, a bust aeroplane, dozens of buildings decaying

around once a beautiful lake, now full of waste. What a sad, sad place!

We were told that this station too would be tidied up and stored as a

museum but where is all that money coming from? And how many years would

it take to clean up a place like that, several decades at least would be

my guess!

While still anchored in front of the station, Lady Dana's captain

contacted us by VHF because he was worried that our boats were too close

to each other. While standing in their cockpits and discussing the matter,

the captains came to the conclusion that there was nothing to worry about.

Obviously the captains had not bothered to look around them as, about five

minutes later, we heard someone shout SAREMA, SAREMA!!! and when we rushed

up on deck, we saw a big bergy bit leaning against our bow.

By then, there were already two dinghies trying to push the ice away from

us, and soon a third dinghy joined in. Together they managed to turn the

iceberg so that it no more threatened our anchor. As I was watching the

ice slowly sliding past us, it suddenly hit me: What if we had been alone?

Oh yes, sailing in company does have its benefits!

July 18th 2013

In the Walrus Bay

From the polar station, we continued further north. Our next anchorage was

a pleasantly shallow bay where we anchored in only eight metres of water.

This is quite rare in the Arctic where it is more than usual that you have

to anchor or at least try to anchor in 20 to 30 metre depths. Another

rarity, at least for us, were the walruses that called this bay their

home.

When we were on our way ashore to see the walruses closer, there was a

group of them heading out to sea, and they were exactly between us and the

shore. As walruses with their long and sharp tusks can be dangerous when

threatened, we thought it wise to board Peter I which was nearby. When the

animals had proceeded further away, we continued ashore where we were once

again protected by our friendly park ranger who had come with us here from

the Polar Station.

We carefully neared the walruses, some of which were dozing on land and

some on fast ice, and managed to get so close without disturbing them that

taking decent photos was possible. This meant that one of the two goals I

had set for this part of our voyage had been achieved!

July 17th 2013

Shaking  All Over

After six days at sea accompanied by northern fulmars, kittiwakes,

dolphins, and a curious minke whale, we found ourselves amidst four

trawlers. About an hour later, Sarema started shaking violently. What was

wrong, was it the engine or the propeller shaft?? Since both seemed to be

all right, it had to be the propeller although we couldn't see anything

through the dark water. Since there was nothing we could do, we continued

sailing hoping that the shaky condition of our good boat Sarema would not

deteriorate any further.

Two days later in the evening, we dropped anchor at 80° 19,090' N, 52°

51,887' E with the wind howling in the rigging, and the summer's first

snowflakes flying in the air. The following morning, we woke up to a day

of brilliant sunshine and saw what a beautiful place we had come to. After

hurried breakfast, we motored to the other side of the bay where we

anchored near an old Polar Station that would eventually be turned into an

open air museum. Our guide was a Franz Joseph Land Nature Reserve Park Ranger

who showed us around the place at the same time guarding us with his 308

Winchester against any hungry polar bears that might be too tempted to

leave such a big bunch of fresh meat alone.

After the sightseeing tour, Pekka went to the sauna which the park ranger

had been kind enough to heat for us. And then it was time to solve the

problem with our propeller. The Polish boat Lady Dana had scuba diving

gear and a dry suit, and Daniel, the captain of Peter I, although having

very little diving experience, was courageous enough to volunteer for the

job. The dry suit was far too small for Daniel, and a team of several

hardy men was required to get the suit on him. When even the smallest of

the holes between Daniel and the dry suit had been blocked with ducting

tape, Daniel dived into the freezing water and freed our propeller from a

huge plastic bag that was wrapped tightly around it.

During the propeller project, the wind had picked up unnoticed. When the

three dinghy loads of Daniel's assistants were leaving, we heard someone

yell that we were dragging our anchor and were dangerously close to the

shore. Pekka quickly started the engine, I weighed the anchor, and we

motored happily to the other side of the bay for safety, no more shaking!

