Kaskinen, a ghost town? 16 July 2019

With rain and no wind in Rönnskär on 15 July, we were ready to spend a second night there. However, the updated weather forecasted indicates a gale for 16 July. North-East winds, 10 to 12 m/s are forecasted for the night. Fearing to get trapped in Rönnskär during the gale, we decide to depart at 22:00 for an overnight 48 mile ride to Kaskö (Kaskinen). We arrive by 4:00 (8 knots on average), just in time for the sunrise and before the gale... 

Sunrise at 4:00, just below the clouds

Rönnskär, 14-15 July 2019

Rönnskär (63.061065, 20.804973) is a small set of islands in the outskirt of the Kvarken archipelago. The guest pier is not indicated in the Svenska Kryssar Klubb pilot book, but you can find the list of the guest harbours in the Kvarken outer archipelago on the Kvarken web site.

The pilot station and the beacon on Rönnskär

 However, how to get there is a question...

A technical and cultural stopover in Vaasa, 14 July 2019

A week after our stopover in Oulu, we are in need for a decent marina with services, electricity, and the city life, restaurant, museums and more... So we went to Vaasa. Like in most of the cities we have visited in the Bottenviken, the city skyline can be seen from far at sea. First, the "fumulus" created by the factories, then the chimneys, cranes, poles...

Vaasa skyline from the sea

 But Vaasa has more to offer...

Mässkär, Kummelskär, 11-12 July 2019

After the two days in Tankar, we continue our descente along the cost of Finland in the Bottenviken through two small interesting islands, Mässkär and Kummelskär, in the pouter Kvarken's archipelago.

Departing from Tankar

Stuck in Tankar, 9 to 11 July 2019

Tankar (63.949918, 22.850983) is a small lighthouse island as we love them, located at the entrance of the pathway to Kokkola. It used to be a busy pilot station and even though the station moved to Kokkola, pilot boats are still stopping over in the old pilot basin between assignments.

Tankar pilot basin, with Belisama on the right and Anitra on the left

The approach is straight forward. There are 15 guest mooring in the harbour, including the old pilot basin where one can moor except on the west pier still used by the pilots. The draught is three metres. The north and east pier of the pilot basin are equipped with electricity. Staying overnight costs 10€, 15€ with electricity, to be paid at the café.

To Ohtakari via Raahe, 7 & 8 July 2019

Leaving Oulu, we go through documented pathways to Raahe (64.688209, 24.470265). Pathways are well marked on the Sailmate free nautical charts available as an app but we will discover that the height indicated does not correspond to what we get from our sounder. After a few researches, we realise that the sea level amplitude of variation around Oulu and Kemi can reach three metres, according to wind direction and atmospheric pressure (1 cm variation by mbar). The Finnish meteorological site gives values and prevision of sea level and indeed, the sea level on that date was more than 20 cm lower than expected due to persistent northern winds in previous days, which counts when sailing on a 1.5 metre deep pathway.

Belisama on the guest pier in Raahe, 1.1 metre deep on the sounder

A pause in Oulu, 5 to 7 July 2019

We arrive in Oulu after a 50 nautical mile crossing with most pleasant back side winds. We find a spot alongside in 1.3 metre of water, thanks to the centre board.

Oulu guest harbour