MV Dirona travel digest for Aland 2019

Position: 59°50.58'N, 19°7.42'E

When we arrived at Arholma, the park dock was empty. By the end of the evening, three boats had arrived.

Position: 59°50.51'N, 19°7.78'E

Our last Swedish sunrise before we cross the Sea of Aland to the Aland Islands, an autonomous region of Finland.

Position: 59°52.25'N, 19°18.42'E

Wonderfully calm conditions in the 30-mile crossing of Sea of Aland.

Position: 59°53.15'N, 19°25.60'E

Lots of traffic in the Sea of Aland, heading to and from the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern coasts of Sweden and Finland.

Position: 59°54.48'N, 19°36.23'E

Lowering our Swedish courtesy flag as we depart Swedish waters. We'll be back in the end of June.

Position: 59°54.51'N, 19°36.46'E

Raising a Finnish courtesy flag as we enter Finnish waters.

Position: 59°54.65'N, 19°37.57'E

The Viking Line ferry Rosella en route to the Swedish mainland from Mariehamn in the Aland Islands.

Position: 59°57.16'N, 19°57.71'E

Wind turbines and tower from an old mine on Lilla Batskar as we enter the Aland Island.

Position: 60°5.38'N, 19°57.93'E

This boatyard at Mariehamn in the Aland Islands is using what looks to be a shipping container lift system to move boats around in the yard.

Position: 60°6.04'N, 19°56.88'E

One of the reasons we'd come to Mariehamn in the Aland Islands was an invitation from Sam Eklow to visit the Aland Maritime Safety Center. Sam, pictured at left, was on hand to meet us at the dock, along with his colleagues Susann Friman and Kristoffer Joelsson.

Position: 60°6.01'N, 19°56.79'E

Only a handful of visiting boats are at the MSF Guest Harbour in late April. But in the high season the marine will be packed and to maximize space, boats will be moored bow-to the dock with sterns tied to the pilings visible. Here in the off-season we can tie alongside the dock, a much more convenient arrangement.

Position: 60°6.11'N, 19°56.54'E

A nice lunch street-side at Miramar Grill & Pizzeria.

Position: 60°6.04'N, 19°56.88'E

With a population of only 29,500 the Aland Islands support two newspapers and a radio station. Shortly after our arrival, a team from from one of the papers requested an interview. Pictured are reporter Petter Lobraten, left, and photographer Robert Jansson of the newspaper Alandstidningen.

Position: 60°5.93'N, 19°56.27'E

Picking up a few provisions at the well-stocked K-Supermarket grocery store in Mariehamn.

Position: 60°5.93'N, 19°56.87'E

A delicious meal with local microbrew Stallhagen in the restaurant ship F.P. von Knorring with a view the harbour. Dirona is visible in the background moored in the MSF Guest Harbour.

Position: 60°6.16'N, 19°56.24'E

Out in front of a local marine insurance company is a marine engine crankshaft, presumably available for display as the result of a claim :).

Position: 60°6.91'N, 19°55.44'E

April 30th is Walpurgis Night in northern and central Europe. Saint Walpurga was canonized on May 1st and was known for successfully battling issues such as pests, rabies and whooping cough. He also fought against witchcraft, and large bonfires traditionally are lit on the anniversary of the eve of his canonization to ward of witches and evil spirits.

This is the what's left of a major bonfire just outside the Mariehamn town center. This year's celebrations have been restricted due to extremely dry conditions and the fire department is keeping a careful watch over this one.

Position: 60°6.87'N, 19°55.46'E

The Mariehamn Fire Department's beautiful Scania pumper.

Position: 60°6.91'N, 19°55.42'E

The fire department had a pump in the water, primed and ready, with hoses leading up to the bonfire in case the flames got out of control.

Position: 60°6.91'N, 19°55.42'E

Nesting swan along the shoreline near the bonfire.

Position: 60°6.31'N, 19°55.78'E

A local power plant appears to be fueled by waste sawdust. We didn't see anyone there, so it appears to be automatic that the shovel will go down, pick up a load of sawdust, deliver it to the burners and then return to its resting position.

