Wednesday, September 24, 2008
More on Finish Food
There are a number of different pre-packaged salad’s you can buy in the supper markets here. There’s one that I’ve found is quite good and I’ve bought it a couple of times now. A few that I’ve tried have been a bit odd though, kind of like the sort of thing you might get when you haven’t been to the shops for a while and you need make something to eat out of everything that remains in the fridge. They all seem to be creamy somehow. The odd one I have this week is called Katkarapu-Ananassalaatti, which I’ve only just translated to find means Shrimp Pineapple Salad. So in it you find Shrimp, Pineapple pieces, a sort of creamy dressing with no distinctive flavour and I think something else which I’m not sure of. The first bit I had I didn’t like at all. But I have a whole tub of the stuff and had some more tonight (while I waited for my Nacho’s to finish cooking) and it was not too bad. Funnily enough it’s kind of like pineapple and cream that has been put in the same esky as the days fishing. It has a very peculiar texture that I’m not going to try to explain.
Some Finish Culture (sort of)
I think the most cultural finish experiences I had since I’ve been here have been sitting in the sauna. The Finn’s seem to love the heat, I guess it’s because they experience the cold so much. The heating systems are mostly so good that in most buildings it’s quite comfortable to be in shorts and a T-shirt. Maybe that will change as it continues to get colder.
Anyway on Friday night I experienced a different side to the Finnish culture. Not long after I arrived home from work (it was a late night at work) I got a call from Frans (I’d meet Frans at the pub last week after the sailing club dinner), although it wasn’t Frans, it was his mate Frederick. Frederick wanted to know if I was up for a Beer, he was calling instead of Frans as he had not had as much to drink yet. As I had no other plans and not wanting to refuse an invitation I said that it sounded great and agreed to meet them.
It wasn’t just an invite to the Pub though. I meet them at the Local service station ‘Neste’ (not Nestle – you would not want to get the two confused). Frans, Frederick, Stefan and our driver for the evening Christian in a (I cant remember the year) classic Red Plymouth. After introductions we got moving, I sat in the back between Frans and Stefan, Frederick sat up front as it was his car. I was immediately handed a beer as we drove off towards town, and through town, and round the square, and back through town. It was quite a cool car, big and American but cool none the less. It was almost original, no seatbealts, but the sterio had been replaced, seats were not the greatest either. We drove around town for about three quarters of and hour, after which we went to Frans’s house to ‘change cars’. Frans has an old Ford Galexy (which used to be Frederick’s). So we drove around in Frans’s car for a while before we got to the pub. At the pub we played some Pool, Air Hockey, and some Darts with varying amounts of skill. After this the night continued in a similar fashion to after the sailing club dinner.
The Finns seem to love big American cars, I’ve send lots of them over here. There is a classic car museum just out of town which I’m meaning to go and have a look at. I find it a little odd as chew through so much fuel (only about €1.50/l at the moment), but I guess it’s not so much about the fuel as the status. When I met them at Neste I felt a little out of place as I hadn’t dressed like one of the boys form Grease (not quite, but a little). Unfortunately this was to be the last weekend they would be driving the cars this year. They will put them away until next summer. Until then they will drive their ‘Winter Cars’. “Japanese Cars are ok, for winter Cars”
Anyway on Friday night I experienced a different side to the Finnish culture. Not long after I arrived home from work (it was a late night at work) I got a call from Frans (I’d meet Frans at the pub last week after the sailing club dinner), although it wasn’t Frans, it was his mate Frederick. Frederick wanted to know if I was up for a Beer, he was calling instead of Frans as he had not had as much to drink yet. As I had no other plans and not wanting to refuse an invitation I said that it sounded great and agreed to meet them.
It wasn’t just an invite to the Pub though. I meet them at the Local service station ‘Neste’ (not Nestle – you would not want to get the two confused). Frans, Frederick, Stefan and our driver for the evening Christian in a (I cant remember the year) classic Red Plymouth. After introductions we got moving, I sat in the back between Frans and Stefan, Frederick sat up front as it was his car. I was immediately handed a beer as we drove off towards town, and through town, and round the square, and back through town. It was quite a cool car, big and American but cool none the less. It was almost original, no seatbealts, but the sterio had been replaced, seats were not the greatest either. We drove around town for about three quarters of and hour, after which we went to Frans’s house to ‘change cars’. Frans has an old Ford Galexy (which used to be Frederick’s). So we drove around in Frans’s car for a while before we got to the pub. At the pub we played some Pool, Air Hockey, and some Darts with varying amounts of skill. After this the night continued in a similar fashion to after the sailing club dinner.
The Finns seem to love big American cars, I’ve send lots of them over here. There is a classic car museum just out of town which I’m meaning to go and have a look at. I find it a little odd as chew through so much fuel (only about €1.50/l at the moment), but I guess it’s not so much about the fuel as the status. When I met them at Neste I felt a little out of place as I hadn’t dressed like one of the boys form Grease (not quite, but a little). Unfortunately this was to be the last weekend they would be driving the cars this year. They will put them away until next summer. Until then they will drive their ‘Winter Cars’. “Japanese Cars are ok, for winter Cars”
Sunday, September 14, 2008
On Finnish Food
There are many interesting things to eat here in Finland. And I am trying to be adventurous and try them (mostly). I spotted this in the supermarket the other day. Salami in a Tube. It is a bit different to what I expected, It is white and creamy rather than red as I expected and has about the consistency of cream cheese, but a little softer. It does taste frighteningly like salami, and from what I can make out on the text in the ingredients, 6% is actually salami. What the other 94% is worries me a little, but I guess what I don’t know cant hurt me. Right?
Straight to the Pool Room
This week the yard was awfully busy, the owner of the boat visited on Thursday and Friday to check out the progress and for meetings to discuss the construction and details of his new boat. I managed to find some photos online of his current boat which he is upgrading from.
