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Scandinavia, the Baltic and St. Petersburg Anne Brevig (VE0MCA) and Martin Vennesland
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Dear Trans Ocean fellow sailors,
Anyone still remember Nor Siglar? To re-cap, we left Vancouver in 1991 and "finished" our 9-year (56,000 nautical mile/76 countries) circumnavigation in Norway, our country of birth, in 2000. We then returned to Vancouver to take up permanent residence in Port Moody, while Nor Siglar stayed in Norway where we have been using her as our floating summer home for the past five summers. During the readjustment period ashore, we also wrote a book on our adventure in Norwegian. The 4,000 copies sold out in two years. This encouraged us to publish it in English. Now "9 Years on the 7 Seas with Nor Siglar" is hot off the press and can be ordered on our website, www.norsiglar.com, which enjoys frequent visits, having had nearly 150,000 hits in the last couple of years - many from Trans Ocean members. While we were members during our 9-year circumnavigation, we were covered by the Siegfried Preuss group insurance and enjoyed the many informative articles that were published in your quarterly magazine. Now, we would like to give something back, and want to share with you our recent Baltic cruise. Ever since we embarked on our circumnavigation in 1991, we dreamt of cruising the Baltic. Originally, we had planned to do it in 1994, after our one-year layover in Norway. We actually thought about going down the Russian rivers and waterways to the Black Sea to enter the Mediterranean from there. But the information we received on Russia at that time was not very favourable: it was too dangerous. Too much Mafia, too much corruption, too much red tape. There were even rumours of radioactive fallouts from the Chernobyl disaster polluting the air, rivers and food sources. All these factors discouraged us from taking this route. So we settled on cruising the west coast of Norway instead, before turning south to warmer climes again. Since then, as I mentioned earlier, we finished our circumnavigation in Norway, and last summer, we finally made our dream come true. We spent three months cruising the Baltic covering 2,200 nautical miles, bringing the total distance logged on Nor Siglar to 61,000 nautical miles, (incl. 3,800 nm cruised in Scandinavia the three previous summers). Since then, we visited Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Russia, bringing the total number of countries and island nations visited to 81.  Docking Russian Style (St. Petersburg)The first leg of the cruise, from Sagesund (58º37'N & 008º56'E) on the south coast of Norway (May 18) across the Skagerak to Denmark, started with a real bang. Before we were halfway across, we were clobbered by a strong westerly gale. So instead of making it to our destination, Anholt, a little Danish island, where we were going to a rendezvous organized by the Danish Offshore Cruising Association, for whom we are support persons in Canada, we had to fall off and ended up in Marstrand on the Swedish west coast instead. It turned out to be one of the coldest, roughest and most miserable overnighters we have ever experienced, battling steep, dangerous seas of at least five metres.DENMARK After waiting out the storm for two days at the dock in Marstrand, we made another try for Anholt. But the conditions were still nasty. We had to fall off again and continued sailing through the night to Rungsted (57º53'N & 011º35E) just north of Copenhagen instead. The large and luxurious marina was run by the Royal Danish Yacht Club. By now, we were so cold that we took the train (20 minutes) to Copenhagen to see if we could find some long underwear. Scandinavia was having an unusually cold summer. Even so, it was hard to find woollies at that time of year. We did not have a lot of time on our hands, but since we were so close, we thought we should make a quick detour into Copenhagen to see the famous Little Mermaid at the entrance of the harbour. We also wanted to see Nyhavn, which was a notorious port in the olden days known for its sleazy bars and nightclubs of ill repute. Today, however, Nyhavn (new port) has been cleaned up and has become a real tourist attraction with nice restaurants, shops and antique buildings. At the restaurants, blankets were handed out to patrons wishing to sit outside. Despite glowing heat lamps, it was still cold. Nobody seemed to worry about people stealing the nice blankets. Honest people those Scandihoovians. After spending the night in the little town of Falstebo (about 20 nautical miles south of Copenhagen) on the southern tip of Sweden, we sailed 65 nautical miles to the island of Bornholm (Denmark), where we had arranged to meet Red Shoes from Vancouver with Brian Robertson and Barbara Anderson onboard. We docked in the port of Allinge (55º17'N & 014º48'E) on the northeast side of the island. It was very small, safe and quaint harbour with an inner basin, which could be closed off with locks if it turned too rough outside. Bornholm is like a miniature