Position: 60°6.04'N, 19°56.89'E

Returning to the boat, we could see a huge Walpurgis Night bonfire still burning across the harbour.

Position: 60°6.04'N, 19°56.88'E

This picture shows a web page used for different control system settings where white is normal and yellow is notable (click image for a larger view).

Like many, if not most marinas in Sweden, only 10A shore service is available, so we are using our dual-shore power configuration and are limiting the charger draw. Both both chargers are configured to operate at 65% output and are shown in yellow. This keeps our maximum draw on each down below 10A. They'll draw around a bit more than 13amps at full output.

We also have selected shore equalize which allows the system to run at higher than normal voltage without warnings alerts or auto-shutdowns. It's been 6 months since we have equalized (also called conditioning) the batteries, and the capacity is starting to be obviously less than the should be. When cruising full time we usually equalize about every three months.

The last yellow box is forced start battery parallel. This connects the main engine start battery to the house bank so they are equalized as well. It's been roughly a year since they were equalized. We'll be charging at 30.8V since the batteries will stabilize at about 82F while charging. Then we keep an eye on battery temperatures and wait for 8 to 10 hours before taking it back out of equalization mode.

Position: 60°5.85'N, 19°56.48'E

Walking along Norra Esplanadgatan to the Aland's maritime museum at other side of town.

Position: 60°5.83'N, 19°56.08'E

St. Gorans Kryka, built in 1927, is one of the few modern churches on the island.

Position: 60°5.69'N, 19°55.65'E

The Aland Islands are an autonamous region of Finland that is one of 31 special territories with the EU. The islands are part of the EU, but outside the VAT area and ships that dock here can sell good on-board duty-free. As a result, the ferry terminal here sees 16 ships in a 24-hour period en route between other European ports.

Position: 60°5.68'N, 19°55.68'E

Damaged propellor blades from the ferry Isabella, each one weighs 5,300lb (2,400kg), on display near the Mariehamn ferry terminal.

Position: 60°5.84'N, 19°55.61'E

At Mariehamn's maritime museum Sjofartsmuseum.

Position: 60°5.80'N, 19°55.58'E

The four-masted barque Pommern is the pride of the Sjofartsmuseum. The ship was built in Glasgow in 1903 and plied the trade route between England and Australia from its homeport of Mariehamn. The ship twice won the 'Great Grain Race' for fastest passage between Lizard Point, Australia and Cornwall, England with times of 104 and 94 days.

Position: 60°5.84'N, 19°55.57'E

A band playing at today's grand opening celebration for the Pommern. The ship has been closed for the past two years for renovations.

Position: 60°5.84'N, 19°55.50'E

On the deck of the Pommern. A constant stream of people were arriving to see the ship. And with good reason—the displays and recreations are quite well done.

Position: 60°5.86'N, 19°55.48'E

The steering gear on the Pommern. As the wheel turns, the worm gear rotates. Riding on the worm gear is a shuttle that gets pulled towards the wheel (forward in the boat) or away from the wheel, depending upon wheel rotation. The shuttle drives the rudder arm and turns the rudder. It looks like a lot of turns of the wheel is required to go from lock-to-lock on the steering, but the large mechanical advantage will make it easy and non-tiring.

Position: 60°5.85'N, 19°55.50'E

The cavernous cargo hold of the Pommern is full of information displays detailing the ship's history.

Position: 60°5.87'N, 19°56.61'E

After touring the Pommern, we walked into town for lunch. Today is a holiday to celebrate the canonization of Saint Walpurga, and the local motorcycle club traditionally holds a rally and displays their bikes in the main square.

Position: 60°5.89'N, 19°56.56'E

Crowds of people in downtown Mariehamn for the annual Lions Club auction in the town square.

Position: 60°5.89'N, 19°56.57'E

Lunch at Nonna Rina with a view to the action in Mariehamn's town square.

Position: 60°5.84'N, 19°55.56'E

After lunch we returned to tour the excellent Sjofartsmuseum proper. This is a Fresnel lens with the Pommern visible in the background.

Position: 60°5.83'N, 19°55.58'E

Collection of ship's bells at Sjofartsmuseum.