Last night (Saturday) I went to the sailing clubs prize giving ceremony. It was a bit different to other’s that I’ve been too. I arrived about ten minutes late and they were already underway with the formal proceedings and soon started giving out the trophies. It took about an hour and a half to hand them all out. It seems that because their season is so short, they make the most of it by giving out prizes for every race that is held. The food didn’t come out until after all of the prizes were given out. As usually happens there are a couple of people who do very well and take home a number of the trophies. However what I didn’t expect was that I would be taking some home myself. Because we did so well in all of the races I sailed in, I got four trophies, strangely enough the biggest is for coming second, the others are first’s.
Once the food had come out and the atmosphere started to relax a little, the drinking songs started to be sung and the drink to go with it was plentiful. There were song books on all the tables, mostly the songs were in Swedish or Finnish, but there was one in German and even one in English. It started off with one table ordering rounds of schnapps and singing before they drank, but soon it was anyone who felt like singing. When they kicked us out a couple of us went into town, It gets a little blured as to what I was talking about all night and who I was talking too, but I had a good time and got home at some unmentionable time. Coincidently I have not done much today, I went into town and sat in a café with, had a coffee and watched the second half of the Grand Prix with no sound.
Last night (Saturday) I went to the sailing clubs prize giving ceremony. It was a bit different to other’s that I’ve been too. I arrived about ten minutes late and they were already underway with the formal proceedings and soon started giving out the trophies. It took about an hour and a half to hand them all out. It seems that because their season is so short, they make the most of it by giving out prizes for every race that is held. The food didn’t come out until after all of the prizes were given out. As usually happens there are a couple of people who do very well and take home a number of the trophies. However what I didn’t expect was that I would be taking some home myself. Because we did so well in all of the races I sailed in, I got four trophies, strangely enough the biggest is for coming second, the others are first’s.
Once the food had come out and the atmosphere started to relax a little, the drinking songs started to be sung and the drink to go with it was plentiful. There were song books on all the tables, mostly the songs were in Swedish or Finnish, but there was one in German and even one in English. It started off with one table ordering rounds of schnapps and singing before they drank, but soon it was anyone who felt like singing. When they kicked us out a couple of us went into town, It gets a little blured as to what I was talking about all night and who I was talking too, but I had a good time and got home at some unmentionable time. Coincidently I have not done much today, I went into town and sat in a café with, had a coffee and watched the second half of the Grand Prix with no sound.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Off and Racing
Well, given that I have gotten a few emails saying that it was worth reading or had at least been read then I guess I should try and keep it up to date and include some new content. So what has been happening? I’ve played football with the exchange students a couple of times now, not that I’m very good but it is good to watch them play (as they are very good, a few guys in particular) but it makes for a bit of fun , and then of course I have been working and that covers most of the period.
On Saturday I entered and road in a bike race. 6 x 10.something km long laps. I didn’t try to get too close to the start line as I didn’t expect to be the fastest by any measure. After a bit of a slow start I jumped through a couple of groups and found a bunch that were holding a similar speed to what I was happy to ride. I stuck with these guys for a lap and a half and then felt that we were not going fast enough. I could see another group of riders in front of us but there was a lone rider just around each bend. I decided that if I broke away and caught up to the lone rider, then I could stick behind him for a while and then try to do the same to reach the next group. This was not as good in practice as it was in theory. Every time I got close to the guy he pulled away again. By the time I got right on the back of him, I’d ridden for a lap by myself and half a lap later the group I’d been in caught up to us. After this the group pace felt slow and I ended up in front for the better part of two laps. We slowed a bit as the race progressed and as we approached the end of lap 5 two very energetic riders pasted me at what felt like twice my speed. It didn’t take me long to realise that these were the race leaders. Not long after, their was an amazing roar as 30-40 bikes screamed past me in the last 200m before the start/finish line. So over half the field overtook me on the last lap, but I was still racing and then had to weave through them all as they stopped after the finish. We took the last lap fairly easy and didn’t kick into a sprint until about 500m to go. I finished in the middle of the group I had been riding in, 68th out of 77 riders on the long course. The is a video of the finish and I pass in front of the camera on the 26th second of 1:06. Yes I’m the guy who looks severely underdressed compared to all the other riders, and of course I still have one lap left here.
On Sunday I did the final race of the season on the 33 footer. It was a fairly light race and we didn’t push too hard. We had three on board again which meant Mats and I shared Trimming the Jib and the Kite. It was a mostly uneventful race but the weather was nice and sunny and although not warm, was very pleasant out on the water and quite enjoyable. We crossed the line third about 30 seconds behind the boat in front, and won the race on handicap from the boat in front by about 40 seconds.
On Saturday I entered and road in a bike race. 6 x 10.something km long laps. I didn’t try to get too close to the start line as I didn’t expect to be the fastest by any measure. After a bit of a slow start I jumped through a couple of groups and found a bunch that were holding a similar speed to what I was happy to ride. I stuck with these guys for a lap and a half and then felt that we were not going fast enough. I could see another group of riders in front of us but there was a lone rider just around each bend. I decided that if I broke away and caught up to the lone rider, then I could stick behind him for a while and then try to do the same to reach the next group. This was not as good in practice as it was in theory. Every time I got close to the guy he pulled away again. By the time I got right on the back of him, I’d ridden for a lap by myself and half a lap later the group I’d been in caught up to us. After this the group pace felt slow and I ended up in front for the better part of two laps. We slowed a bit as the race progressed and as we approached the end of lap 5 two very energetic riders pasted me at what felt like twice my speed. It didn’t take me long to realise that these were the race leaders. Not long after, their was an amazing roar as 30-40 bikes screamed past me in the last 200m before the start/finish line. So over half the field overtook me on the last lap, but I was still racing and then had to weave through them all as they stopped after the finish. We took the last lap fairly easy and didn’t kick into a sprint until about 500m to go. I finished in the middle of the group I had been riding in, 68th out of 77 riders on the long course. The is a video of the finish and I pass in front of the camera on the 26th second of 1:06. Yes I’m the guy who looks severely underdressed compared to all the other riders, and of course I still have one lap left here.
