Unioninkatu at night
Originally uploaded by Greygriffin.

Just playing with my cameraphone.

Laivakoira (ship’s dog)
Originally uploaded by Greygriffin.

Kittiwake has a mascot, a dog we picked up in the Turku archipelago. The badge on the lifejacket says ‘Pida saaristo siistina’ (keep the archipelago clean), which is a charity organisation that does good work there.

We should give the dog a name. I thought, ‘Horatio’ (after Admiral Nelson) – any better ideas?

Kittiwake at Malkasaari
Originally uploaded by Greygriffin.

We sailed yesterday to Malkasaari, a small island in eastern Helsinki. It only took about 3 hours, which was good as we didn’t set off until after 4pm. On the way we called Kati & Janne, and as they were already out in the ‘Buster’ speed-boat they came to the island too and joined us in a barbecue.

Now we’re off again, and planning to stop at Suomenlinna for lunch. Today the sea is smooth and the wind light, but we’re still gliding along at about two knots, plenty to get us there and wonderfully peaceful.

Wedding anniversary lunch
Originally uploaded by Greygriffin.

We’re meeting friends for a picnic this evening, so we decided to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary by having lunch together at Hakaniemi market square. It was warm and sunny, with a string & flute quartet playing traditional music nearby – what a shame we both had to return to work afterwards!

Eve & Kittiwake at Kaunissaari
Originally uploaded by Greygriffin.

On the way home from Onas we stopped at Kaunissaari (‘Beautiful Island’). It was nice enough, with a good, big harbour and a café, but otherwise unremarkable.

Kittiwake at Onas
Originally uploaded by Greygriffin.

We sailed yesterday to our yacht club’s island harbour at Onas, near Porvoo. They have a really nice place there, with a couple of jetties, a kitchen/barbecue outbuilding, a big sauna and a couple of compost toilets. There are even a couple of Optimist dinghies and a Snipe dinghy you can sail, though it would take a couple of hours to step the Snipe’s mast etc. so we didn’t have time. The whole place has a feeling of being cared for – very nice to see.