Logbook Saimaa Wilderness / Karelia

1. 2 October 2012 13:42 utc

   • Position: 53° 54.713 N 010° 42.289 E
   • Wind: SW / 1-2 Bft
   • Weather: Cloudy / 14.7 °C
   • Water temperature: Water: 14.0 °C

   Silvia celebrated the end of our fine journey with a glass of sparkling wine. I, for my part, took pleasure in the results of our various test series, which are an important part of the new long-term expedition we are planning. So as not to end up with an incomprehensible jumble of figures, during the test period I kept to practical observations only. It was important to me that the generator hours for charging the battery banks be cut to a minimum, because that was where I had found the worst ratio of fuel used to result achieved during my winter in Canada. By using the wind generator and the photovoltaic system with the matching battery capacity, I managed to do almost entirely without the generator. The wind generator clearly took on the lion’s share of the charging, by day and by night. The photovoltaic system would have given a better result if the mounting had been adjustable so that the panels could be set to the angle of the sun. I also had to take the greatest care that no dirt at all, or even the slightest shading, reduced the system’s output. For me a time-consuming job, and one I can hardly keep up with under the extreme conditions in the Arctic regions. The sails on our ship had a very positive effect on the way she handles and on economical progress. The exhausting rolling motion, even in a somewhat rougher sea from the side, stayed within bearable limits. Consumption per hour was also cut by almost a third, so that our ship, which weighs over 20 tonnes, needs a little less than four litres an hour at a cruising speed of 5.4 kn (10 km/h). It was not only the materials used, but also the effort to make the most of every weather situation, that helped to achieve these results. Finally we would like to thank the sponsors, all the helping hands and the loyal readers of our website, who made it possible to carry out such a journey with the test series. This entry brings our Saimaa/Karelia logbook to an end. Further interesting entries, including ones about our preparations for the new expedition, which this time will take place not only on the water but in future on land as well, can be followed under News.

   Silvia and Harald Paul wish you continued enjoyment of our site

   

2. 22 September 2012 16:42 utc

   • Position: 54° 41.500 N 013° 25.000 E
   • Wind: SW / 1-2 Bft
   • Weather: Haze / 17.3 °C
   • Water temperature: Water: 17.0 °C

   At this coordinate point the following result from our test series came to mind. As we want to make the work on the ship a little easier, we have given up varnishing wooden parts such as the masts, the transom and floor of the dinghy, the interior fittings and the ship’s heavy wooden doors. As a test I stripped the varnish from the transom of my dinghy, which is permanently in contact with water, and simply brushed on the well-known Ballistol oil. The wood soaked up the oil like a sponge and was given lasting protection right through the whole journey. The same was done with the masts, which, like the other wooden parts, show no signs of ageing at all. Incidentally, this oil, which has been around for over 100 years, can be used in a great many ways because of its unique consistency. It is also biodegradable and is classed in hazard class 0, so it leaves no damage in the water. It is even suitable for treating wounds and for keeping mosquitoes away, as well as for preserving and lubricating all metal parts. Ballistol will be our constant companion on our further expeditions.

   

3. 14 September 2012 11:17 utc

   • Position: 55° 16.675 N 014° 45.306 E
   • Wind: SW / 7-8 Bft
   • Weather: sunny / 13.8 °C
   • Water temperature: Water: 16.0 °C

   Unfortunately the prevailing fresh winds have been coming from the south-west for quite some time now and are holding us up considerably, because we have to keep to exactly the same direction in order to reach our departure point from the spring (Lübeck) in Germany again. So as not to waste fuel needlessly, we are waiting for the wind force to ease and for a possible change of direction.

4. 6 September 2012 13:18 utc

   • Position: 58° 44.869 N 017° 28.154 E
   • Wind: W /7-8 Bft
   • Weather: sunny / 12.8 °C
   • Water temperature: Water: 15.0 °C

   The weather situation has stayed comparatively stable since the last full moon (31 August 2012). The wind mostly comes from the west, sometimes from the north-west, and pushes our cutter, on a southerly course along the Swedish coast, towards Denmark.