On Sunday I did the final race of the season on the 33 footer. It was a fairly light race and we didn’t push too hard. We had three on board again which meant Mats and I shared Trimming the Jib and the Kite. It was a mostly uneventful race but the weather was nice and sunny and although not warm, was very pleasant out on the water and quite enjoyable. We crossed the line third about 30 seconds behind the boat in front, and won the race on handicap from the boat in front by about 40 seconds.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Wednesday 27th August
I managed to get another ride in the Twilight race, this time on the custom 33” boat that had beat us in the race to Sweden and back. It was quite a cool boat, a bit more cruising oriented than the 30”, and was much larger, both inside and on deck. The skipper had decided to sail without the spinnaker to better his rating, and after a slightly misjudged start was quickly gained the lead until we got out of the main harbour and headed downwind. We took some places back going back upwind and finished 2nd over the line approximately 5 minutes behind the lead boat. After a drink we eventually found we had just won on handicap. The skipper decided it was the first and last time to race without the spinnaker.
Thursday evening there was a bunch of guys playing soccer outside so I went down and joined in. I found that the Uni year is to start next week, which explains the lack of people around in the “student accommodation” to date. They seemed like a nice group of guys, mostly Nepalese, and a couple of Fin’s. They played again on Friday night and I went down and joined in as well.
Thursday evening there was a bunch of guys playing soccer outside so I went down and joined in. I found that the Uni year is to start next week, which explains the lack of people around in the “student accommodation” to date. They seemed like a nice group of guys, mostly Nepalese, and a couple of Fin’s. They played again on Friday night and I went down and joined in as well.
Wednesday 20th August
I sailed in the Twilight race on one of the Shark’s, the wind was light to start with and then dropped out completely and then started raining. It was good to be on the water but was very happy to get off the water when we were done. The Shark is a bit of a sit down boat. The skipper sits at the bake with the tiller and seat that spans the width of the boat. The crew sit in front of the skipper on another seat that spans the width of the boat. The only time I needed to get up was when we were going downwind and we needed to move the spinnaker pole, but I only did it 20% of the time. We finished in 3 hours and ten minutes and were finally off the water at about 9:30pm (after starting at 6). A drink at the bar and then I drove home to have some dinner before bed. Driving home at 10:30 was the first time I had had to find the switch to turn on the instrument lights in the car.
Monday 11th August
Once most of the yard was back from their holidays things started to get a bit busier as questions arose and more things were underway at the one time. The boat started to look more like it should with things happening all over the massive hull.
On Wednesday I found out that twilight racing take’s place so I went to the sailing club after work and left my business card with a sailor who I spoke to before he rushed of to start the race. They ran two starts one for the Shark’s and one for the open boats. The Shark is a 1930’s designed keel boat which seems to be very much a gentleman’s type of boat. The open class is any of the keel boats at the club who turn up with a crew and race under handicap. I stuck around and watched the start from the location of the new Baltic Yachts Factory (the yard will move into the town harbour in late October).
On Thursday I got a call asking if I could crew in a race on Friday evening/Saturday. I agreed and after borrowing some wet weather gear from Baltic (which I though was overkill at the time but was later grateful for) on Friday at 5:30pm we left the dock on a 30' custom race boat (the smallest boat in a 10 boat fleet). The boat was nearly as old as I am, but surprisingly quick. The wind was light (about 8-10 knots) and it was a little overcast. We lead the race out of the harbour and were second for much of the following hour or two. I think it was as the when first boat overtook us that the first beers appeared on deck, for which there were many over the course of the night. The race took us from Pietarsaari harbour out the channel across to Sweden where we rounded an island to port and then returned to Pietarsaari. Due to the wind direction (roughly NW) we beat all the way across the Gulf of Bothnia tacking 3 times as we approached the Island we then sailed downwind around the island and gybed before dropping the spinnaker and heading back upwind to Pietarsaari as the wind had swung overnight and was now closer to NE. We crossed the line third under spinnaker at about 8pm on Saturday. When the results came through we had finished 2nd on handicap, beaten by 8 minutes on corrected time by a 33” boat. After sorting out the boat we utilised the clubrooms sauna (which was very nice after 27 hours on a boat and little sleep). After watching the long, long orange sunset we headed into town for some dinner and more beers. What goes for a Kebab in Finland are two quite different things, similar but different. The Meat is cooked the same way it comes with similar sort of salad (tomato, lettuce, something else) but it’s served differently. Where the kebab I know and love comes with a choice of sauce and wrapped in pita bread. The Finnish kebab comes in a polystyrene container with the meet heaped upon the salad and bread (or fries depending on your preference – I went with bread but it wasn’t the bread I was expecting, a McDonalds style hamburger bun) and then the whole thing has a ladle or two worth of gravy to drown everything in. I was hungry but I was grateful that I only ordered a half serve (which saved €1) as although I finished it (because I was hungry) I felt a little odd after, and If I’d tried to get through a whole one then I think I would have exploded. A drink or two at the pub and half the crew went back to the boat drink the skipper’s beer. I stayed out a little longer and then went home to bed for some well deserved sleep.
On Wednesday I found out that twilight racing take’s place so I went to the sailing club after work and left my business card with a sailor who I spoke to before he rushed of to start the race. They ran two starts one for the Shark’s and one for the open boats. The Shark is a 1930’s designed keel boat which seems to be very much a gentleman’s type of boat. The open class is any of the keel boats at the club who turn up with a crew and race under handicap. I stuck around and watched the start from the location of the new Baltic Yachts Factory (the yard will move into the town harbour in late October).