Position: 60°5.82'N, 19°55.61'E

A late 18th-century pirate flag from North Africa, one of only two original pirate flags known to exist.

Position: 60°5.85'N, 19°55.48'E

Part of the renovation the Pommern added a viewing platform that extends aroud both sides of the ship.

Position: 60°6.03'N, 19°55.51'E

The view south from a hilltop park above Sjofartsmuseum with the masts of the Pommern prominent.

Position: 60°6.01'N, 19°55.60'E

The path down from the hilltop led through a narrow ravine.

Position: 60°5.99'N, 19°55.82'E

The Aland Islands are part of Finland, but operate autonomously, including having their own license plates, flag, postal stamp and web suffix '.ax'. And despite being a part of Finland, the language spoken here is Swedish.

Position: 60°5.99'N, 19°55.78'E

Watchful Aland cat having a snooze on a warm car hood.

Position: 60°5.98'N, 19°56.02'E

Aland's senior high shool.

Position: 60°6.00'N, 19°56.62'E

We finished the day with a great meal at Dino's Bar & Grill in Mariehamn.

Position: 60°6.23'N, 19°56.35'E

A light snow started falling as we were out walking this morning. What fun!

Position: 60°6.10'N, 19°55.66'E

Today we visited the Maritime Safety Center in Aland to see their facility and to learn more about the STCW (the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping) courses they offer. Read more ...

Position: 60°6.10'N, 19°55.67'E

By mid-morning, the snow had gotten fairly deep. This is the view from the Aland Maritime Safety Center classroom. Even above 60°N in Aland, this is unusual for May.

Position: 60°6.01'N, 19°56.57'E

A great lunch at Indigo in Mariehamn with microbrew from another local Aland brewing company, Open Water Brewery.

Position: 60°5.94'N, 19°56.28'E

Picking up a load of Stallhagen IPA, and a few extra provisions, at the local grocery store on our way back to the boat.

Position: 60°5.94'N, 19°56.43'E

This car caught James eye with its Ligier logo on the hood. He remembers Ligier from their Formula 1 racing days from 1976 through 1996. They have also built Le Mans race cars. What we didn't know is they now build small cars and buses. This looks like a Ligier JS50.

Position: 60°6.04'N, 19°56.89'E

The snow had built up a couple of inches on deck by the time we returned.

Position: 60°6.30'N, 19°56.72'E

The two-masted schooner Albanus, built in 1988, is a replica of the original 1904 Albanus. Both ships were built in Aland and the current is a regular participant in Tall Ship Races

Position: 60°6.31'N, 19°56.69'E

At Pub Niska for dinner.

Position: 60°6.31'N, 19°56.70'E

Pub Niska is a chain of restaurants started by renowned Alan chef Michael Bjorklund with a goal of producing high-quality food using local ingredients. The restaurants are built to look like a ship's interior—we loved it.

Position: 60°6.04'N, 19°56.89'E

The barometer has fallen hard over the past few days—we've got some winds coming.

Position: 60°6.04'N, 19°56.88'E

This power pedestal has 6x 16A receptacles but, from experience, we know to look closer since most shore power connections we've seen recently are only 10A. So we always check the breaker first. We've gotten used to the 10A connections and the boat runs very well on 2x 10A shore power connections. In fact, we think it would operate on as low as 8A.

But, what surprised us about this power pedestal is that each side has only a single 10A breaker for the 3 shore power connections. As we are currently plugged in we are drawing the pedestal's entire 20A capacity. This works fine when no other boats are in the marina, but when it's full and and the pedestals are fully subscribed, only an average of 4A is allocated to each shore power connection. We expect it would be extremely challenging to avoid overload and the breaker popping when more boats are around.

Position: 60°6.01'N, 19°56.56'E

A delicious pizza with a window table at Pizza Diablo in Mariehamn.

Position: 60°6.04'N, 19°56.88'E

It's a cold morning with the temperature just above freezing, at 33F.

Position: 60°5.28'N, 19°59.56'E

The weather may be cold, but it's wonderfully sunny and calm as we pass through Kalmarviken en route from Mariehamn for Kastleholm.