5. 29 August 2012 17:23 utc

   • Position: 60° 21.137 N 020° 56.588 E
   • Wind: SE / 3-4Bft
   • Weather: overcast / 16.3 °C
   • Water temperature: Water: 17.0 °C

   On this journey we are testing not only the components for generating renewable energy, but also various pieces of equipment that are meant to make going to sea more comfortable and above all safer. Our main focus is anchoring in any weather, even when no sheltered spot along the coast can be found. Two components have proved themselves. The heavy ground tackle (approx. 350 kg) together with the mizzen sail. This combination makes it possible to lie at anchor off an unsheltered stretch of coast even in a heavy sea state. The mizzen sail always keeps the ship’s bow into the wind and the waves, so that the ship’s movement is only felt along the long axis and therefore stays within bearable limits. The same goes for setting a sea anchor in open water. The first thing to make sure of here is that it is big enough for the size of the ship. The coffee-filter sizes that are offered here at home for comparatively large ships are of no use whatsoever. A bitter experience from my two crossings of the North Atlantic. In future we will be using a sea anchor of 12m², which is set out over the bow only and not, as is so often wrongly done, over the stern. Because if you really are lying stern-to the anchor in a very rough sea, the weakest side of the ship (the steering gear and the companionway) has to take the brutal forces and the masses of water. What is more, in such a situation it is impossible to recover the sea anchor by going astern if that becomes necessary. A properly set sea anchor is life insurance in a really heavy sea!

   

6. 26 August 2012 10:58 utc

   • Position: 60° 00.445 N 022° 24.303 E
   • Wind: SE / 3-4Bft
   • Weather: Rain showers / 16.7 °C
   • Water temperature: Water: 18.0 °C

   All through the summer months the mosquitoes here in the Finnish wilderness kept us well on the go with their attacks. At the moment they are largely staying away. But we get no peace all the same. The deer ked (Lipoptena cervi), which is about the size of a house fly, swarms in greater numbers at this time of year, looking for its new victims, mostly deer (roe deer, red deer, elk). But it also loves women’s long hair, where it likes to settle after shedding its wings. Wearing a mosquito head net gives effective protection.

   

7. 20 August 2012 16:33 utc

   • Position: 60° 27.251 N 027° 37.872 E
   • Wind: NE / 5-6 Bft
   • Weather: sunny / 13.3 °C
   • Water temperature: Water: 18.0 °C

   Our six-week stay in the Saimaa lake district came to an end today with the passage through the Saimaa Canal and the stretch of water in Russian territory. A time that, with the many impressions from nature and from the people who live there, will stay a fine memory for a long while yet.

   

8. 13 August 2012 17:30 utc

   • Position: 61° 38.630 N 028° 15.554 E
   • Wind: NE / 1 Bft
   • Weather: sunny / 14.3 °C
   • Water temperature: Water: 19.0 °C

   After taking a guest on board in Lappeenranta on Saturday, we were under way again in the direction of Puumala. On the approach to an anchorage we unexpectedly sighted a Saimaa seal.

9. 5 August 2012 10:54 utc

   • Position: 62° 11.233 N 029° 17.846 E
   • Wind: SW / 3 Bft
   • Weather: sunny / 20.7 °C
   • Water temperature: Water: 20.0 °C

   For over a week now we have been keeping a special lookout for the Saimaa seals. According to the local people there are said to be about 250 of them. This area, exactly where we are at the moment, is where they are most likely to be seen. Unfortunately we have not sighted this unique kind of seal so far. We were also told that the young animals often drown miserably in the gill nets of private fishermen. Furthermore, the birds we see have changed only slightly since we reported on this in the logbook on 20 July 2012. The only thing we have noticed is that the local people anchor plastic swans in the water in front of their jetties.

   

10. 27 July 2012 12:03 utc

    • Position: 62° 26.685 N 027° 52.244 E
    • Wind: NE / 1 Bft
    • Weather: sunny / 24.0 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 21.0 °C

    Our test series covers not only the generating of renewable energy, but also the safe filtering of fresh water into drinking water. As the Saimaa lake district is fresh water throughout, we pump the wet stuff that surrounds us into our tanks, pre-filtered by two filter cartridges. The tank water is filtered again when it is drawn off for everyday use. For drinking water, the filtered tank water has to flow through a special double filter cartridge just before the tap, so that any renewed growth of germs is ruled out. This last cartridge (Water Wonder mini, type: ultra) from the Evers company is the heart of my system. This double filter reduces all the harmful substances in the water (bacteria, viruses, cysts, chlorine, drug residues, hormone preparations, herbicides, pesticides, atrazine) and so provides good-tasting and absolutely clean drinking water. That does away with carrying drinking-water bottles, which take up our stowage space, and with the difficult business of getting rid of the empties in the wilderness. Incidentally, this system is ideally suited not only to going to sea, but to any camper van, weekend house and ordinary household as well, and so it is “simple but brilliant”!

