We left Hanko Itämereportti after filling up the water and fuel tanks for the last time for this journey. The wind forecast was… yes you guessed it, easterly since that was where we were heading.
We started off by sailing to the edge of the TSS in the Gulf of Finland, hoping that we just might have it easier. But the line from Hanko to Helsinki is practically going NW and the wind was coming from the exact same direction. We were progressing quite slowly towards our destination even if we had good boat speed.
It was time to make some new decisions on where to go. The wind would have been quite perfect for a crossing to Estonia, somewhere outside Tallinn. The skipper had no difference since we still had four days to make it home, and the distance wasn’t that bad. Janne had a difficult time making up his mind. The wind was great, but the kids and wife were waiting at home, and he had spent his whole vacation on this trip. A trip to Tallinn would automatically make it an extra day.
So the captain made a decision. Even if the wind was great for sailing, we could make it to Helsinki by midnight local time if traveled in a straight line towards our destination. It was time to get Janne back to his family. Lower the sails, turn the engine on.
17 Jul 2018 2145 UTC we tied up to the pier next to Cafe Caruselli and just after midnight local time, Janne was delivered safely to his family.
Jaana and I continued to Vallisaari for a few hours rest before heading off to Killingholmen, our sailing clubs’ island base in the Porvoo archipelago. We tied up there after a short sail. This time, even if the wind was still north-easterly, we bravely tacked our way. No way I was not going to sail the last leg of the journey.
It was time for some final cleaning and gathering up our own gear before delivery the following day.
The joys of life. Sailing. Travel. Food. 