Position: 60°5.74'N, 20°0.29'E

Waiting for a bridge opening at Lemstrom Canal. The bridge opens every hour on the hour for ten minutes between 9am and 5pm this time of year, and regular bridge openings only started a week ago on April 27th.

Position: 60°5.79'N, 20°0.68'E

We got a green light to enter the canal at precisely 9am. We'd timed our arrival for 8:50am so didn't have to wait long.

Position: 60°5.80'N, 20°0.90'E

Passing through Lemstrom Canal, built in 1882 to provide a shortcut to Mariehamn from the bay Lumparn.

Position: 60°9.18'N, 20°4.04'E

Beacon and light looking north to the island of Rodko.

Position: 60°12.88'N, 20°4.73'E

Aland Golf Club has two 18-hole courses. The course visible, Slottsbanan, currently is under renovation and will re-open in 2020.

Position: 60°13.71'N, 20°4.70'E

The view from our berth at Kastleholm Gasthamn to Kastleholm Castle.

Position: 60°13.71'N, 20°4.70'E

Most watermakers have a pleated paper pre-filter that needs to be changed periodically. In areas with lots of plankton or other impurities in the water, "periodically" can be as frequently as once per day. So we elected to install a media filter in front of the watermaker pre-filter. The media filter is essentially a small version of the common sand filter used on most swimming pools. These filters are a bit bulky, but are remarkably effective. We can make water in highly plankton-rich waters and still only need to change the pleated paper prefilter annually.

Every 1 to 3 months, depending upon use, we back-flush the media filter, which just reverses the water flow through the filter. With the sea water flowing in the opposite direction, the impurities are flushed out of the media filter. In the picture you can see that the water is visibly dirty for the first minute or so during back-flush. Once the flush water clears, we reverse the valves back to the normal position and the filter is again clean and ready to return to work.

Position: 60°13.73'N, 20°4.77'E

Moored at Kastleholm Gasthamn. The marina doesn't open for the season until June 22, six weeks from now, so we have no power. But surprisingly, we do have freshwater.

Position: 60°14.00'N, 20°4.85'E

We walked a short trail from the marina to tour Kastleholm Castle. The castle was built in stages from the 14th to 17th centuries and was rebuilt and extended after being plundered or destroyed by fire several times over the centuries. After the final fire in 1745, a first restoration took place in 1891, and another was completed a century later in 2001.

Position: 60°13.99'N, 20°4.82'E

Looking south to the eastern wing (left) and the 30m-high Kuretornet Keep. The royal chambers were in the upper floors of Kuretornet Keep , which dates from the 16th century and is the best preserved part of the castle. We're lucky to get inside at all—the castle only opened for the season two days ago on May 2nd.

Position: 60°13.98'N, 20°4.85'E

The last kitchen was in the eastern keep, along with the castle's oldest well. Part of the castle's original ring wall is visible at the bottom right of the photo.

Position: 60°13.96'N, 20°4.84'E

Looking across the inner courtyard at Kastleholm Castle towards the the southern wing. The scaffolding demonstrates the different phases of construction work and the technology used. Visible in the background are walkways along the top interior of the castle.

Position: 60°13.95'N, 20°4.85'E

The northern wing beyond the inner courtyard, viewed from the walkway along the top of the southern wing.

Position: 60°13.98'N, 20°4.82'E

The northern wing contains a two-floor museum that includes displays of archaeological finds from the castle and the coats of arms of all the castle's fief-holders.

Position: 60°13.99'N, 20°4.82'E

View to Dirona from the Kastleholm Castle grounds.

Position: 60°13.89'N, 20°4.96'E

The Vita Bjorn prison operated near Kastleholm Castle for two centuries, closing in 1975. Inside is an interesting display showing how prison conditions evolved over that period to become more humane. These are a display of some of the shackles used for punishment in the early period of the prison.

Position: 60°13.79'N, 20°4.91'E

Jan Karlsgarden is an open-air museum made up of about twenty buildings transported from different parts of Aland to a farm near Kastleholm Castle. This is the view north across Jan Karlsgarden with the castle visible in the background.

Position: 60°13.85'N, 20°4.85'E

We saw lots of trees blown over around the open-air museum, but this is the only visible building damage from Storm Alfrida.

