It was time for the traditional eastern Gulf of Finland tour again. This time with a new crew member along. First real sailing week for her. The weather forecast was pretty good and we weren’t disappointed.

During sailing, both girls are attached to the boat. Safety first, and last years experience with Ceci falling out twice during sailing sort of made it a necessity. A bit of a hassle since they get getting tangled up in each other.

On the second morning of our trip, on the beautiful Svartholma fortress island, the girls were out on deck for a morning run. In the cabin, it sounded like a hoard of elephants running around. Suddenly all became quiet and a small splash was heard. Someone was overboard, without a vest. That’s the risk when you have kids and no netting around the boat.

The skipper quickly jumped topside, and the baby bugger was swimming around, slightly bewildered, probably more surprised than scared and definitely cold. The water was about 10°C at the time. Luckily, she had been good in puppy school and followed directions and the skipper was able to pull her up by the neck. No harness, no lifevest. Well, the rest of the week ent without incidents.

We visited our normal spots like Kotka, our sailing clubs island bases and the Gulf of Finland National Park. In the area, there is an island called Ulko-Tammio which was a military base during the continuation war. Some of the fortifications are still around and you can check the out. We’ve been here several times, and there is always something new to see.

During our hike around the island, we met a couple who told us about a chapel in middle of the forest. We didn’t remember ever having been there, so we walked around along the path, with the aid of Google satellite pictures. And still, it was only by luck that we stumbled to it. Another new experience.

After this quick getaway, everything was working well. We only had ten days to prepare for our summer trip. It was looking really good for a prolonged summer of cruising.