Denmark with rolling green fields, neatly kept farms with thatched roofs, hundreds of windmills scattered over the countryside, cool beech forests and castles and fortresses from medieval times. The island exudes a sense of peace and tranquility. It commands a certain laidback atmosphere, which does not exist in too many places any more. It is also a bikers' paradise. The distance between the villages are short. And there are lots of wonderful bakeries where it is nice to stop and have an open face sandwich or an authentic Danish pastry. Old crafts, i.e. clock making, the milling of grain and smoking of fish are still practiced. The hot smoked herring prepared in quaint smokehouses is a real treat accompanied by a pint of the local homebrewed beer. The island is also known for its circular churches. Being Norwegians at heart, we just had to see the St. Olav's Church, which was built in the 12th century in honour of King Olav, who brought Christianity to Norway in the 11th Century. Since Brian and Barbara had more time to spend in the Baltic (5 months), they were going east to Gdansk in Poland before working their way up the Baltic States and eventually to Finland, Russia and Sweden. Having less than three months at our disposal, we chose a route north along the Swedish east coast to the Aaland Archipelago between Sweden and Finland and then along the south coast of Finland and across to our main destination - St. Petersburg. SWEDEN About a day sail northeast of Bornholm, there is a tiny island called Kristianso. It is a convenient place to stop on the way to the Swedish east coast. Although a fair weather port only, it is a beautiful place not to be missed. Unfortunately, we had to bypass it as we were on a tight schedule. As it was, it took us seven days to meander up the coast to Stockholm. It was very cold (10-15ºC) but we had favourable winds - either from the south-southeast or southwest. There are many good marinas and protected anchorages along this part of the coast. If in a hurry, however, you can easily stay offshore and do overnighters without any problems. A good lookout is necessary though, because of the heavy commercial traffic. We stopped in three small and delightful harbours: Kristianopel, Skravleviken (Yakker's Bay) and Nynashamn. The other nights we spent by ourselves in beautiful sheltered anchorages. We did not see many other sailors. It was still early in the season. The majority were retired Germans who were heading up the Sea of Bothnia for the summer. From the northern tip of the long and narrow island of Oland, where the Swedish Royal family have their summer palace, a multitude of islands lay scattered along the lush and green indented coastline. Especially in the area between Nynashamn and Norrtalje just west of Aaland. This is where you enter the Stockholm Archipelago, an area of more than 24,000 islands. The cruising area looks a lot like the Gulf Islands in some places and the Broughton Island group north of Desolation Sound in others. There is a maze of navigable fjords, sounds and channels in between the islands. Only 150 islands are inhabited year-round. So you can always find a quiet anchorage to yourself. Stockholm is a beautiful medieval city. The Wasa Hamnen (harbour) (59º20'N & 018º06'E) is a convenient place to stay. The marina is within walking distance of downtown. It is right next to the Wasa Museum, the home of the famous ship, which capsized and sunk in Stockholm harbour within an hour on its maiden voyage in the 17th century. It was only resurrected in the last 20 years or so, and is now preserved in beautiful condition. Our next stop was the beautiful Aaland Archipelago, which consists of 6,500 islands, islets and rocks. We had planned an overnight sail from Stockholm due east to Mariehamn on the main island. But when we approached Kapellskar, a big ferry terminal serving all of the Baltic and a jump-off point from Sweden to Aaland, there was a strong gale warning for all of Skagerak, the Baltic and the Sea of Aaland. By the way, Stockholm Radio and Turku Radio in Finland give forecasts in English twice a day, or on request on Channel 16. On the west coast of Sweden, the weather forecast is provided by Radio Gothenburg and Linge Radio in Denmark. We sought shelter in the protected harbour of Ridderholmen just south of Kapellskar. The entrance is very narrow and scary. The depth dropped down to 1.8 metres, which is what we draw. The small boat harbour is totally landlocked. We were snug as could be while we waited for the gale to blow itself out. It was also a lovely place to go for a walk on gravel paths - cattle grazing in pastoral surroundings. We were close enough to hike out to Kapellskar where we stumbled upon a modest wooden cross erected in memory of 250 people who lost their lives in 1994, when an Estonian ferry on its way from Kapellskar to Tallinn suddenly started taking on water through the bow gates and sunk. AALAND (FINLAND) After crossing the Sea of Aaland to Mariehamn, another gale blew up and we were dock bound for yet another day. But that was OK because Mariehamn (60º06'N & 019º55'E), the capital of Aaland, is a fascinating place. It is named after Maria, the wife of Czar Alexander II, who founded the town in 1861. At that time, Aaland and Finland belonged to the Russian Empire. In 1712, Sweden had to cede the southwestern part of Finland, including Aaland, to Russia. Today, although Aaland belongs to Finland, most people still speak Swedish there. The maritime museum in Mariehamn is full of evidence that the archipelago was once a strong seafaring nation. The last of the great grain ships, the four-masted bark, "Pommern" is moored here. She is now a museum ship. "Pommern", and her sister ships, "Passat" and "Pamir" sailed from Australia to England for the last time in 1949, thereby signalling the end of a sailing era, which spanned over centuries. The archipelago is a wonderful cruising area, but extremely tricky if you don't stick to the marked channels. The waters are very shallow and littered with thousands of reefs and under-water rocks. Only the most dangerous ones are marked. Even following the marked channels, you have to be constantly aware of where you are, in order to find your way from one set of markers to the next. Charts come equipped with a little stick-on arrow, which you can move from marker to marker as you pass them. A few times we had to drop the sails to re-orientate ourselves. That's how confusing it was. Unfortunately, we could only spend a few days in Aaland. Still, we managed to visit the picturesque castle of Kastelholm, which dates back to the 14th Century, its interesting adjoining museum and the remote island of Kokar. We were the only sailboat in the small harbour of Sandvik. The highlights of the island were St. Anna's Church built by Franciscan monks in the 16th Century and the remnants of an old seal-hunter settlement from the early Bronze Age. From Kokar, it took us two days of challenging navigation through a labyrinth of islands, rocks and channels to reach Hango, our first stop in the southwest corner of Finland. A popular seaside resort, Hango has the largest pleasure boat marina in all of Finland. FINLAND Finland is also called the "Land of 1000 Lakes". We think the "Land of 100,000 Islets" would be more appropriate. As in Aaland, cruising is not relaxing unless you have lots of time and can move at a snail's pace. You basically have to keep your finger on the chart all the time. The navigational hazards are generally well marked. But there just isn't time to relax in between all the hazards. Safe passages are marked on the chart with a black line. Often, the passages are very shallow. You cannot deviate from them at all. Otherwise, you would end up on the rocks. We spent $700 on charts for these waters. Every one was necessary! But be aware of the red numbers on the charts. We found out the "hard way" that they signify unreliable depths! Despite the rather stressful navigational challenge, the south coast of Finland is still a rewarding experience. The only notable drawback is the bothersome mosquito. Many islands have been turned into national parks. Also, there are literally thousands of islands with isolated anchorages in lovely landlocked bays and quaint little villages with colourful, wooden homes. And every one of them has a private sauna attached. A revitalizing sauna awaits you everywhere! Apparently, there are as many saunas as people in Finland! Today's Finns take 1-2 saunas per week. It is a ritual more than anything - purification for body and soul. The Finns claim "it is a sanctuary where one may recover physical and spiritual strength, allowing fatigue, stress and exhaustion to evaporate in the all-embracing, refreshing warmth." The sauna is best located in a separate house near the water. After a hot steam bath, you may plunge into the cold sea for a refreshing dip, to be followed by an invigorating rubdown using birch branches to stimulate the circulation! All Finnish and Estonian marinas sported saunas. They were extremely popular. You had to make a booking on arrival. It cost about US$5 per person for one hour. Two days after we left Hango, we steered into the Finnish capital of Helsinki. As soon as we had anchored bow to at the Helsinki Yacht Club (60º09'N & 024º57'E), we noticed that they were flying the Canadian flag at the guest dock. And lo and behold - there was another BCA boat at the dock! It was the "Sea Lise"! BCA members Paul and Anne-Lise Pedersen were just as surprised to see us, as we were to see them. Especially since we are now flying the Norwegian flag. Wanting to leave Nor Siglar in Norway after we finished our circumnavigation in 2000, we had to import her and sail her under Norwegian colours. Having Canadian passports and a Norwegian registered boat did not cause any problems on our Baltic cruise. Another pleasant surprise was an unexpected rendezvous with cruiser friends, Maud and Birger Karlson from S/Y "Lavinda" whom we cruised with in the South Pacific in 1999. We had been in touch by mail but hadn't seen them since. They gave us the royal treatment and took us all around Helsinki to see the major sights; the most memorable