Position: 60°13.84'N, 20°4.86'E

Blacksmith at Jan Karlsgarden open-air museum.

Position: 60°13.83'N, 20°4.87'E

The pressing shed was used to press homespun fabric to remove creases. Heated iron plates were placed on wood laid over the fabric and forced down with the pressing log visible in the background.

Position: 60°13.82'N, 20°4.87'E

Smoke sauna at Jan Karlsgarden open-air museum

Position: 60°13.76'N, 20°4.97'E

Walking out to a restaurant for dinner, we passed a large stack of logs, likely from trees felled in Storm Alfrida.

Position: 60°13.89'N, 20°5.13'E

Smakbyn, the creation of award-winning chef Michael Bjorklund, is a striking complex that includes a restaurant, distillery, conference facilities and a shop. The restaurant receives rave reviews and we were really looking forward to our meal.

Position: 60°13.89'N, 20°5.13'E

Chefs at work in the huge open-air kitchen at Smakbyn.

Position: 60°13.89'N, 20°5.13'E

Dinner in Smakbyn's airy, light-filled dining room. Smakbyn focuses on local products—Jennifer's lamb was walking in the adjacent field last year and James' perch was caught locally. Both were exceptional—we had a fabulous evening.

Position: 60°13.82'N, 20°5.00'E

The evening sun lighting up the windmills at Jan Karlsgarden open-air museum as we walk back to Dirona from Smakbyn.

Position: 60°13.71'N, 20°4.70'E

Dusk looking north to Kastleholm Castle from our berth at Kastleholm Gasthamn.

Position: 60°12.09'N, 20°16.20'E

Passing the cable ferry between Prasto and Tofto en route from Kastleholm to Bomarsund.

Position: 60°13.66'N, 20°15.22'E

Our destination for the night is Bomarsund, to explore the ruins of the 19th-century Russian fortress Bomarsund. A portion of the ruins are visible as we round the headland towards the anchorage.

Position: 60°13.48'N, 20°13.96'E

Anchored at Notviken beneath the imposing Notviksbergen cliff.

Position: 60°13.26'N, 20°14.21'E

Aland and mainland Finland were part of the Russian Empire from 1809 to 1918. The Russians began to build Bomarsund Fortress at Aland in 1830 as a western outpost. This map shows the overall plan for the fortress—a massive fortified circle almost 3/4 mile (1.1 km) in diameter and extending north-to-south nearly two miles (3km) and designed to house 4,000-5,000 men. The fortress was only partially complete, and vulnerable, when the British and French destroyed it 1854 during the Crimean War.

The red dot at the top of the map marks Notvik Tower (Notvikstornet) that we could see on approach to the anchorage. The dotted line marks a 2.6m (4.2km) walking trail around the perimeter.

Position: 60°13.28'N, 20°14.25'E

We landed the tender below Notvik Tower and walked up the rocks for a great view to our anchorage through the ruins.

Position: 60°13.30'N, 20°14.24'E

We'd hadn't yet had breakfast, but wanted to get out in the tender right away to take advantage of the morning light for photographs. So we brought a picnic breakfast and had our meal at Notvik Tower.

Position: 60°13.28'N, 20°14.25'E

As with most military fortresses, Notvik Tower has a commanding view of the area (click image for a larger view). The tower was one of only three completed off the twelve planned. Each tower was 140ft (42m) in diameter and 45ft (14m) high.

Position: 60°13.25'N, 20°14.24'E

Old cannons with Notvik Tower in the background.

Position: 60°13.08'N, 20°13.90'E

We set off counterclockwise on the fortress perimeter trail. This is the view looking north down Notviken across the boat moorings along the east shore. Dirona is a small white dot in the distance (click image for a larger view).

Position: 60°13.06'N, 20°13.86'E

More Storm Alfrida damage: we had to crawl under several trees that blocked a staircase leading up.

Position: 60°13.03'N, 20°13.80'E

Interpretive signs, in Swedish, Finnish, English, and Russian, provided detailed information about the sights along the trail. Here we are looking into a valley where the plan was to build a 500m-long barracks building with 200 rooms. Construction had not begun before the fortress was destroyed. Notvik Tower is visible in the distance.