July 4th 2013

Solovetsky Island

On the 30^th of June, after the last lock of the Stalin Canal, when we were once again sailing on the open sea, we felt absolutely exuberant. It was wonderful to see the water stretch all the way to the horizon after so many days of narrow rivers, even narrower canals, and nearly suffocating locks.

Later in the same evening, we arrived on the Solovetsky Island where the main attraction is the magnificent Solovetsky Monastery and Fortress founded in 1436.

After the Bolshevik revolution, the monastery was closed down and from 1923 to 1939, it was used as one of the most notorious concentration camps in the Soviet Union. Among the prisoners were great Russian scientists, authors, and poets, officers of the White Army, and representatives of the nobility. Now, the Solovetsky Monastery is a museum and one of the first historical and architectural sites in Russia included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The RusArc boats stayed on the island for two nights and then continued their way, eventually heading for Archangel where the fleet will eventually disperse. When the rest of the boats left, we stayed behind. As lone sailors, we felt we needed to be without company for a while, and so we anchored in a small bay near the monastery grounds and spent there two days merely enjoying the peace and quiet around us. On the 4^th of July, at 2 a.m. we weighed anchor and headed for the fleet's final meeting point near the City of Archangel.

June 29th 2013

Through the Canal of the Dead


On the 27th, we entered the first lock of the Belomorsko-Baltijski Canal,
also known as the Stalin Canal. The Canal is 227 kilometres long and has a
total of 19 locks. The Stalin Canal was completed in a mere twenty months
during the years 1931-1933.




It was built solely by slave labour, mainly Gulag political prisoners, and
it is estimated that during the building process 200,000 – 250,000
prisoners died which means approximately one dead prisoner per canal
metre. Because of the tight schedule, there was not always time to bury
the dead and many of the prisoners who died on the building site were
thrown into cement mixers and are buried in the canal walls. Every lock
had a guard armed with a Kalashnikov AK47. But what were they actually 
guarding, the souls of the dead?

For this particular leg, the fleet was divided into two groups for the boats 
to better fit in the lock. In both groups, there are three bigger boats,
one of which is s/y Sarema, which attach themselves to the lock wall and
three smaller boats which come alongside them. So far, the system has
worked flawlessly. During the past two days, we have gone through eighteen
locks  and this afternoon, the fleet was once again united. Tomorrow,
after one more lock, we'll be on the White Sea!

June 27th 2013

From Petrozavodsk to Kizhi

Since leaving St. Petersburg, we have had nothing but blue skies and warm
sunshine, and no wind to speak of. The only negative thing about this
gorgeous weather are the insects; the tiny flies that crawl into every
nook and cranny they can possibly find and the several squadrons of
horseflies which we call elephant-flies because of their gigantic size,
that attack us every time we are too close to the shore.



On the 24th, the fleet gathered in an old oil terminal that is being
converted into a marina, about ten kilometres from Petrozavodsk, the
capital of Karelia. The following morning we shared a taxi with the crew
of the Finnish yacht La Grande Mia, and drove to town. We spent the day
sightseeing, doing some essential shopping, and while waiting for our taxi
to come and collect us, stopped for lunch. We had borsch and solyanka,
both Russian specialities and Oh, so delicious!

GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KARELIA

in both Russian and Finnish, the official language of the Republic of Karelia till the end of the Soviet Era (1991)

In the afternoon, we cast off and motored to the Kizhi Island where we
arrived just after midnight. In some miraculous way, all twelve vessels
managed to squeeze themselves into the island's miniature harbour where we
spent the night.

Early the next morning, we went on an excursion of the island which is an
open-air museum founded in 1966. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which
includes more than 80 historic wooden buildings, some moved to the island
from other parts of Karelia and the rest of Russia.




The island's most extraordinary churches were built from logs which were
cut and shaped using axes and assembled without a single nail. Their roofs
were made from spruce while the exteriors of the domes were covered with
aspen which gives the domes a beautiful silvery hue.




We had an absolutely superb guide who was both knowledgeable and
enthusiastic about the subject. She not only provided us with factual
information about the island and the buildings but gave us a real insight
into the lives of the islanders throughout the history of the Kizhi
Island.