On Thursday I got a call asking if I could crew in a race on Friday evening/Saturday. I agreed and after borrowing some wet weather gear from Baltic (which I though was overkill at the time but was later grateful for) on Friday at 5:30pm we left the dock on a 30' custom race boat (the smallest boat in a 10 boat fleet). The boat was nearly as old as I am, but surprisingly quick. The wind was light (about 8-10 knots) and it was a little overcast. We lead the race out of the harbour and were second for much of the following hour or two. I think it was as the when first boat overtook us that the first beers appeared on deck, for which there were many over the course of the night. The race took us from Pietarsaari harbour out the channel across to Sweden where we rounded an island to port and then returned to Pietarsaari. Due to the wind direction (roughly NW) we beat all the way across the Gulf of Bothnia tacking 3 times as we approached the Island we then sailed downwind around the island and gybed before dropping the spinnaker and heading back upwind to Pietarsaari as the wind had swung overnight and was now closer to NE. We crossed the line third under spinnaker at about 8pm on Saturday. When the results came through we had finished 2nd on handicap, beaten by 8 minutes on corrected time by a 33” boat. After sorting out the boat we utilised the clubrooms sauna (which was very nice after 27 hours on a boat and little sleep). After watching the long, long orange sunset we headed into town for some dinner and more beers. What goes for a Kebab in Finland are two quite different things, similar but different. The Meat is cooked the same way it comes with similar sort of salad (tomato, lettuce, something else) but it’s served differently. Where the kebab I know and love comes with a choice of sauce and wrapped in pita bread. The Finnish kebab comes in a polystyrene container with the meet heaped upon the salad and bread (or fries depending on your preference – I went with bread but it wasn’t the bread I was expecting, a McDonalds style hamburger bun) and then the whole thing has a ladle or two worth of gravy to drown everything in. I was hungry but I was grateful that I only ordered a half serve (which saved €1) as although I finished it (because I was hungry) I felt a little odd after, and If I’d tried to get through a whole one then I think I would have exploded. A drink or two at the pub and half the crew went back to the boat drink the skipper’s beer. I stayed out a little longer and then went home to bed for some well deserved sleep.
Friday 25th July
After getting up, catching the ferry to Southampton, sitting in the taxi for 2 hours then in Heathrow airport for another hour and a half, I finally got on my flight back to Helsinki. 3 hour flight or there abouts and then I had another hour and a half on the ground until I was to board my flight to Kokkola. However, when I got to the gate I was greeted with the news that my flight had been cancelled (that’s two for two) and that I had been put on a flight to Vaasa. Luckily the next flight for Vaasa was only leaving 5 minutes after the scheduled flight to Kokkola anyway so not to worry. Unfortunately with all the people going to Kokkola on the flight to Vaasa the flight was overbooked by 16 people. I was politely asked if I would mind waiting for the next flight if with some incentives offered. I caved as I had no plans when I got home, and the next flight was not for 5 hours. However the incentives they offered have still not reached my bank account so I need to chase that up. I killed time on the internet, writing some of this, and drinking the café vouchers I was given, its surprising what things you find to spend money on when you have to spend it in €13 bunches all at the same place. Anyway after the flight got in and the bus to Pietarsaari I got home at about 3am, this meant that I didn’t do much on Saturday, except I did get up and go for a ride on my bike, which made me feel better.
In the evening (quite late) I walked into town to have a look at some of the festival that was taking place. The first thing I saw when I reached the town square was a man who from a distance appeared to be naked as he jumped then bounced and swan in the air from the Bungee Jumping crane that had been set up in the main square. He was actually wearing shoes, jocks and the safety harness. I wandered around for a while surrounded by more people than I had seen in the town at one time (both before and since). They had a number of stages set up with various bands playing (mostly covers). It was very odd listening to the bands talking between songs and not understanding a word but they would then jump straight into a bit of Billy Joel – Only the Good Die Young, or some other well known English classic, or not I think some Alanis Morissette was even played. There were a lot of stalls set up selling T-shirts, bad food and anything else that you see in that sort of carnival atmosphere. I didn’t stay too late, and I walked home when it cooled off enough that my shorts and T-shirt were no longer that appropriate.
Back to work on Monday and the two weeks that followed were relatively quiet as most of the yard were still away on summer holiday.
In the evening (quite late) I walked into town to have a look at some of the festival that was taking place. The first thing I saw when I reached the town square was a man who from a distance appeared to be naked as he jumped then bounced and swan in the air from the Bungee Jumping crane that had been set up in the main square. He was actually wearing shoes, jocks and the safety harness. I wandered around for a while surrounded by more people than I had seen in the town at one time (both before and since). They had a number of stages set up with various bands playing (mostly covers). It was very odd listening to the bands talking between songs and not understanding a word but they would then jump straight into a bit of Billy Joel – Only the Good Die Young, or some other well known English classic, or not I think some Alanis Morissette was even played. There were a lot of stalls set up selling T-shirts, bad food and anything else that you see in that sort of carnival atmosphere. I didn’t stay too late, and I walked home when it cooled off enough that my shorts and T-shirt were no longer that appropriate.
Back to work on Monday and the two weeks that followed were relatively quiet as most of the yard were still away on summer holiday.
Saturday 12th of July
After checking out of the Pub, and hanging stopping in at the club (like we really enjoyed our time there) I got a lift with Doink back to Southampton and spent a fairly uneventful 2 weeks in Cowes, working back in the office at Newport.
I went sailing twice with guys from the office. The Island Sailing Club runs a Thursday night race with their Sonar’s (20” keel boat), the races are aimed at beginners so it all suppose to be a bit of fun (which it was), however the first week I was on a boat with 3 other engineers from the office and one of the girlfriends.
This meant we had 4 quite competitive people on board and it was quite possibly taken a bit more seriously than it should have been at times. The weather was overcast and blowing a variable 20 knots. We were instructed to put the smaller main up and told not to use the spinnakers (to all our disappointment). After running aground before the start (it took 5-10 minutes to get off) we hit the start line with speed early and reached down the line on starboard called starboard on another boat which was forced to crash tack and narrowly missed a collision on the line. We rounded the top mark second and overtook the first boat going downwind. We then went on to lead most of the race. We misjudged the tide at the bottom mark and lost allot of ground on though and ended up finishing second (out of 5).