Position: 60°13.07'N, 20°13.67'E

The top portion of a range mark on 203ft (62m) Djavulsberget.

Position: 60°13.07'N, 20°13.68'E

The view northeast across our anchorage from 203ft (62m) Djavulsberget.

Position: 60°12.93'N, 20°13.36'E

The ruins of Brannklint Tower, one of three of the twelve planned towers completed. During the battle for control of the fortress, the powder magazine exploded, destroying the tower.

Position: 60°12.61'N, 20°13.56'E

Tower A was one of five round towers that would form part of the fortresses defenses and was designed to house 250 men. Only the foundation, shown, was laid before the fortress was destroyed.

Position: 60°12.65'N, 20°14.22'E

Ruins of the main fort walls. After overcoming the Russian forces, the British and French troops destroyed the fortress so it couldn't be used again.

Position: 60°12.75'N, 20°14.43'E

A diagram showing the ambitious main fortress at Bomarsund, designed to be a symbol of the Russian Czar's authority in the Baltic Sea.

Position: 60°12.68'N, 20°14.31'E

The bridge over shallow Angosund. The fortress designers assumed that military sailing ships could not pass through this channel, but by the 1850s technology had advanced beyond sail and even the largest steam-powered ships could pass through and approach the fortress beyond the range of its defensive cannons.

Position: 60°12.80'N, 20°14.41'E

Jennifer standing in front of the eastern walls of the main fortress give an idea of the size and scale of the ruins.

Position: 60°13.51'N, 20°13.85'E

The view east across the anchorage at Notviken from base of Notviksbergen cliff.

Position: 60°13.47'N, 20°13.80'E

We followed a partial trail to the top of Notviksbergen for an excellent view. This is looking south towards the head of Notviken where we were walking earlier today.

Position: 60°13.50'N, 20°13.80'E

View across Notviken from the top of Notviksbergen cliff with Notvik Tower visible in the distance.

Position: 60°13.46'N, 20°13.94'E

Notvik Tower aglow at dusk, viewed from the anchorage at Notviken.

Position: 60°13.66'N, 20°17.73'E

Sunrise as we depart the anchorage at Bomarsund.

Position: 60°13.80'N, 20°18.35'E

We were planning round the north end of Tofto en route to the Kumlinge Islands, but hadn't noticed a 24ft (7.3m) fixed bridge when drawing our route. The bridge isn't very obvious on the chart the way it is drawn with two thin parallel lines. Fortunately the bridge was right at the start of our route and the detour only cost about 15 minutes.

Position: 60°12.09'N, 20°16.20'E

Seppo Kytomaki sent us this photo taken by Prasto Sund cable ferry skipper Greger Granlund as we passed heading south.

Position: 60°12.89'N, 20°24.50'E

The channel we just came through is relatively narrow and very well marked with two sets of range markers and several buoys.

Position: 60°12.99'N, 20°24.61'E

The 171ft (52m) ferry Alfageln at the Hummelvik ferry dock.

Position: 60°17.35'N, 20°45.37'E

When the main start battery drops down below 50%, we get a warning light and email. In this case, the cause was the engine was left in the on position which causes the stack fan to run. We had turned on the ignition to set the start battery alternator regulator but forgot to shut it off. It's nice to get a warning before the batteries are damaged. We've now got a warning if the enigne is on but not running for more than 15 min.

Position: 60°17.33'N, 20°45.41'E

At anchor south of Baro in the Kumlinge Islands as we set out on a tour by tender.

Position: 60°18.25'N, 20°44.64'E

The old coast guard station at the north side of Baro Island. The facility has since been converted into a the appealing-looking Glada Laxen restaurant, resort, conference facility and marina. Glada Laxen doesn't open until June 1, but we mainly came to take in the views from the top of the old watchtower.

Position: 60°18.22'N, 20°44.62'E

We wore our Mustang 2175s for the tender run, partly for warmth but also for safety in case we hit any rough water. We weren't sure if we could pass through the shallows east of Baro and might have to run along the west shore, exposed to today's high winds.

