Blog
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Päihänniemi
· Suur-Saimaa · Sarastus · 8 MWho said, that the sailing season was over? Even if the weekends have been busy recently, we decided to have another cruise to celebrate the warm autumn weather. We launched Sarastus and headed for Päihänniemi peninsula through small islets. A light breeze was blowing. Beaching was a quick one, as we kept main sail raised until the sand. Päihänniemi peninsula Even if the prevailing temperature was just 17°C, the weather at the beach felt warm.
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Autumn Thoughts
Even if sailing is a wonderful way of enjoying of the Finnish nature, from time to time weather and other chores change priorities. Since the end of my summer holiday, Sarastus has been on the trailer. According to Finland’s Environmental Administration, surface water temperature at Saimaa is still 17.6°C, that’s an acceptable temperature still, even if a wetsuit might not be a bad idea soon.
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Bilberry Sail
· Suur-Saimaa · Sarastus · 15 MWhat’s common between the waves of Lake Saimaa and bilberries? Well, the color, of course! For some time we had planned a “blue” sailing trip to an island. Our destination ended up to be Hietasaari, because it was one of the few places, where I had seen bilberries this year. For some reason bilberry crop is very modest this year, but fortunately there are places, that have them abundantly still.
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Mitinhiekka
· Pihlajavesi · Sarastus · 18 MOne of the advantages of the boats, that can be moved on trailer, is that you can choose your starting point quite freely. If the waters in front of your home marina start to feel too familiar, you can look for a new launching place bit further and start sailing from there. We decided to choose this approach at this time.
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Ilkonsaaret
· Suur-Saimaa · Sarastus · 31 MRecently Taipalsaari local council published a [change plan draft] for general master plan of Great Saimaa. The change plan is related to Ilkonsaaret and Myhkiönsaari islands. Its objective is to develop the area so, that it could be profiled as a peaceful trip destination. To reach these goals, building piers and more Greek Orthodox builds were proposed. We headed for Ilkonsaari by boat.
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Circumnavigation of Kyläniemi
· Suur-Saimaa · Sarastus · 31 MThe Lake Saimaa fleet of the Russian Empire had a problem after end of the Russo-Swedish War (1741-1743). Most of the waters between Lappeenranta and Savonlinna belonged to Russian Empire, but the strategic Puumala strait was controlled by Sweden. After some decades there was a new war and both of the powers tried to expand their territories, but the war ended without any changes to the border lines.
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The Bolt-Hole
Recently Wall Street Journal nominated the great five lakes of the world, that was noticed by Finnish press too. Here are WSJ’s choices: Morskie Oko (Poland/Slovakia) Lake Powell (United States) Lake Nakuru (Kenya) Lake Lucerne (Switzerland) Lake Saimaa (Finland) Sarviniemi Seeing “our lake” among all the famous lakes around the world is quite stunning! But why wouldn’t Lake Saimaa be such a unique place?
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Hietasaari
· Suur-Saimaa · Sarastus · 7 MWe chose to sail in the northern part of Saimaa (counting Saimaa as the water area south of Puumala). Nice crosswind took is to Hietasaari, where our time was used for eating, swimming and exploring the island. Name “Hietasaari” can be translated as Sandy Island, that represents the island well, because it consists of many beaches but also of big rocks.
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Pullikainen
· Suur-Saimaa · Sarastus · 19 MOur journey began with east wind of 3-4 m/s (5 knots, Force 3), that allowed us reaching most of the time. Our destination was Pullikainen island, which is one of the most popular destinations in the southern Lake Saimaa. The island has an interesting lagoon, which is accessible by keelboats too, even if the route there is very narrow. We chose the southwestern beach for beaching instead of the lagoon, because sand is a more convenient place to beach for a dinghy.
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Dinghies for Adults
Recently Finnish Vene magazine featured three sailing dinghies, that are popular in Finland. The article included Windmill, Snipe and Lightning, that all have their special characteristics. As an owner of a Wayfarer dinghy I was missing the fourth boat in the review, but still the article was interesting to read. In last autumn I was considering different sailing dinghy options myself and [the final decision] was made between Lightning and Wayfarer.