being the spectacular monument to the famous composer, Jean Sibelius. We didn't think Helsinki had as much character as Copenhagen and Stockholm, the main reason being that a big fire virtually destroyed it in 1808. Most buildings in the old part of the city are neo-classic. The newer, more modern part was built after WWII. For lovers of modern architecture, Helsinki is therefore a Mecca, but without skyscrapers and tall buildings so typical of other larger cities. It is only 70 nautical miles from Helsinki to the island of Haapasaari with its Frontier Guard Station - the most common place to check out of Finland from for those destined for St. Petersburg. Many islands near the Russian border are of strategic military importance sporting huge antennas, satellite dishes, watchtowers and old pilot stations. Haapasaari (60º17'N & 027º12'E) is a very exposed island. In the winter, only a couple of people live there. The border police is stationed there on a rotational basis. The Harbour Master, Timo Tuomala, is a real character. He is also a gifted blacksmith who makes beautiful hand-forged candleholders, fireplace accessories and weathervanes. Timo is a 13th generation descendent of the first family to inhabit Haapasaari back in 1610. He bought a copy of the Norwegian version of our book, "9 Years on the 7 Seas". Later on, in St. Petersburg, sailors approached us to get the book as Timo had shown it to them and told about us. Great PR! Before we left Haapasaari, Timo arranged for us to have a sauna in the home of a local character. His charge was a bottle of gin, which he finished off while we were in the sauna. RUSSIA (St. Petersburg) Visiting Russia by private boat is not a simple matter. It is a must to have an agent to help you obtain the necessary visas and permits and to get you cleared through customs and immigration. We found Vladimir Ivankiev on Jimmy Cornell's website, www.noonsite.com. Vladimir is a Freelance Yachting Consultant and Tour Manager. He is also the Russian Representative of the British Cruising Association, The Royal Cruising Club, The Swedish Cruising Club and the Ocean Cruising Club Port Officer in St. Petersburg. In addition to taking care of all the red tape, visas, financing, berth reservations, etc., he is also a great guide, having a solid knowledge of the country's history.  You must know where you are all the timeHe has a minivan and organizes transportation, sightseeing and tickets to cultural events. Shopping and provisioning is quite a challenge as the products are only marked in Russian using the Cyrillic alphabet. Because of the strange letters, it is hard to figure out what the various items are, even using a dictionary. You really need someone to help you with this. Vladimir speaks excellent English, has been to the USA, England and the Scandinavian countries several times and is familiar with "western ways". Finally, he is an excellent support person in case of trouble. Martin was robbed three times while in St. Petersburg. We don't know what we would have done without Vladimir's invaluable assistance.He can be contacted via e-mail: Vladimir@sailrussia.spb.ru or vladimirivankiv@yahoo.com  Tricky navigatingBesides Jimmy Cornell's website, Raymond Glaister of the Ocean Cruising Club in London has also accumulated a lot of useful information in a 25 page report on "Cruising to and through Russia". See http://home.clara.net/rayglaister/russia.htm. We used a lot of this information and found it to be quite accurate. We located the passport office and customs dock using his directions. The location was so unlikely and the places so shabby, that without his notes, we would probably have given up!There are strict rules as to how to enter Russian waters. From Haapasaari, it is a 106- mile overnighter to the Russian check-in point at Krohnstadt. To get there, you have to follow well-defined shipping lanes heavily trafficked with freighters, ferries and cruise ships. We contacted Vladimir via SMS 15 miles out of Kronstadt and stayed in touch with him until we arrived at the customs dock in St. Petersburg where he met us and cleared us through customs. It only took an hour. Without his help, it might have taken days! The Russian authorities are not really set up for pleasure boats. Their main interest is in cruise ships. Private yachts are neglected if there is better business at hand. Therefore, Vladimir's assistance is invaluable.  St. Petersburg Yacht ClubWe stayed in St. Petersburg for two weeks and thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Naturally, the three pick pocketing incidents were annoying. They all happened on public transportation; once on the subway and twice on the bus from downtown to the marina. The first time, when a thief took off with Martin's wallet, was really our own fault. Despite having been warned by Vladimir, we were really not careful enough. Having been to so many countries on our circumnavigation without ever being robbed, I guess we were getting a bit too nonchalant and careless. We had forgotten our money belt at home and Martin had his wallet in a Velcro pocket on his thigh, which he normally kept his hand on at all times. He couldn't believe that the thief managed to get hold of his wallet without him noticing a thing. The thieves operate in gangs and are very fast and clever. If you take proper precautions, however, you should be OK.
