some rain had passed in the night, but we woke to a bright sunny morning. we got our superglue, and got the sail up. it would be a while before the glue dried and we could think to use the motor again. with the very light winds, we had to jibe a few times to make any headway. georg decided the glue was dry enough and we got the engine started... and it worked well, finally glad to get away from jussarö. we took the line through the skerries again, looking out for the port and starboard marks (red and green buoys), and also the north, south, west and east marks too to navigate us through the skerries. it was another glorious sunny day, we could see some rain clouds out to sea and some inland, but these were holding off and we were lucky to be sailing with sun all around. i made breakfast of porridge and fruit.
skipper decided to forego the easier but longer route through barösund and take the line through the skerries to the weather-station at bågaskär. here, we had to decide again which route to take, the more sheltered route nearer the mainland, or the short-cut crossing porkalafjärden. time was definitely of the essence for us, so it was the shorter, but more open route into the sea towards sommarö and mäkiluoto. george navigated us around the rocky waters around bågaskär and into 'open' sea, where in the absence of the skerries to act as breakwaters, the boat began to roll around a far bit in the bigger waves. the engine gave way again after the propeller lifted out of the water causing the motor to rev at high speed... and causing the small plastic bit to break again.
the weather got worse, some light rain, we even saw a rainbow. by now, i was definitely feeling a bit queazy, not full-on sea-sick but not far away. we had almost crossed porkalafjärden before i decided to get into the cabin to lie down for a bit. the winds had picked up, and it was hailing for a bit too, but i missed all of that; i was not feeling well, the rolling boat, too much sun on the head, too little sleep and not drinking enough water... i must have conked out for an hour or so. when i finally emerged to the deck, the weather had eased a lot... we were in the shelter of the skerries again and heading for the isle of kytö. we could see the distant skyline of helsinki surrounded by very grey skies. goodbye sun. we were heading for the low pressure system and it would not be fun. georg had got the motor going again by fixing the fuel line directly to the engine. once around kytö and the the two small skerries of södra ktökaringen, the guys decided we should make a run for it and take the shortest possible route into helsinki. this meant taking the line into open waters again and rounding the isle of rysåkari. it was dusk now, and we were following the line of the flashing lighted marks in the distance, looking out for the north marks at rysåkari to let us know when we should jibe and make the turn for helsinki. the wind had really picked up now, the engine was not needed. we must have been surfing those waves up to 9 or 10 knots. georg went to the mast and with the boat heeled over, managed to turn the boom a few times along it's axis to reduce the sail area. we were lucky the wind, and the waves, were from behind us. the situation was a bit hairy alright, and the seriousness really struck home when georg asked me to bring out the life-jacket for aleksi, and to put one on myself as well. by the time we got to rysåkari, it was night. we made the jibe pretty well, one of the lines got stuck and we couldn't secure it... and i was not up for clambouring up to the mast to free it. so georg went instead and the line was secured. i desperately had to piss but there was no way of doing it overboard, so i cut up a plastic bottle and pissed into that instead and poured it into the sea. again we followed the line indicated by the flashing marks, georg was navigating... we got a bit disorientated cos one of the marks indicated on the sea charts was not lit.
when we got level with the sector lights at koirakari, we had to jibe again. we took it a bit too fast this time as the boom came crashing across, and the boat heeled over violently to one side as the sail caught the wind. i have to admit that was a really scary moment. again we followed the flashing marks to indicate the line to take, it was too dark to see the unlit direction marks. georg pointed out the coloured port and starboard marks indicating the channel to the west terminal, jibing one more time as we sailed along the mainland towards sirpalesaari. the line got caught again, but i felt more confident to release it this time, seeing as georg was busy as well with getting the engine started. skipper was at the helm all the time as we came into the port, getting georg to shine his light to show other boats we were there. i took over at the tiller while he tried to get the engine going, before aleksi came back to circle the boat for docking. it would be tricky again to dock under sail-power, and as we came up to the buoys, we stalled directly into the wind. georg had another go with the engine, and this time, it sparked into life. whilst georg and i took the mainsail down, aleksi took her out again to make another pass for the buoys. aleksi attached the latched hook to the buoy and georg counted down the metres to the pier before jumping off, indicating time to brake at the stern end. i could sense the relief in the skipper's cry of "yes!" when the boat was tied up and secure. it had been an intense last hour bringing cendrillon in but we had made it. after making her ship-shape, georg left to take the short trip by the ferry to the mainland. aleksi and i organized our stuff and then also waited for the next ferry. it felt like the wind landside was getting more blowy, and then the storm broke. it rained for the next few days. a shower at a friend's place and then straight to see banda madrugada play once more, and to dance a little.
No comments:
Post a Comment