The second time we had a few more novice sailors on board. One of which was his first time (Warwick, a fellow Australian). We had a rather pleasant 12 – fifteen knots of breeze and patchy clouds which were partially blocking the sun as it gradually dropped to the horizon. We got a pleasant sail before the start let us set up and fly the Kite once (not the smoothest but ok). We had an ok start (but had not been told the course) and rounded the top mark third (or so we thought), as we went downwind the RIB came past and informed us that the top mark was further out than the one we rounded (Everyone had done the same) we decided we would do the proper course and dropped the kite and went back upwind to the proper top mark This gave us a good lead as everyone else went around the bottom mark before they sailed to the proper top mark. We seemed to be losing ground throughout the race though; we lead until the last downwind when we sailed too close to East Cowes and ran aground with the kite up, broached and drove us further aground. All attempts to get off quickly failed, and the tide was dropping quicker than we were thinking, we just seemed to get more stuck. Inevitably we the fleet overtook us and we didn’t manage to get off without the help of too rescue boats (one holding the spinnaker halyard to lay us over and the other towing us off). We flew the kite briefly to get to the bottom mark, rounded and went and crossed the line (so we at least finished the course) although they didn’t finish us. It was still good fun though Warwick loved it which was good.
The second weekend spent in Cowes I borrowed a bike and on Saturday road out to Carisbrooke Castle, and wandered about there for some time, their main attraction is a donkey powered wheel to lower and raise water from the 160” well. It was quite impressive when they drop a cup of water down the well and you can count five seconds before you hear it splash into the water at the bottom, and that’s with 30 feet or so of water in the bottom. Originally the wheel was powered by convicts but has been run by donkeys for the last 150 years (although I found out that it’s only half powered by donkey, as they only teach the donkeys to run it one direction, so the demonstration host has to lower the bucket back down – they only demo 20”)
On Sunday I road to the Needles which are the western extremity of the Island, I misjudged how far this was a little and it consumed more of the day than I expected.
They have a small amusement park they which didn’t really interest me at all, although I got a really nice pasty (and a pretty crappy ice-cream). There is a chairlift to Alura Bay which has some very interestingly coloured sand; I walked to save a couple of pounds. There are also two old batteries up above the needles which have been used to protect the western entry to the Solent.
The first and now aptly named Old Battery was originally built in the mid 19th century for protection from French invasion. Interestingly one of the displays inside highlighted how many shipwrecks there are scattered around the area. With the fast moving tide and narrow passage the English might have just assumed that any vessels wishing them harm would not make it through.
The New Battery was built at the beginning of the 20th century and housed the arms to protect the Solent entry from invading forces through both world wars. After the Second World War the guns were removed and the new site was used for cold war development of rockets. The rockets were constructed in Cowes and trucked out to the Needles to be tested. After successful testing, the rockets were shipped Woomera for firing and further testing. The first completely British made rocket to successfully launch a satellite was tested at the site. It’s an interesting site to walk around but would probably be more-so if there were more access to the bits underground.
I went sailing twice with guys from the office. The Island Sailing Club runs a Thursday night race with their Sonar’s (20” keel boat), the races are aimed at beginners so it all suppose to be a bit of fun (which it was), however the first week I was on a boat with 3 other engineers from the office and one of the girlfriends.
This meant we had 4 quite competitive people on board and it was quite possibly taken a bit more seriously than it should have been at times. The weather was overcast and blowing a variable 20 knots. We were instructed to put the smaller main up and told not to use the spinnakers (to all our disappointment). After running aground before the start (it took 5-10 minutes to get off) we hit the start line with speed early and reached down the line on starboard called starboard on another boat which was forced to crash tack and narrowly missed a collision on the line. We rounded the top mark second and overtook the first boat going downwind. We then went on to lead most of the race. We misjudged the tide at the bottom mark and lost allot of ground on though and ended up finishing second (out of 5).
The second time we had a few more novice sailors on board. One of which was his first time (Warwick, a fellow Australian). We had a rather pleasant 12 – fifteen knots of breeze and patchy clouds which were partially blocking the sun as it gradually dropped to the horizon. We got a pleasant sail before the start let us set up and fly the Kite once (not the smoothest but ok). We had an ok start (but had not been told the course) and rounded the top mark third (or so we thought), as we went downwind the RIB came past and informed us that the top mark was further out than the one we rounded (Everyone had done the same) we decided we would do the proper course and dropped the kite and went back upwind to the proper top mark This gave us a good lead as everyone else went around the bottom mark before they sailed to the proper top mark. We seemed to be losing ground throughout the race though; we lead until the last downwind when we sailed too close to East Cowes and ran aground with the kite up, broached and drove us further aground. All attempts to get off quickly failed, and the tide was dropping quicker than we were thinking, we just seemed to get more stuck. Inevitably we the fleet overtook us and we didn’t manage to get off without the help of too rescue boats (one holding the spinnaker halyard to lay us over and the other towing us off). We flew the kite briefly to get to the bottom mark, rounded and went and crossed the line (so we at least finished the course) although they didn’t finish us. It was still good fun though Warwick loved it which was good.
The second weekend spent in Cowes I borrowed a bike and on Saturday road out to Carisbrooke Castle, and wandered about there for some time, their main attraction is a donkey powered wheel to lower and raise water from the 160” well. It was quite impressive when they drop a cup of water down the well and you can count five seconds before you hear it splash into the water at the bottom, and that’s with 30 feet or so of water in the bottom. Originally the wheel was powered by convicts but has been run by donkeys for the last 150 years (although I found out that it’s only half powered by donkey, as they only teach the donkeys to run it one direction, so the demonstration host has to lower the bucket back down – they only demo 20”)
On Sunday I road to the Needles which are the western extremity of the Island, I misjudged how far this was a little and it consumed more of the day than I expected.
They have a small amusement park they which didn’t really interest me at all, although I got a really nice pasty (and a pretty crappy ice-cream). There is a chairlift to Alura Bay which has some very interestingly coloured sand; I walked to save a couple of pounds. There are also two old batteries up above the needles which have been used to protect the western entry to the Solent.
The first and now aptly named Old Battery was originally built in the mid 19th century for protection from French invasion. Interestingly one of the displays inside highlighted how many shipwrecks there are scattered around the area. With the fast moving tide and narrow passage the English might have just assumed that any vessels wishing them harm would not make it through.
