One of the reasons for creating this website was to be able to offer other sailors the opportunity to sail a classic boat in her home waters. Since our children grew up they’ve had less time for sailing, although they still help out when they can. For many years the crew was just two of us, my wife and myself, but in 2014 my wife retired from sailing, so I set up this website to find suitable volunteer crew.
Since you’d be doing me a big favour by offering to come and crew we don’t make any charge to crew, although you are encouraged to buy the skipper a drink every day or two This is a great opportunity to sail a classic boat.
To see the routes below on the chart go to Sailmate Link for a chart on which you can follow the plans.
Plans for 2024
The plan is to explore the Swedish archipelago, breaking the time down into 7 to 10 day cruises.
One important thing – the crew will need to be made up of at least one person competent to sail the boat without my help, plus a competent second crew member. This means, among other things, that there must always be two crew apart from me (not including dogs). I’m not necessarily looking for formal qualifications, although they will help, but it’s more a case of asking yourself if you’d be capable of handling everything if I fell over the side. If in doubt please message me and ask if I think you qualify.
Timetable for 2024
| Cruise | Start date | End date | Days | Berths Free | Crew |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cruise A - Helsinki to Hanko | 01/06/2024 | 06/06/2024 | 5 | 1 ? | MK +1? |
| Cruise B - Hanko to Mariehamn | 07/06/2024 | 14/06/2024 | 7 | 2 | |
| Cruise C - Mariehamn to Saltsjöbaden | 17/06/2024 | 25/06/2024 | 9 | 1 | JB |
| Cruise D - Stockholm Archipelago | 26/06/2024 | 04/07/2024 | 8 | 2 | |
| Cruise E - Stockholm Archipelago | 05/07/2024 | 15/07/2024 | 10 | 2 | TR+1 +dog |
| Cruise F - Stockholm Archipelago | 16/07/2024 | 25/07/2024 | 9 | 2 | |
| Cruise G - Stockholm Archipelago | 25/07/2024 | 01/08/2024 | 7 | 2 | |
| Matt & Helen | 02/08/2024 | 28/08/2024 | 0 | MF/HO | |
| Laying up - it's all over | 28/08/2024 | 02/09/2024 |
This is the provisional list of cruises for 2024. The timetable may change a bit, as crew get fitted into the grand plan. Please start by looking at the planned timetable above, which shows which cruises are booked, and which still have spaces left.
The overall plan for 2024 is to spend lots of time in Sweden. We shall sail from Helsinki to Mariehamn in the first half of June, probably with a crew change at Hanko, and then cross to Sweden as soon as possible after that.
Please remember that we don’t set out to thrash to windward in a force 6 wind for 8 hours, this is supposed to be fun, and that means that our plans will change if the weather doesn’t cooperate.
In particular this means that we can’t guarantee to get you back to the stated end-point of the cruise. We’ll do our best, but it’s always the skipper’s decision whether to sail or not. What we will try very hard to do is to make sure that you can catch your return flight if you’ve come from outside Finland, or you need to return to Finland from Sweden by plane. This may mean that we have to put you on a ferry or other public transport (at your expense, but ferries are usually free to foot passengers) within a timetable which should allow you to get home on time. We’ve never needed to do this yet.
Cruises are arranged in provisional date order. If you’re an early respondent then we have some flexibility to change the dates a little to allow you to join when you prefer. Please feel free to ask questions.
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Open Days in Helsinki
This was an idea we started in 2016 which has worked well. Several people expressed interest in sailing with us, but wanted to see the boat (and the skipper, perhaps) before committing themselves. The idea is that once Korybant is launched from her winter quarters on Suomenlinna I’ll be in Helsinki for about a week, while I do some shopping and other things, so prospective crew can come and see us, and if the weather cooperates perhaps go for a short sail. More details will be posted here when I get to Helsinki, and also on the Facebook group “Kivojen typpien gastiporssi”.
We should be fully booked for 2024 by then, of course, so mainly this will appeal to people who are interested for 2025, although there’s always the possibility we can find room for 2024.
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Cruise A – Helsinki to Hanko (4-5 days)
I’m hoping to be ready to leave for Hanko about 1/2 June.
Bring warm clothes and a warm sleeping bag, early June in Finland can be chilly, and the sea hasn’t warmed up yet.
This is a delivery trip, and getting to Hanko on time is quite important. Before we leave I will have collected Korybant from winter quarters, stowed everything, and done the usual start of season sorting out. Because of this we can be reasonably certain that we’ll be all stowed and ready to leave by 1 June. We’ll just have to hope the weather is fair.