Still, we would go back to St. Petersburg again if we could. There is so much to see there and so much we didn't have time to see. Nor Siglar was safe in St. Petersburg Yacht Club Marina (59º58'N & 030º14'E) under the guardianship of Vladimir. We were even away for two days taking an overnight train trip to Moscow to see some of the sights there; the Red Square, the Kremlin, the mushroom shaped Russian orthodox basilicas and the fantastic subway with its spectacular mosaic decorations and marble carvings. We also attended a Tchaikowski opera at the Bolshoi Theatre. It was all very fabulous.
Back in St. Petersburg, we visited the world famous Hermitage, the Summer Palace, various forts, orthodox churches and cathedrals and all sorts of historical sights. We also took in a number of cultural events: a Russian Folk Show, a symphony concert by the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, a performance of "Giselle" by the famed Russian Ballet and a popular Russian fairytale opera at the Mariinski Theatre, home of the former Kirov Ballet. The performing arts, the culture and the architecture were all very impressive.  SY. "Nor Siglar"In general, we did not find the Russian people to be particularly friendly. For that reason, as well as the lack of basic conveniences and services, most cruisers stayed only 4-5 days. A popular saying was that the Russians can put a man into space, but they can't make the showers and toilets work! This was a constant problem in the marina. Lots of things were archaic there. We watched as two old men cut the high grass with scythes. There were plenty of frustrations during the stay. Still, we were happy that we had allowed two weeks. But we must admit that it would not have been as pleasant if it hadn't been for Vladimir.The predominant winds in the Gulf of Finland are from the west. Most of the Gulf is also quite shallow (15-20 metres) so the waves tend to be steep and uncomfortable. So it is important to allow plenty of time for the right weather window when heading back into the Baltic again. Once you leave St. Petersburg, your visa expires and you are not allowed to return again. Not even if the weather turns bad. We had planned to sail non-stop to Tallinn in Estonia, but were held up by strong westerly winds. When we finally got out of the long and shallow waterway leading in to St. Petersburg, we found it easier to go north back to Finland. So we ended up spending a week cruising west along the south coast of Finland again before we crossed the Gulf south to Tallinn (59º28'N & 024º50'E). ESTONIA We moored in Pirita, a reasonably good yacht harbour just east of the capital of Tallinn. The marina was built to host the sailing regattas during the 1980 Olympic games in Moscow. There was good provisioning nearby, and the friendly Estonians offered good service. Many young people spoke English and Finnish.  Anne Brevig and Martin VenneslandTallinn is an old, interesting and charming city. It was on the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks during the time of the Vikings, and from Western Europe to Russia in the hanseatic times. At that time, in the 14th-16th Centuries, the city really gained fame as a member of the Hanseatic League. The old town has been restored back to its medieval grandeur through the assistance of the Unesco World Heritage Foundation.Unfortunately, once again, we were running out of time and could only spend a little over a week in Estonia. So after two days in Tallinn, we left the bustling city behind to spend a week in the quiet islands on the country's west coast. These islands provide a wonderful cruising area. But again, it is very shallow and calls for tricky manoeuvring through narrow channels. The islands are rich in history. They have belonged to the Vikings, the Teutonic Order, the Germans, the Polish, and the Russians. It was as recent as 1991 that Estonia gained its independence from Russia. Swedes populated the islands since the 13th Century. While the majority assimilated with the locals, the Estonian Swedes brought with them their native folk songs and traditions. But after World War II, all that remained were Swedish place names as most had evacuated to Sweden in 1944. Those who stayed behind were deported to Siberia by the Soviet regime. The islands are a biker's paradise. They are relatively flat with mostly gravel roads and narrow paths. There are many interesting historical sites commemorating the various occupations by foreign powers. The islands also have the greatest number of meteorite craters in the world. One of the most recent ones, the Kaali meteorite, fell during the time when the area around the Baltic Sea was already inhabited. The tales about the coming of the Sun to earth and of the burning of Saaremaa Island are not only found in local folklore, but also