Still stuck in Hanko

Last night the winds got stronger and stronger, and the yachts in the harbour tossed and squirmed, jerking at their mooring ropes and slamming into their neighbours’ fenders. As the wind whistled and howled in their rigging, it drove the heavy rain almost sideways.

In Kittiwake, I was kept awake most of the night, listening to every wave slap, fender squeak and rope scrape, feeling each toss and jerk, worrying if each was a sign of the boat loosening its mooring ropes and hitting the jetty. It was exhausting.

Morning dawned with continuing strong winds and rain, and it was clear that we’d be fools to set out to sea in those conditions. Though the unreliable weather forecasts promised that the weather would improve in the afternoon, if we left so late our destination harbour at Tammisaari would surely be full. So we resigned ourselves to another day at Hanko.

Now it’s late afternoon and the weather has indeed improved. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.