Ulko-Tammio
During the Midsummer the warm weather brought many boaters to the coasts, that also caused 176 emergency situations for the Finnish search and rescue service, breaking their record. We spent the Midsummer on land but decided to have a sailing trip soon after it. As the waters were warm and the breeze gentle, after a short discussion we chose to sail to a bit more distant destination in the Gulf of Finland National Park. The chosen destination was Ulko-Tammio island which is one of the remotest big islands in the territorial waters of the southeastern Finland.
After setting off from Klamila we had to beat because sea breeze and the strait turned the prevailing wind against us. By Kajansaari island the situation eased off, and we continued the cruise by passing Ruissaari, Metsä-Haru and Naakka islands.
The eastern bay of Ulko-Tammio was bit a mystery based on different maps. Clearly it didn’t look to have only rock shores but it wasn’t a sandy bay either. When we reached the bay there was a small patch of stony beach which was more than adequate for landing.
On the shore we had a picnic and explored the island. The landing point was an enjoyable place to have a meal and to admire the view. As we have got used to fresh waters, nobody wasn’t interested in swimming in the sea, even if surface water temperature was 20°C. There were many beautiful flowers on the island that added their special tint to the landscape.
During our exploration we found a tunnel and a bird tower which offered a fine view to the surroundings. You could also see Suursaari (Hogland / Gogland) island which is a Russian-owned closed island in middle of the Gulf of Finland. Before the World War II it was part of the territory of Finland. My dream is to sail there one day but because of the current political situation there is no foreseeable possibility to make that dream to come true.
Time flew fast as usual. We started the return journey around 6 p.m. and managed to reach Klamila on a single tack. The sky was perfectly clear all the day, so we got some more tan.
The handbrake of our car didn’t function that made recovering the boat challenging. The problem was solved by placing two rocks behind the front wheels. I will call the garage soon.
Even if the journey to the island took longer than we planned, everybody had enjoyed the trip. Let’s see how the weather in July is going to be as June is this warm already.