Position: 60°18.19'N, 20°44.53'E

The views from the top of the of the (40m) watchtower were incredible in all directions. This is looking north across the Glada Laxen complex.

Position: 60°18.19'N, 20°44.52'E

The old office at the top of the watchtower. From here you could see any approaching ship miles away.

Position: 60°18.19'N, 20°44.53'E

Dirona moored south of Baro, viewed a mile away from the top of the old coast guard watchtower on Baro.

Position: 60°18.19'N, 20°44.53'E

Ferry passing through the Kumlinge Islands, seen from the Baro watchtower.

Position: 60°16.49'N, 20°45.30'E

Our next stop on today's tender trip was the main island of Kumlinge to visit the church there. We tied the tender off to a breakwater at the end of a local road.

Position: 60°16.43'N, 20°45.58'E

Walking a red dirt road on Kumlinge.

Position: 60°16.37'N, 20°45.84'E

A watchful steer kept a close eye on us as we passed a field full of cattle.

Position: 60°16.07'N, 20°46.41'E

Kumlinge Kyrka, built in the 1300s. The interior is covered with spectacular and unique Francescan-style paintings dating from about 1500, but it appears the church is only open during the summer months.

Position: 60°17.34'N, 20°45.41'E

The dishwasher door jammed this morning when we opened it, so we pulled it out and decided to replace the broken spring with a spare spring. This spare is actually used to hold the exhaust cladding on and is not nearly as strong as the one used in the dishwasher, but it's enough to keep the dishwasher working well. We'll get the proper replacement on our next visit to North America.

Position: 60°2.51'N, 20°47.20'E

Petter Lobraten, a reporter with Alandstidningen (an Aland newspaper), interviewed us on the boat shortly after we'd arrived in Mariehamn. It's an unusual town that has two newspapers and it's even more unusual for us to be interviewed by both (the other interviewed was at the Aland Maritime Safety Center). The full article is at Alandstidningen, and a Google translation of the text is at Alandstidningen in English.

Position: 60°5.19'N, 20°44.85'E

Water tower on Marso to our west.

Position: 60°5.11'N, 20°45.04'E

A typical white-painted beacon, common in Sweden and Finland. They are visible from a long way off.

Position: 60°4.29'N, 20°45.80'E

The 144ft (44m) ferry Ejdern en route from mainland Finland to Langnas near Mariehamn in Aland.

Position: 60°2.76'N, 20°47.14'E

The area we're passing through today is beautiful and complex, with an endless choice of anchorages.

Position: 59°58.31'N, 20°50.48'E

We just passed 10,400 hours on our John Deere 6068 main engine. We crossed 10,000 hours last summer when cruising Norway and the Deere continues to run flawlessly. It has never failed to start, nor has it once stopped running or even derated.

Position: 59°58.22'N, 20°50.61'E

Coast Guard vessel on the move from Kokar.

Position: 59°57.96'N, 20°51.69'E

The Kokar Coast Guard watchtower, spinning a large open-array radar on top.

Position: 59°57.02'N, 20°53.66'E

Passing the Kokar ferry dock en route to our anchorage in Hamno Sund.

Position: 59°56.53'N, 20°53.05'E

The ferry Skiftet arriving into Kokar on the route from mainland Finland to Langnas near Mariehamn.

Position: 59°56.53'N, 20°53.04'E

Sandvik Gasthamn at the head of Hamno Sund looks quite appealing, but we generally prefer to anchor unless we'll be spending a lot of time in town.

Position: 59°56.53'N, 20°53.06'E

Anchored for a couple of nights at Hamno Sund. The winds are forecast to blow easterly up to 30kts tomorrow, so we wanted something with good protection.

Position: 59°55.29'N, 20°54.84'E

Out on a tender trip to the windswept island of Kallskar at the southern edge of the Kokar Islands. Our charts showed 1.6ft or less along the entire northeast side of the main island, so weren't sure we could make it through the sheltered passage. It's shorter and more scenic, and with the wind blowing 20kts the outside route would have been a wet ride. But we never saw less than 7ft and once we'd reached this bridge, we were in deeper water for the rest of the way.

Position: 59°54.95'N, 20°54.93'E

Local boat passing us just outside of the village of Karlby.

