In a Lightning on Lake Päijänne

What does a Wayfarer sailor do in a Lightning? Well, at least not negotiating about a price!

Seppo and I had been planning a sailing trip to Lake Päijänne. Because bringing the both boats there didn’t feel like a good idea, we decided to have a trip in Lightning first and in Wayfarer later.

We launched at Korpilahti marina, which was a nice place, and headed for the south. It was sunny and a moderate northern breeze pushed the boat to south. We had a picnic on a small rocky island which is one of Seppo’s favorites. It was a comfortable island in middle of the northern Päijänne. A local Search And Rescue boat had a tour in front of the shore and asked if we were ok. Likely seeing a sailing dinghy at a small island is not so common for them.

For me a Lightning was an interesting experience. Compared to Wayfarer it was naturally faster for the extra one meter on the waterline. Lightning is also a bit more a racer than Wayfarer. We reached a speed of eight knots fairly easily, that you won’t experience in a similar weather in a Wayfarer. The extra metre also makes the boat feel surprisingly more massive, and a bit more stable as well. As I have got used to the maneuverability of Wayfarer I also like that more. Seppo built his boat by himself and it was good to have a closer look on it. I appreciate people who build who build their own boats.

There wasn’t much time for photography, but we discussed a lot about boats, different rig types and boat building. The northern Päijänne is a more hilly environment than Lake Saimaa, that made the shore profile look beautiful on my eyes. It would be great to sail from one end to another on Lake Päijänne one day!