Wed. June 27th: When I told friends I was planning on taking a ten week sailing vacation this year the response was predictable: you’re doing what? For how long? How can possibly leave work for so long? Full disclosure, it’s not completely a vacation. I’ve been publishing my newspaper every week while I’ve been gone, leaving the admin and phones to my trusty assistant in Los Angeles. What this means is that I need to be near good wifi every Thursday, which has constrained my choice of harbors and anchorages a little, but not much. Both Finland and Sweden are blessed with world-class connectivity and it seems every harbor, coffee shop and bar have good free internet. I also bought a cheap surfing package at Arlanda airport with my sim card – about 25GB for $30, so provided I have a couple of bars of signal I can also hotspot off my mobile – not great but okay in a pinch.
Which brings me to Kokar Sandvik. I read in the Åland crusing guide I had picked up in Mariehamn that this harbor had good wi, hot saunas, and even a café where I could watch the World Cup. Result! The harbor is located a 22nm sail south east of Banö Ön through a series of tight channels which the low-res map above does not really do justice. As soon as we left the sheltered harbor we had all the wind we could handle using our big jib and full main. With 12kts gusting to about 18 we had to keep dumping the mainsail, which given its old fashioned configuration – no traveler – was quite a chore. But it was a lively day’s sailing under dazzling blue skies where we were frequently just on the edge of being overpowered – and not for the last time I pondered the dilemma of no bow pulpits and erring on the side of a bigger sail plan because of all the lulls. It was however a lively and challenging sail in near-perfect conditions. We almost went the wrong way here and there but we sailed almost the whole way, finally deciding to drop the canvas and motor as we made our final approach to a passage which looked barely 100m wide. As we approached what I thought was the fairway J spied a very large, barely submerged rock jut ahead of us, prompting me to quickly turn around and double check our Navionics. Not a moment too soon! The real entrance was one rock over (so to speak), and the harbor certainly didn’t look promising – just a working wharf abutting an small and ugly port. As so often local knowledge came to our aid, with two Finnish sailboats motoring confidently past us at 5kts, so of course we followed them. The real port was just around the corner to port and turned out to be just the ticket. Big enough for 30 boats and dominated by a large, sloping granite rock that would make a perfect launching ramp for a boat. We clipped onto a stern buoy and J hopped off at the jetty.
The harbor control hut was located at the end of the dock and featured not just good local produce but also handmade artisanal woolen socks made by the asistant’s mother over the winter. Priced at only 15 euros – we had gone into the euro zone – I grabbed three. The nearby café served unremarkable food – the cheapest dish was fish and chips at 8 euros which were clearly frozen before being dunked in hot oil. But the beer was cheap at 6e and they had the football on. Even better, Germany were getting knocked out of the tournament by South Korea…as an Englishman that brought a warm glow to the cockles of my heart.
But enough of old rivalries, Kokar Sandvik also has a campsite and excellent facilities, including three saunas and a well-equipped kitchen where you can prepare your own food and large tables to interact with fellow travelers and perhaps do some work. We met some interesting folks – including one from Poland who had come by bicycle with his teenage son. The place also has good showers, a clean WC and a free washer/dryer. And if you fancy a little hike down the road, the island boasts a wonderful sailors’ chapel where you can ponder the almighty and speak your celestial therapist. But back to the harbor: the excellent sauna costs 20 euros (more than the 15e dock fee) but it was one of the best I’ve ever experienced, very hot, wood fired and steps from the dock. The calm of twilight was enjoyed with a glass or two of white wine and it was idyllic…although things were to change very shortly.
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