The Moody Finnish Summer Weather

· Suur-Saimaa · Sarastus · 3 M

I have been reading Frank Dye’s book Sailing to the Edge of Fear, in which he shares his observation, that Wayfarer makes it easier to meet local people. That seems to be true. For some reason Wayfarer seems to catch the interest and sympathy of people. In case of keel boats I can’t remember experienced the same.

Glassy water
As three different forecasts predicted peaceful conditions, we decided to test having a cat aboard. At the start she was a bit nervous, but for the rest of the journey she was the calmest of us all. Afterwards, it might have been wiser to leave her home.

Cat aboard
As three different forecasts predicted peaceful conditions, we decided to test having a cat aboard. At the start she was a bit nervous, but for the rest of the journey she was the calmest of us all. Afterwards, it might have been wiser to leave her home.

As we paddled in the calm weather, we heard distant thundering. The horizon started to get darker and the clear signs of rain could be seen in the colors of the distant islands too. We wondered, what to do next. First it seemed like a good idea to paddle closer to the shore, to wait for a change in the conditions. Eventually, to avoid mutiny, I agreed on turning back.

Good wind started to blow, moving us towards the harbor with a comfortable pace. However, after ten minutes the conditions changed even more. The wind turned and we had to sail close hauled. It was strongly gusty and shifty. By furling the genoa and controlling main sail sheeting carefully, we returned to the marina safely.

At the marina it started to rain. We took the dinghy back to home, where rain stopped and the Sun returned to the sky. The Finnish summer weather is well-known for its moodiness.