The New Battery was built at the beginning of the 20th century and housed the arms to protect the Solent entry from invading forces through both world wars. After the Second World War the guns were removed and the new site was used for cold war development of rockets. The rockets were constructed in Cowes and trucked out to the Needles to be tested. After successful testing, the rockets were shipped Woomera for firing and further testing. The first completely British made rocket to successfully launch a satellite was tested at the site. It’s an interesting site to walk around but would probably be more-so if there were more access to the bits underground.
Friday 4th July - The Moth Worlds
After briefly attending work I got a taxi to the airport and flew back to Heathrow where I was meet by two drivers who had been sent to pick me up. As nice as that was it was a bit pointless as there was only one of me. One of the drivers went home and the other drove me to Weymouth which with some bad traffic and rain and detours took almost 3 hours (it’s not for me to ask how much that cost the company). Once arrived and a quick look around the boat park I grabbed a lift with Amac to Portland where Doink had given me some basic directions of where we were staying. They didn’t need to be elaborate, it was easy to find the place, except that we were in the wrong lane, and Amac couldn’t see out of the car except for a small portion of the windscreen due to all the sails and foils that he had in the car (I only just fit, in the back). Amac was happy to leave me with my sail so he could see a little better to get home.
Saturday was spent sticking numbers on the sail, getting it measured, and looking at all the things on the boat that I didn’t like (of which there were quite a few) but not being either able or willing to change. Some things I couldn’t change as it wasn’t my boat, others I decided would be bad to change before sailing the boat. The practice race was cancelled due to too much wind.
Sunday and Monday were both spent sitting in the sailing club doing nothing as the wind did not abate. After the racing was abandoned on Sunday Doink and I went up and had a look around the Portland Bill, until it started raining (typical of the English weather). There were some really cool cliffs which would be good for climbing and were fun to just go for a little bit of exploring. It was blowing a gale there straight off the sea and it almost felt like you could lean right forward into the wind at times.
They let us out on Tuesday evening for a speed challenge put on by a GPS manufacturer (Velocitek). This should have been my test sail of the boat, but unfortunately, after getting upright & moving, and sailing about 15m the fitting attaching the shrouds to the mast failed causing the rig to fall down, luckily it didn’t damage the brand new sail (much). Unfortunately for me this was a bit of the boat that I’d looked at that I didn’t like, and I should have trusted my gut and changed it (somehow) The fitting was re-made on Wednesday while we all sat around at the club doing nothing (and enduring the 4 hour long AGM). Some took the opportunity on Tuesday evening to enjoy themselves before the Lay Day (that wasn't as it was already used). I Can only say that I did not post a fast time for whilst tackling a Tiller of Cider.
Thursday finally saw some racing. First real sail of the boat was the first race in about 15-20 knots. I had a poor start and managed to claw back some positions throughout the race (mainly downwind surprisingly). I lost a whole bunch back when I had a big cartwheel just before the finish. I think I still managed to beat the guy who's boat I'd chartered. The second race I had a much better start and was going ok until the top mark. I had a bad tack and lost a couple of spots, then as I bore away to go downwind I got too high and crashed which broke the connection from the wand to the main foil (another part of the boat I didn’t like the look of). I sailed back in to repair but it failed again when I went back out. A final attempt got it to work without breaking (for 5 minutes) but it was out of adjustment and sailing too high which was a bit scary in what was now consistently 20+ knots. Given I’d already missed the 3rd race and was unlikely to be able to adjust it and make it to the start of the third (and it only seemed to be getting windier, I called it quits for the day.
So after one day’s racing I had three drops and it was unlikely we would get more than one. I was not alone in hoping that it is lighter on Friday. But I didn’t keep my hopes up
Friday it blew again. But not as much that they were going to not let us have a series. I’m not sure that it was less than 18knots during the first two races. I made it around the course, I had good speed upwind with the setup changes, but the boat was very hard to keep in the water downwind so any places I gained going upwind were lost going back down. It was easier to sail low and slower but unfortunately the courses sailed were triangles and sausages, which meant I only got one downwind leg that was manageable each race, and finished on a very difficult and fast broad reach which if in a good boat and allot of confidence you could hold 20knots boat speed for the whole leg. They broke for lunch and unfortunately that broke the boat, when we lifted the boat from the water the wand caught on the cradle and fell of the boat. I didn’t bother to look at it until I’d eaten some lunch as I was one of the last boats back ashore. Preparing to go back out I decided it wasn’t worth risking having the wand fall off on the water and with no easy way to re-attach it (another poor design in my opinion). Instead I missed the last race, which apparently abated a bit and was only 15knots at times, I used the time to start drying my sailing gear and removed the British numbers from the sail so that when I return home I can affix the Leprechauns 9337 underneath the AUS (as it rightfully should have done in the first place).
Saturday was spent sticking numbers on the sail, getting it measured, and looking at all the things on the boat that I didn’t like (of which there were quite a few) but not being either able or willing to change. Some things I couldn’t change as it wasn’t my boat, others I decided would be bad to change before sailing the boat. The practice race was cancelled due to too much wind.
Sunday and Monday were both spent sitting in the sailing club doing nothing as the wind did not abate. After the racing was abandoned on Sunday Doink and I went up and had a look around the Portland Bill, until it started raining (typical of the English weather). There were some really cool cliffs which would be good for climbing and were fun to just go for a little bit of exploring. It was blowing a gale there straight off the sea and it almost felt like you could lean right forward into the wind at times.
They let us out on Tuesday evening for a speed challenge put on by a GPS manufacturer (Velocitek). This should have been my test sail of the boat, but unfortunately, after getting upright & moving, and sailing about 15m the fitting attaching the shrouds to the mast failed causing the rig to fall down, luckily it didn’t damage the brand new sail (much). Unfortunately for me this was a bit of the boat that I’d looked at that I didn’t like, and I should have trusted my gut and changed it (somehow) The fitting was re-made on Wednesday while we all sat around at the club doing nothing (and enduring the 4 hour long AGM). Some took the opportunity on Tuesday evening to enjoy themselves before the Lay Day (that wasn't as it was already used). I Can only say that I did not post a fast time for whilst tackling a Tiller of Cider.