Position: 59°52.63'N, 20°54.24'E

With strong winds from the south, we were expecting to hit a little rough water on the final stretch to Kallskar, but conditions were surprisingly calm as you can see in the background. We soon shed our Mustang 2175s and were ashore.

Position: 59°52.52'N, 20°54.10'E

In 1965, wealthy baron Goran Akerhielm purchased the central part of Kallskar and spent 18 years building a villa and an extensive garden oasis. The first stage was to build a boardwalk to the property from the north harbour.

Position: 59°52.35'N, 20°54.19'E

The gardens at Kallskar, with the villa partly visible on the left. The thick stone walls absorbed heat from the sun, warming and providing shelter for a variety of plants that otherwise would not have been able to grow here.

Position: 59°52.34'N, 20°54.20'E

The south-facing terrace at the villa on Kallskar. The baron lived on the island spring through fall until 1983, and later donated the property to the region of Aland.

Position: 59°52.34'N, 20°54.19'E

The baron placed marble statues throughout his garden. This is a replica of Swedish sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel's Venus Aux Belles Fesses.

Position: 59°52.33'N, 20°54.20'E

Replica of Johan Tobias Sergel's Mars and Venus in the gardens on Kallskar.

Position: 59°52.34'N, 20°54.22'E

Marble statue of Hercules in the Kallskar gardens.

Position: 59°52.34'N, 20°54.24'E

The view down to the villa and gardens from the hills above. A beautiful little oasis on the edge of the windswept Baltic.

Position: 59°52.32'N, 20°54.27'E

The baron also built a harbour on the south end of the island, closer to his villa than the north harbour. All work was done by hand—the baron didn't allow any machinery to be used.

Position: 59°52.32'N, 20°54.28'E

Perhaps the most dramatic item on Kallskar is the bronze statue of Hermes, the emissary and messenger of the gods, standing on a cliff high above the Baltic.

Position: 59°52.32'N, 20°54.28'E

A closer view of the Hermes statue.

Position: 59°52.34'N, 20°54.33'E

To irrigate the garden during the often-dry summer months, the baron constructed a creative system where water collected in pools was drawn down into three wells in the lowest part of the garden for use later on.

Position: 59°52.34'N, 20°54.48'E

Another famous feature on Kallskar is Kallskarskannan, a 3m-high rock formation carved during the ice age.

Position: 59°52.59'N, 20°54.32'E

Looking down into the north harbour from above. Our tender is tied off to the dock at right.

Position: 59°52.56'N, 20°54.25'E

Rock circles on Kallskar.

Position: 59°52.49'N, 20°54.19'E

High up on the hills above the villa, the baron built a lookout gazebo, known as "Muminhuset". In today's heavy winds and seas, waves crashing against the south shore are exploding upwards to nearly the same height.

Position: 59°52.29'N, 20°54.29'E

Before returning back to Dirona, we ran the tender around to the south harbour. We had to time the entrance. The entry is more than deep enough for the tender, but with the heavy swell the water is pretty much gone at the low point of the waves.

Position: 59°52.26'N, 20°54.43'E

Looking up to the bronze statue of Hermes from the tender as we depart the wonderful island of Kallskar.

Position: 59°55.07'N, 20°54.84'E

Well-marked channel leading to the village of Karlby in the Kokar Islands.

Position: 59°55.20'N, 20°54.70'E

The guest harbour at the Brudhall Hotel in Karlby can accommodate 60 boats. They also have a nice-looking restaurant with a harbour view, but it isn't open until May 30th. We've been in the Baltic for nearly two months now and are edging ever closer to the start of the tourist season here. :)

Position: 59°56.53'N, 20°52.98'E

Re-applying Permethrin to our outdoor gear. In Amsterdam we were vaccinated for TBE (tick-borne encephalitis). But Lyme disease also in prevalent in Sweden, Finland and eastern Europe and no vaccination is available. An addition to other precautions, we're applying Permethrin to our hiking boots and clothes to hopefully ward off any ticks while we are out hiking.

Position: 59°56.52'N, 20°52.97'E

Both of the large ferries that serve Kokar, Skiftet and Ejdern, were in port at the same time.