    

11. 21 July 2012 11:00 utc

    • Position: 63° 37.330 N 027° 49.650 E
    • Wind: W / 5 Bft
    • Weather: Showers / 18.6 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 17.0 °C

    The expedition motor sailer “Gypsy Life” and her crew today reached their highest navigable point in the Saimaa lake district. Our new destination is the nature reserve lying further to the south-east, where the unique Saimaa seals are said to be at home.

12. 20 July 2012 10:10 utc

    • Position: 62° 53.718 N 027° 41.718 E
    • Wind: NW / 5 Bft
    • Weather: Rain / 18.6 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 17.0 °C

    We have reached Kuopio, the largest town in the North Savo region with over 91000 inhabitants, in spite of the heavy rainfall, which considerably hampered our view in the fairway, where the buoys are in places very widely spaced. Here we want to take on some fresh provisions again and then set our course further north. Recently we have noticed during our close observations that, despite the many designated nature reserves, the bird life is very sparse. Nor have we so far sighted any of the animals mentioned in a nature guide to this area, such as beaver and otter.

    

13. 13 July 2012 15:18 utc

    • Position: 61° 52.042 N 028° 53.009 E
    • Wind: NE / 1 Bft
    • Weather: Rain / 15.6 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 18.0 °C

    Savonlinna, a town with over 27400 inhabitants, is the heart of the Saimaa lakes. We have travelled 2021 nm (3740.89 km) from the Danube to get here. We are setting our course further north and want to go beyond the town of Kuopio and reach the end of the waterways that are navigable for us.

14. 8 July 2012 10:57 utc

    • Position: 61° 18.524 N 028° 25.820 E
    • Wind: E / 1 Bft
    • Weather: sunny / 29.8 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 20.0 °C

    The continuing fine weather of the past week opened up the window of time for us to get the outstanding work on the ship done. Large areas of the open cockpit were cleaned, sanded and varnished.

    

15. 30 June 2012 15:57 utc

    • Position: 60° 57.690 N 028° 33.100 E
    • Wind: SE / 4 Bft
    • Weather: sunny / 16.4 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 19.0 °C

    On leaving the customs station at Santio (Finland) we had to keep exactly to the prescribed sea route through Russian territory, without any interruption at all, as far as the lock at Brusničnoe (Russia) in the Saimaa Canal. Sealed by numerous forms and by passing two Russian customs stations, we were allowed to travel as far as the customs station at Nuijamaa (Finland). From here there are three more Finnish locks to go through before we reach the Saimaa lake district.

16. 21 June 2012 16:48 utc

    • Position: 60° 10.156 N 024° 57.688 E
    • Wind: SW / 3 Bft
    • Weather: sunny / 16.4 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 18.0 °C

    With our visit to the capital of Finland (Helsinki) we escaped the wilderness for a short while. We saw the Finns celebrating their midsummer day. In many bars and streets bands played on into the next day and took their leave of the longest day of the year in this way.

17. 12 June 2012 11:00 utc

    • Position: 60° 44.732 N 021° 17.144 E
    • Wind: NW / 3 Bft
    • Weather: sunny / 18.4 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 20.0 °C

    By buying a used, very light headsail in Uusikaupunki we are extending our ship's sailing qualities to light wind conditions as well. The first attempts have produced very good results.

    

18. 5 June 2012 17:13 utc

    • Position: 60° 47.880 N 021° 24.302 E
    • Wind: S / 4 Bft
    • Weather: sunny / 13.5 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 17.0 °C

    Now that we have arrived here in Uusikaupunki we shall be breaking off our onward passage for an indefinite time. Together with our Finnish friends, whom we have known for years, we want to make extended trips ashore, so that we get to know the interior of the country better as well.

19. 30 May 2012 13:37 utc

    • Position: 60° 00.721 N 020° 02.654 E
    • Wind: N / 6 Bft
    • Weather: sunny / 10.4 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 15.0 °C

    A fresh wind blew into our sails on the crossing from Sweden to the Åland island groups (Finland). Here it showed for the first time that the rig I built myself also stood up to heavier loads. The heavy rolling, caused by the sea coming in from the side, was reduced to a bearable level. The drive from the sails also gave us about one knot (1.852 km/h) of extra speed.