In June the weather can be quite variable, so we allow 4-5 days for the entire trip to Hanko, and another 7 days to Mariehamn. If the weather is good then there will be time to stop off along the way and see some of the islands.
The route is WSW from Helsinki, through dozens of coastal islands. The first stop, depending on conditions, will be in the Porkkala area. The Bay of Porkkala is about 20 miles across, fairly open water, with good harbours on both sides.
After crossing the Bay we travel down the Barosund, in a SW direction, becoming WSW in the later parts. The next stop might be at Jussaro, with a former underwater iron mine, or there are plenty of natural and organised harbours.
On day four or five we’ll hope to make Hanko, the Finnish Cowes and centre of much racing. When Finland was part of Russia many wealthy Russians built grand wooden villas in Hanko, for the summer. There’s a casino, some good restaurants and an opportunity to shop and restock the larder and wine cellar. The marina has good showers and a washing machine.
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Cruise B – Hanko to Mariehamn (7 days)
This route runs west at first, but there are plenty of alternatives if we need to tack. Harbours along the way include Rosala, Bodö, Jurmo, Kökar, Österskär, Sottunga and Rödhamn.
Cruises C, D, E, F, and G – Sweden Cruises
For those coming from Finland to Sweden for the following cruises there are plenty of flights, but it’s probably more interesting to get a ferry from Turku or Helsinki. We probably won’t be doing crew changes in Stockholm itself, but wherever we do change over there will be good train/bus services back to Stockholm.
Cruise C – Mariehamn to Saltsjöbaden (8 days)
We start by crossing the Sea of Åland and then taking a leisurely cruise around the northern part of the Stockholm Archipelago. The details will depend on wind and weather, but expect the route to include some of the outer islands, and others. The detailed itinerary may look like this:
| Edit | ||||
| Date | Day | Leave | Arrive | Distance sea miles |
| 26 June | 1 | Mariehamn | Fejan/Lido | 35 |
| 27 June | 2 | Fejan/Lido | Furusund | 15 |
| 28 June | 3 | Furusund | Siaro | 15 |
| 29 June | 4 | Siaro | Vaxholm | 20 |
| 30 June | 5 | Vaxholm | Paradiset | 15 |
| 1 July | 6 | Paradiset | Malma Kvarn | 20 |
| 2 July | 7 | Malma Kvarn | Saltsjöbaden | 15 |
Cruise D – Stockholm Southwards (9 days)
This cruise heads south to Dalarö, on to the islands of Notö, Utö (yes, Sweden has one too), Nynashamn, Nyköping, and on further south if the weather is good, before returning to Nyköping for crew change. From Nykoping there are trains & buses to Stockholm (about 2 hours).
Cruise E – Nyköping to Stockholm (8 days)
We start in Nyköping, which has excellent bus and train services from Stockholm. The cruise takes us back to Stockholm, stopping at Nynashamn, Notö, Utö, and the southern parts of the Stockholm archipelago, including some natural harbours, before doing a crew change in Saltsjöbaden/Stockholm.
Cruise F – Stockholm Archipelago (9 days)
This will start & finish in Saltsjöbaden/Stockholm, and depending on wind and weather will explore some of the natural harbours in the archipelago, as well as stopping in proper harbours every 2-3 days for showers and shore-based food.
Cruise G – Stockholm Archipelago (9 days)
This will start & finish in Saltsjöbaden/Stockholm, and depending on wind and weather will explore some of the natural harbours in the archipelago, as well as stopping in proper harbours every 2-3 days for showers and shore-based food. This cruise may go more to the north and visit Arholma.
| Cruise | Start date | End date | Days | Berths Free | Crew |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cruise A - Helsinki to Hanko | 01/06/2024 | 06/06/2024 | 5 | 1 ? | MK +1? |
| Cruise B - Hanko to Mariehamn | 07/06/2024 | 14/06/2024 | 7 | 2 | |
| Cruise C - Mariehamn to Saltsjöbaden | 17/06/2024 | 25/06/2024 | 9 | 1 | JB |
| Cruise D - Stockholm Archipelago | 26/06/2024 | 04/07/2024 | 8 | 2 | |
| Cruise E - Stockholm Archipelago | 05/07/2024 | 15/07/2024 | 10 | 2 | TR+1 +dog |
| Cruise F - Stockholm Archipelago | 16/07/2024 | 25/07/2024 | 9 | 2 | |
| Cruise G - Stockholm Archipelago | 25/07/2024 | 01/08/2024 | 7 | 2 | |
| Matt & Helen | 02/08/2024 | 28/08/2024 | 0 | MF/HO | |
| Laying up - it's all over | 28/08/2024 | 02/09/2024 |