Tues 7/9/19:
Dep. 11am. Arrive: 2.37pm 20.5nm. 3 hrs 37 mins.
For a higher-resolution map of this route, click HERE:
The day dawned cloudy but rain free as the last of the previous night’s storm drifted away. Knut and Grace marveled out our rustic mooring, taking plenty of pictures of our bows-to setup before departure. And Grace, an avid yogi and meditator, made sure to do a couple of inversions in front of the boat to get her blood flowing.
Hanko was our destination about 20 miles distant. We cast off about 10am and had good wind but I was initially quite conservative in my sail plan, since I wasn’t sure how broad the preferred channel would be and the wind can be very shifty and unpredictable. We started with a reefed main and jib until we were overtaken by a smaller boat carrying a husband and wife and two toddlers. Both Grace and Knut looked at me quizzically as we were overtaken, so I quickly swapped out the jib for the genoa, shook out the main and we were soon moving along at a brisk 6kts with a good breeze on the beam.
Grace proved very adept on the helm, keeping the telltales flying while Knut trimmed like a champ. Gradually we were joined by about a dozen other boats also heading towards Hanko and as we turned to weather for the last five miles we enjoyed some brisk upwind work not unlike a Wednesday night race back in California.
Hanko is quite a large marine center, with three harbors adjacent to each other, but the main one, the largest of the three, was clearly the best in terms of available berths and facilities. In addition to easy stern buoy and pontoon berths, the place had excellent modern facilities, a superb restaurant and top-notch sauna. It also seemed like it hosted big regatta events, because there were numerous pennants and advertising collateral posted around, featuring an upcoming regatta sponsored by Mercedes Benz. After the rustic night we had just spent in Jussarö, this was another world. The berth for the night cost 42 euros, which was a little more than I was used to spending but still good value.
As afternoon gave way to evening the weather brightened and we took the water taxi across to the town for a decent dinner and bottle of wine at an Italian restaurant. After the wine we were not quite ready to head back to the boat – plus it was still bright daylight at 9.45pm, so we went to a Karaoke bar where, apart from a Ukrainian couple, we were the only patrons. After a couple of vodka tonics my karaoke monster was unleashed, and I performed Mac The Knife, Back in the USSR and Bust a Move while Grace did an adorable rendition of These Boots Were Made For Walking. All in all it was a good day’s sailing with some fun bonding for the three of us, but we were all stifling yawns by 11pm and ready to turn in.
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