in that of the neighbouring countries. The perishing of the son of the Sun in Greek mythology is likely to be a reference to the same event. The largest crater is 110 metres wide and 16 metres deep. Going back at least two centuries, singing has been at the very core of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian identity. Their famous singing played a central role in the Baltic drive for independence in the early 1990's when demonstrators consistently sang for Soviet troops rather than using violent means: the peaceful independence movement was dubbed the "Singing Revolution." The giant Baltic Song Festivals have become a cultural phenomenon and are singled out by the United Nation's Cultural Wing as a so-called "Masterpiece of Humanity." They may feature as many as 20,000 singers in national costumes performing on huge open-air platforms. After visiting the islands of Vormsi and Hiiuma, we did an overnighter across the Baltic Sea to Lauterhorn (58º08N & 019º47'E) on the Swedish island of Gotland, another island that has much to offer. The best way to see it is by bicycle. The island is famous for its glass, textiles and beautiful sheepskin. Scattered around the island are some fascinating archaeological excavations as well as old ruins and museums. The Viking village in Tofta is very interesting, as is the capital, Visby, a Unesco World Heritage Site. Gotland's biggest attraction is its long and sandy beaches. Especially on the northwest shore, where there is a group of unique limestone pillars in all sorts of odd shapes and sizes. THE GOTA CANAL After another overnighter to the Swedish mainland, we spent a few days in the wonderful Ostergotaland Archipelago calling on Arkosund, St. Anna and Gryt. This archipelago of thousands of islands is one of Sweden's most impressive areas offering fantastic experiences in the form of peaceful anchorages, wonderful sailing, charming towns and beautiful countryside. Then, at the town of Mem (58º30'N & 016º55'E), we entered the Gota Canal, which, together with the Trollhatta Canal, take you right across the heartlands of Sweden to the city of Gothenburg on the west coast. The Gota Canal is 190 km long, has 58 locks and crosses the highway in aqueducts in two places. The highest point is 92 metres above sea level. The canal runs from Mem to the town of Sjotorp on the eastern side of Vanern, the largest lake in Sweden. From here, you cross Vanern to Vanersborg in the southern corner of the lake - another 118 km. At Vanersborg, you enter another canal system called the Trollhatta, which leads to the Gota river that runs out in Gothenburg. The Trollhatta Canal is 80 km long and has 8 locks. The Gota Canal was actually born from anger. Between 1429 and 1857 when Skaane, in the southern part of Sweden belonged to Denmark, anyone passing through the narrow Oresound (the passage to the Baltic Sea), was forced to pay a hefty fee to the Danes. This infuriated the Swedes so much that they built the canal, which opened in 1833 after 22 years of construction. It is a wonderful experience to sail through the canal and across the great lakes. If you have the time, it is nice to stop at all the locks and enjoy outings on the many bike trails along the canal. You need minimum six days, preferably more for the transit, as it is quite a lot of work going through the locks. Many boaters spend their entire holiday on the canal. Therefore, it is very busy during the high season. The cost of a one-way trip for a boat between 9 and 13 metres is CAD665. The round-trip costs CAD900. The canal is open between May 3 and September 26. The stretch from Gothenburg up the west coast of Sweden to Norway is fantastic cruising. Here, you can sail in sheltered waters inside a multitude of large and small islands and rocks, or you can go outside in good weather and come back in to spend the night in beautiful, lonely anchorages or in one of the many busy, crowded and noisy marinas. Compared to Norway, Denmark and the west coast of Sweden there were not many cruisers in the Baltic. Not even during the busy July holiday season. Cruisers who came that far off the beaten track were mostly from Holland, Germany and Sweden. We saw one American in Stockholm, one Norwegian in St. Petersburg and a few British boats. In Tallinn, there were lots of Finnish boats. It was only a day's sail from home. Besides, it was a popular port to provision cheap liquor. We only saw two Canadian boats all summer - "Sea Lise" and "Red Shoes." We really should have had four, preferably five months for this cruise of 2,200 nautical miles. As it was, we did six overnighters and had many 60-mile days. This was possible because of the long and light evenings. At this latitude, in the land of the midnight sun, it doesn't really get dark at night. Daybreak is around 0330-0400. The light generated by the midnight sun is very special. Once you have seen it you'll never forget it. Anne Brevig (VE0MCA) and Martin Vennesland, p.t. Vancouver S/Y NOR SIGLAR, p.t. Norway P.S. (Positions indicated are for general information only - not for navigational purposes!) |