    

20. 23 May 2012 18:12 utc

    • Position: 58° 44.895 N 017° 28.134 E
    • Wind: SE / 1 Bft
    • Weather: sunny / 12.0 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 17.0 °C

    The cook has given me the job of providing some variety on the menu. It was to be pike (Esox lucius). Early in the evening I got hold of one, which, while I was playing it on the line, was attacked by another, extremely large pike. It grabbed my pike of about 60 cm, shook it and disappeared into the depths with it. It is only thanks to my heavy-duty fishing tackle that I was able to wrest my already caught fish back from this crocodile of the skerries.

21. 18 May 2012 06:00 utc

    • Position: 57° 31.229 N 016° 40.099 E
    • Wind: NE / 1 Bft
    • Weather: sunny / 11.0 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 14.0 °C

    Every day we are busy finding dry firewood on the islands close to our anchorage. Sawn into handy pieces, carried to the ship and used to fire the wood stove that stands in the open cockpit. In this way we not only get the warmth for the cold nights, but also use it to cook our meals.

    

22. 13 May 2012 18:00 utc

    • Position: 56° 04.370 N 015° 47.432 E
    • Wind: NE / 1-3 Bft
    • Weather: sunny / 18.5 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 16.0 °C

    The fresh SW wind of around force 7 from the day before was still holding in the early hours of the morning, so our Gypsy Life was driven by the headsail for the first time. This meant we could do without the main engine, and we reached the Swedish skerries.

23. 10 May 2012 14:25 utc

    • Position: Rønne industrial harbour, Bornholm
    • Wind: SE / 3 Bft
    • Weather: Showers / 14.8 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 13.0 °C

    Unscheduled stop: after 6940 operating hours and 35931 nm (66544.21 km) our “Gypsy Life” has been lifted out of the water in the industrial harbour of Rønne because of a small piece of damage. The bearing of the lower rudder mounting had developed a little too much play, and this caused unpleasant noises while under way. With the combined efforts of the harbour staff and a ship repair workshop nearby we have repaired the damage. Our thanks go to all the helping hands on Bornholm. We are continuing our onward passage as planned.

    

24. 4 May 2012 13:25 utc

    • Position: 55° 16.675 N 014° 45.308 E
    • Wind: SW / 2 Bft
    • Weather: hazy / 11.2 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 13.0 °C

    We completed the first longer leg of 161 nm (298.17 km), from our last anchorage off Travemünde to the Danish island of Bornholm, in 31 hours of travelling time. Unfortunately the light westerly winds were not yet enough to help our heavy cutter along with the sail hoisted.

25. 1 May 2012 09:30 utc

    • Position: 53° 55.009 N 010° 51.718 E
    • Wind: NE / 6-7 Bft
    • Weather: sunny / 16.4 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 15.0 °C

    The preparatory work on the Gypsy Life has been successfully completed, but the north-easterly winds are forcing us to stay at our anchorage. The course of 60° (NE) we would have to hold would mean travelling against the prevailing wind direction. In the meantime our ship, lying firmly at anchor, is giving shelter and security to a few water sports people looking for help.

    

26. 23 April 2012 11:45 utc

    • Position: Lübeck
    • Wind: SW / 2-3 Bft
    • Weather: sunny / 16.0 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 15.0 °C

    After 842 nm (1559.38 km) of river, covered in 19 days of travelling, we have entered the Trave and so reached the gateway to the Baltic. Thanks to our many stopovers in the various harbours we were able to give informative press releases and a short television report about our new project. We are now busy getting our Gypsy Life ready for sea. The masts have to be stepped, the wind generator installed and further small preparations made, so that all the tests can be carried out successfully. We hope that in a few days all the work will be finished and we can set off on the actual voyage.

27. 28 March 2012 07:18 utc

    • Position: Kapfelberg harbour
    • Wind: calm
    • Weather: sunny / 2.4 °C
    • Water temperature: Water: 11.0 °C

    Over the winter months we have equipped the Gypsy Life further for long-distance voyaging. Importance was attached to the use of renewable energy. A wind generator from the firm Silentwind and two solar panels are meant to cover the entire energy requirement of the electrical consumers on the ship on this voyage. A second mast on the foredeck with a sail bent on is meant to reduce the rolling at sea and to provide additional drive, in order to improve the already very favourable consumption of 0.95 litres per nautical mile for a 20-tonne ship. It is thanks to the following sponsors that this test and exploration voyage can be carried out.
    Smelne Yachtcenter, Kuiper Versicherung, Leder Singer International, Evers Wasserfiltersysteme, Ortlieb, Ballistol, Roth – Baukrane, Silnetwind.
    We should also like to thank all the helping hands who are supporting us on this voyage of their own free will. We wish you an exciting and interesting read of our logbook.

    Silvia and Harald Paul

    

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