Värrätsaari ja Liittokivi

The summer holiday finally started and gradually the rains eased. As the wind forecast said that the wind would blow from north-northeast, we chose the Sarviniemi ramp as our starting point.

At the beginning, when we got out of the shelter of Sarviniemi, the northwest breeze blew fairly nicely, but almost died down at Mäntyselkä. After about fifteen minutes of whirling, it settled roughly between north and north-east, the direction originally indicated by the forecast.

Between Honkasaari and the western Hietasaari, we arrived in the shade of Värrätsaari in a nice breeze, but the journey still progressed at a reasonable pace. Finally, behind the reeds, the island’s lesser-known sandy beach was revealed, where we landed.

Once we reached the beach, we started our picnic break in the warm weather, which was disturbed by the ants and horseflies trying their best to disturb us. After the meal, we admired the scenery and then enjoyed a swim.

Finally, it was time to start the return journey. We decided to take a slightly longer route back to the west side of Värrätsaari, where we could sail around Liittokivi.

Around 50 metres wide Liittokivi is located along the shipping lane to Mikkeli. Today it is on the border between South Karelia and South Savo.

There is a story that the stone was a secret encounter point between a young man and woman, because their feuding families did not approve of their romance. One day, however, a storm blew away their boat, leaving them stranded on this remote rocky islet. They were later found dead, curled up together on the rock.

The journey continued towards the strait between Värrätsaari and Ryöveli islands. The north-easterly breeze was blowing pleasantly, moving the boat forward at best at over six knots.

We sailed back on the south side of Hietasaari (the western one). On the way, we sailed past a beautiful sandy beach at Suuritaipale with the idea of exploring the possibility of landing there for future trips. However, there was a large white sign on the beach stating that it was forbidden to land as it was a courtyard of someone. We wondered how Finnish law would define a courtyard, but as a sailor, it is certainly not worth taking up a dispute with a landowner.

On the pine reef, the crosswind took us towards Sarviniemi at a bit over five knots. On the way, I tested the new nautical charts in the Karttaselain smartphone app, which seemed very handy. Also, the speed unit is now knots by pressing the green number box in the top left-hand corner of the screen.

This was a very nice trip, and it was also great to see the Liittokivi, which I have been thinking about visiting for a long time. Maybe we could try to land there one day.