Thursday finally saw some racing. First real sail of the boat was the first race in about 15-20 knots. I had a poor start and managed to claw back some positions throughout the race (mainly downwind surprisingly). I lost a whole bunch back when I had a big cartwheel just before the finish. I think I still managed to beat the guy who's boat I'd chartered. The second race I had a much better start and was going ok until the top mark. I had a bad tack and lost a couple of spots, then as I bore away to go downwind I got too high and crashed which broke the connection from the wand to the main foil (another part of the boat I didn’t like the look of). I sailed back in to repair but it failed again when I went back out. A final attempt got it to work without breaking (for 5 minutes) but it was out of adjustment and sailing too high which was a bit scary in what was now consistently 20+ knots. Given I’d already missed the 3rd race and was unlikely to be able to adjust it and make it to the start of the third (and it only seemed to be getting windier, I called it quits for the day.
So after one day’s racing I had three drops and it was unlikely we would get more than one. I was not alone in hoping that it is lighter on Friday. But I didn’t keep my hopes up
Friday it blew again. But not as much that they were going to not let us have a series. I’m not sure that it was less than 18knots during the first two races. I made it around the course, I had good speed upwind with the setup changes, but the boat was very hard to keep in the water downwind so any places I gained going upwind were lost going back down. It was easier to sail low and slower but unfortunately the courses sailed were triangles and sausages, which meant I only got one downwind leg that was manageable each race, and finished on a very difficult and fast broad reach which if in a good boat and allot of confidence you could hold 20knots boat speed for the whole leg. They broke for lunch and unfortunately that broke the boat, when we lifted the boat from the water the wand caught on the cradle and fell of the boat. I didn’t bother to look at it until I’d eaten some lunch as I was one of the last boats back ashore. Preparing to go back out I decided it wasn’t worth risking having the wand fall off on the water and with no easy way to re-attach it (another poor design in my opinion). Instead I missed the last race, which apparently abated a bit and was only 15knots at times, I used the time to start drying my sailing gear and removed the British numbers from the sail so that when I return home I can affix the Leprechauns 9337 underneath the AUS (as it rightfully should have done in the first place).
Saturday 28th June
After a late bit of a sleep in and some breakfast I went to the bike shop and eventually purchased a very nice new road bike. A LeMond Versailles. It’s an all carbon frame with Shimano 105 (mid range) components. I spent more than I probably should have, but it doesn’t sound as bad when the number is in Euros, and I figured that I needed something that I could really enjoy. After picking a bike I then went about choosing some riding gear, so I left the shop with quite a lot of stuff. After playing and bumming around at home for some time, I finally went for a ride that afternoon. I was going to ride to a small town 20k’s away and then back. But when I got there quicker than I expected and still feeling very strong I kept going for 10k’s more and finally decided it was time to turn around. After changing direction I realised I had been riding in a tailwind the whole time which meant that it was going to be much tougher getting home.
On Sunday I went on a ‘Sauna Sail’ (for want of a better term) with some other foreigners. This was basically a barge powered by two outboard motors mounted under the deck. On top of the barge were located two timber huts with fake thatched roofs. In one hut was an open fire in the centre with seats around the outside, the other hut again has seating around the perimeter but this time has a Sauna stove in the centre, such comprised of a timber fuelled stove covered in rocks with a easily accessible source of water and some aromatic oils. Once aboard the barge the lines are cast off and it’s motored out into the centre of the lake, the anchor is dropped and the ‘captain’ gets in the tinny he’s towed out and leaves you there for 4-5 hours. The Afternoon was then spent swimming (sometimes very briefly) then getting in the sauna for 15-20 minutes and then swimming again. It’s a surprisingly relaxing experience and once we’d had enough we dried off and entered the other hut and ate smoked fish and bread and other things we’d brought with us, drank beer and waited for the captain the return and take us back to shore, not that we were fussed if he took a while. After leaving the boat it poured with rain almost immediately (it was well timed).
On Sunday I went on a ‘Sauna Sail’ (for want of a better term) with some other foreigners. This was basically a barge powered by two outboard motors mounted under the deck. On top of the barge were located two timber huts with fake thatched roofs. In one hut was an open fire in the centre with seats around the outside, the other hut again has seating around the perimeter but this time has a Sauna stove in the centre, such comprised of a timber fuelled stove covered in rocks with a easily accessible source of water and some aromatic oils. Once aboard the barge the lines are cast off and it’s motored out into the centre of the lake, the anchor is dropped and the ‘captain’ gets in the tinny he’s towed out and leaves you there for 4-5 hours. The Afternoon was then spent swimming (sometimes very briefly) then getting in the sauna for 15-20 minutes and then swimming again. It’s a surprisingly relaxing experience and once we’d had enough we dried off and entered the other hut and ate smoked fish and bread and other things we’d brought with us, drank beer and waited for the captain the return and take us back to shore, not that we were fussed if he took a while. After leaving the boat it poured with rain almost immediately (it was well timed).
Monday 23rd June
Work Started on Monday with being shown my ‘Office’ which consists of a 20” container which is parked inside the Baltic compound. It’s not too bad, it’s got a couple of windows, heaters, desks and chairs. I’ve got some pictures of the boat up on the walls now which make it allot less dull. Hopefully soon I will get a printer/scanner which will make getting things done a little easier. I spent the first half of the week learning about the keel trunk and getting settled into my new role. The keel trunk is very very very complex and I’m very happy that I was not involved until this point. I intend to stay out of it as best I can. My role to date has basically been to chase the guys about where drawings are at. Advise on possibly changes to existing drawings, and discuss issued drawings ensuring understanding. In addition to this I’ve been working out the sequence in which the structure can be installed into the boat as some things will restrict others. Mostly this has kept me busy, but I’m only going to get busier. Most of the evenings were spent with colleagues who were visiting for various reasons, which made for a cheap week.
