Xmas Installations - Part 4

You may wonder what the heck this post has to do with feline or nautical activity. Your questions remains unanswered. Hyacinhts are not to my taste, so I do not eat... er... enjoy this one.  

Xmas installations - Part 3

Xmas Installations - Part 2: My Xmas Tree

Looks promising, this is my own tree for Xmas. It has even the tiny lights on it.

The crew has tendency to leave their items around. The book is not expected part of the installation.

Checking the other side too.

I approve.

Making of Xmas installations

Now that Xmas is here I can retrospectively look at the preparations. I am always helping the crew in their domestic chores in my lair on land so I was super-busy the two days before Xmas eve (except those times when I got bored...). The two tasks I enjoyed most were the wrapping the presents (what would be more relaxing than set oneself on an item a crew member is trying to wrap nicely) and creating the installations - the material arrived few weeks ago and I have been waiting to go ahead with the business. The moss and tree particles from Finnish forest have so many interesting smells and bugs and such things.

Merry Christmas!

Finally the crew seems to calm down and all the cleaning, washing and cooking is done. 

I want to wish you Very Merry Xmas! 

Boooring...

I am bored. The crew runs around and fusses about Xmas. They do not have enough time to entertain me. I rate this kind of ignorance as substandard performance.

Xmas baking - inspecting the incredients

Xmas installations - Part 1

Top 3 moment of the last summer - No 1

The top moment of the last summer I agree with my crew. It is the days anchoring in Huvön lagoon in early August, when the summer is in its fullest and the skies are the bluest. How enjoyable. Sun. Warmth. Lovely scent of the forest and the sea. Bright water, we could see salmon swimming by. The crew was swimming and playing with the dinghy. They made short walks to the mountain. I had to oversee this activity but still I was enjoying and relaxing. (The dinghy travel experiences I left for upcoming summers.)

Top 3 moments of the last summer - My No 2

Today I will announce my first runner-up. The September weekend visits to Tankar! The island of the old wise lighthouse, lovely protective harbor pool, pittoresque old fisherman's outpost cottages serving today's generations as summer houses and first of all, the lovely selection of birds! I could stay hours and hours outside in the cock-pit and just enjoy the fresh air. And the birds, it just  got better and better as summer turned to autumn, the swallows were few and finishing their business before commencing their migration, wagtails were as perky as only they can, my favorite winter bird Parus Major had started to move from the forests closer to the habited grounds. And the geese, Branta leucopsis, they were not in hurry but just browsing and hogging the grass! I was only watching tough...

Happy Birthday to you Finland...

... on your 95th anniversary on December 6th 2012! 

Top 3 moments of the last summer - Crew's No 2b

Here comes the second part of the Seskarö sands, Sorttisviken. Sorttisviken is a small bay, almost like a secret lagoon behind a narrow, winding fairway. Air view here.The steepness of the sand bank does not stop at the waterline but it continues as a lovely pine forest. The first mate has a thing for pine forests, I think it is the "intoxicating scent lingering in the Nordic pine forest in sunny, late summer afternoons" that enchants her. Also, she often mentions how she loves "the coppery colors that the setting sun paints on the pine trunks". However I need to keep monitoring to get more comprehensive view on this - as a chief of the vessel I need to understand my crew's likings  to be able to motivate them to better and better achievements in my service.

Top 3 moments of the last summer - Crew's No 2a

Its the crew's turn to announce their first runner-up, the Seskarö sands. There are the two famous park-head-in-to-beach locations, Sammakkalahti and Sorttisviken. I can tell you dear reader that I get to hear regularly my crew raving about these locations, so impressed they are about them. And I agree it is a new perspective for myself too.

First some pics on Sammakkalahti. The sand bank over water is actually quite small. When arriving from the opening from the north we had to come close to see the sand, this mini-peninsula,  even with binoculars. The profile of the sand formation is wedge-like. The southern side of the bank is actually the one to moor into and it declines steeply. While moored the vessel depth measurements went gaga and showed fast changing digits between 5 to 7 meters. Maybe this was a technical anomaly rather than actual measurement, assumedly caused by the steepness or some debris. The northern side of the peninsula is very shallow and it gets the depth again slowly. Here is link to air view. In the first two pics you can see by carefully looking little buoys indicating the shallowness. In addition of the geographical uniqueness the thing my crew is so impressed about is the concept of being able to go down the ladder in the bow and set one's feet on sand. Bare feet on warm sand. Possible use the summer warm water (18C) to wash off any of it before climbing to the boat. This thought puts smile on my crew's faces specially in today's weather conditions of -8C without any snow.

I still would like to add that I do not put my feet in to water and that I do not dream about it. I rather post my own first runner-up once the crew has finished with the Seskarö sands; Sorttisviken will be posted next.

Top 3 moments of last Summer - My No 3

My own selection for the second runner up is the swallow frenzy in Iin Röyttä. They were many and they were fast. So much excitement and irritation.  I explain the situation in detail in my earlier post "Fast objects in my mast" in August.