Wednesday 18th June
Arrived at the Yard about 0800. After meeting a few of the main people I’ll be working with we went to have a look at the boat. It was outside the shed as they were in the process of turning the hull over. We spent 10 or fifteen minutes having a look and then went back and began our meeting which ran until midday the next day. After an hour or maybe 45 minutes, the phrase “shall we go get a coffee” is uttered and the Fins are out of their seats. We wandered over to the kitchen and al had a coffee. Very strong (almost espresso but by the mug instead of the shot). After we’d been back in the meeting for a little while we got the word that they were ready to lift the hull. We went over and watched as the 17tons of hull shell (plus perhaps double that again in the plug) was lifted off it’s supports and then suspended approximately 1m off the ground began to role over as one side was lifted and the other lowered. It was gently turned, over about half an hour and we then retired back to our meeting as they spent the rest of the day sitting the hull in its cradle, lifting the plug out of the hull, and then pushing the hull back into the shed. I think we wend back to the hotel about 1800 which Rod told me was reasonably early for his trips. On Thursday the meeting continued in similar style, except finished when Rod left to catch his flight back to the UK. I then spent the afternoon first visiting the new Baltic factory which is being built and is conveniently right next to the dock. At which time they had 2 boats being readied for delivery, both custom boats, a 78’ which was due to leave the following week, and a 77’ which was still a few weeks off (and in need of a rig still). Both were fitted out very nicely inside, with timber venire and upholstery covering all the lightweight carbon structure. After this we briefly went and inspected my Flat, and then did some shopping to get a phone and modem so I was set for communications. After this I went to the supermarket to get my supplies for the long weekend before the shops closed. As I was walking through the store it occurred to me that I needed EVERYTHING. A Pillow, Sheets, Plates, Cutlery, Saucepans, Chopping boards, etc, all of the things you usually have when you move somewhere. Not to mention food. I spent 3 hours at the supermarket and managed to get just about everything I needed to get by on. I still don’t have any appliances, but I can cook simple meals and look after myself as I normally would. I was lucky in a way that the supermarket had everything; if I’d wanted I could have got an angle grinder in one isle, some pop hits from a few isles over and then picked up some fabric softener on the way out. It was like a Coles, combined with Target, Mitre 10 & Liquorland. After this I spent most of the weekend cleaning the Flat, working out where to put things, and surfing the web as the weather was not that great. On Sunday morning I went for a run to nowhere in particular and that afternoon a colleague from work flew in so I picked him up from his hotel and we went out to one of the few places that was open to get some dinner. Faboda is about 10km west of Pietarsaari, and has a nice little Café/Restaurant on the beach where we sat and watched the sun get very, very slowly closer to the horizon. We didn’t stay long enough to see it hit the water, but I’ll have to go back and watch that one day.
Tuesday 17th June
After going to work for 3 hours a taxi took me down to the ferry. Then a taxi took me to Heathrow via Rod’s house North of Southampton. It was a long trip and while sitting in Helsinki at about 2230 local time we realised that our flight to Kokkola was appearing as cancelled. We were diverted to Vaasa (about 120km’s from Kokkola) and then got a bus when we landed. The bus took about an Hour and a half, but at least dropped us off in Pietarsaari which saved us having to double back. We arrived at our Hotel at about 0230 and left for the yard at 0730.
Monday 16th June
I took a trip to London on the Monday so I could pick up my Finnish residency permit. This was fairly un-eventful, it was a pleasant enough trip on the ferry/train/tube, and I didn’t get too lost in London.
Saturday 14th June
I spent about 10 days on the Isle of Wight. Most of which were spent working a becoming familiar with the project, which was a big job as the boat is huge. On the Saturday while the Isle Of Wight Festival was on I got the ferry to Southampton and hired a car for the day. I visited Salisbury which has a 400 year old cathedral plus other bits of the town that are quite old. I then drove to and stopped briefly at Weymouth to check that it was worth the trip to sail there, it seemed like it would be a nice place to sail (although I’m re-thinking that now).
Monday 9th June
After spending 24 hours travelling I arrived in Heathrow to meet the car that had been arranged to take me down to Southampton to meet the Redjet ferry. I think the driver may have been speeding most of the way down as I arrived at the Redjet terminal quite early and was thus in the UK office by 8am. Time enough to have a shower and be ready for work on time. Not the best commute but hopefully I wont be doing it again any time soon.
While on the Island I’ve been staying with a couple of the younger engineers from Work. Matt and his girlfriend are French-Canadian, Katia is French, and Warwick is from Melbourne. So the house is a bit of a mixture. It’s a small place in Cowes (as all the places are), a short walk into town with a number of pubs, sailing shops and a few other essentials. To get to work I have either run (it’s about 6km’s from the house as long as I go the right way (which I didn’t), or walk down to the ferry terminal and catch the Bus the Gurit runs to and from the office.
While on the Island I’ve been staying with a couple of the younger engineers from Work. Matt and his girlfriend are French-Canadian, Katia is French, and Warwick is from Melbourne. So the house is a bit of a mixture. It’s a small place in Cowes (as all the places are), a short walk into town with a number of pubs, sailing shops and a few other essentials. To get to work I have either run (it’s about 6km’s from the house as long as I go the right way (which I didn’t), or walk down to the ferry terminal and catch the Bus the Gurit runs to and from the office.
The Beginning
This is just a test to see what happens.
[Edit]
Well, what I expected to happen did so there you go. The world of blogging. I guess it's not so bad. At least I can dump a whole bunch of content into this right now and then not worry about updating it for a long time (maybe, I guess we'll see).
You'll have to bare with me a bit. I've been writing an ever extending email to everyone to let them know how I'm going. I don't expect you to read all of it, thus why I've put it here rather than in an email it to you. This was you can come and have a look at what I'm up to (if anything) when it pleases you.
Enjoy.
[Edit]
Well, what I expected to happen did so there you go. The world of blogging. I guess it's not so bad. At least I can dump a whole bunch of content into this right now and then not worry about updating it for a long time (maybe, I guess we'll see).
You'll have to bare with me a bit. I've been writing an ever extending email to everyone to let them know how I'm going. I don't expect you to read all of it, thus why I've put it here rather than in an email it to you. This was you can come and have a look at what I'm up to (if anything) when it pleases you.
Enjoy.
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