Sailing Course Summary

About a week ago, starting on the 25th of June to be exact, I took a practical sailing course from Sailing.ee. Last summer I did a pleasure craft operator's course (which I wrote about here) and it included the basics of sailing with a short practice, therefore it felt right to skip the beginners' course and take the advanced course. Although my aims haven't changed and I still wish to drive large and powerful ships in the future, I don't feel it's quite right if I do that without knowing how to get on with a power source as basic as the sail. I'm also happy to know that I've taken sea-related courses two seasons in a row.

Unlike last year's course which was mostly theory, this one was purely practical. Having skipped the beginners' course, I felt quite lost in the beginning of the first day. I volunteered to steer the boat out of the marina because I was feeling quite confident at that. It also meant that I was immediately in charge after we shut down the motor and I had close to no idea what to do. But the more we sailed, the more I recalled and the next day I didn't feel like I had missed anything. 

There was five of us on board, four students and the instructor. The boat was small and the four of us were neatly distributed to different tasks and the instructor was there to keep an eye on us,  give advice and sometimes teach. The cooperation went smoothly and made the course a very pleasant experience.

Our small practice boat

On the first day we sailed quite far out, tacking and revising the basics, and then hoisted the spinnaker to sail back. Jibing with the spinnaker meant that someone had to climb up on the bow of the boat to change the position of the spinnaker pole. Being the daring person I am, it quickly became one of my favourite things to do on board. We had similar plans for the second day as we sailed out even farther, almost out of the Gulf of Tallinn, but then, just as we had lowered the jib sail and started to set up the spinnaker, the wind direction changed 180 degrees and the best we could do was to hoist the jib again and sail back.

Spinnaker

Detaching the spinnaker pole

On the third day things got more exciting as we learned to deal with and maneuver in all wind directions and also practiced maneuvering and docking in Pirita marina. Considering the fact that I was feeling a bit shaky a year ago trying to dock a motorboat, docking under sail was not so bad. In fact, in the end I was feeling quite confident maneuvering under sail in very narrow spaces, which was quite a good feeling. Afterwards we hoisted the spinnaker again to return to the Old City marina. On the fourth and final day we continued trying out different maneuvers and wind directions and then threw a fender in the sea to practice man overboard rescue maneuvers. After several attempts to retrieve the fender, both failed and successful, we hoisted the gennaker and slowly sailed back home, completing the course. 

Tracked the 3rd day

Heeling

Gennaker and the lowered jib

Qualified!

To me the experience was very enjoyable and, most importantly, extremely useful. Although it was not the easiest thing I have ever done, I wish it had lasted longer, because it really feels like it lasted less than a blink of an eye. Despite that I feel like I got enough time to practice, so if someone was to give me a boat and order me to sail, I feel I'd know exactly what to do. In addition to what I've already said, it was a whole new experience for me to sail out of the Old City marina right between the big ships, to ask permission to enter or exit the harbour over the loud noise of the two stroke engine, to suddenly heel 45 degrees and more, to watch other ships coming and going while not too busy myself, and so on. On the last two days the weather was nice and sunny and we used the quiet moments to take photos. 

Princess Anastasia

Waiting for Superstar to enter before we can exit

Finlandia

Princess Anastasia and Finlandia

Waiting for Star to enter before we can follow

Early summer sights

The summer season in Tallinn is on and going for a while now. Some regular ferry timetables have changed and most remarkably, Mariella and Gabriella of Viking Line, usually on Stockholm - Helsinki route, have started doing short trips to Tallinn instead of staying in Helsinki all day. During this peak season the Gulf of Finland is crossed by ferries about 38 times a day, depending on the day of the week. The weather and my hectic schedules have prevented me well from going out to watch the cruise ships. Nevertheless, I'm slowly getting started at a new and very enjoyable job where one of the locations is the cruise area of the harbour, which gives me nice views and spotting possibilities every now and then. So, in the weeks that have passed since my last post I've actually collected a nice bunch of photos I'd like to share with you.

Mariella approaching Tallinn. According to my data, not counting the test drive she did in December 2013,  it's the first time since 1996 - I'm not sure though, so if you know anything about it, please tell me. ☺

Fleetmates Viking XPRS and Mariella with Superstar minding her own business in the background.

Two sisters and former fleetmates - Mariella and Princess Anastasia - moored right next to each other. Although they often meet in and near Helsinki and Stockholm, they usually stay at different parts of the city. 

The behind of Celebrity Eclipse and Gabriella minding her own business in the background. I don't have any data of Gabriella ever visiting Tallinn before, so all info is, once again, more than welcome.

The bow of Celebrity Eclipse

Demonstrating the modern cleaning methods of big ships

Viking XPRS and another fleetmate - this time Gabriella

Gabriella heading out

Aidabella departing some time ago

Tallinn Old City Marina

Finlandia backing out of the harbour

Silja Europa, coming from Visby, and Marina

Adventure of the Seas

Marina and Adventure of the Seas

The ship that needs not be named, Baltic Queen and Silja Europa

The bow of Adventure of the Seas with three Helsinki ferries - Superstar of Tallink, Finlandia of Eckerö Line and Viking XPRS of Viking Line.

And finally, a small challenge - here's a panorama photo of the Tallinn harbour area - go ahead, spot and name all ships present at the harbour. 

Experience: Finlandia

I'm safely home from another trip to my other hometown. The initial purpose of the trip was to try out Finlandia, which was the last large ferry on the Tallinn - Helsinki route I hadn't been on.

Finlandia and Explorer

Boarding

On a side note, as I was enjoying my time on board the newest ship in the Eckerö Line fleet, her ex-fleetmate Translandia ended her final journey at a beach in India. She was still here much after my interest started, leaving the Baltic Sea only a little bit more than a year ago. Farewell.

<moment of silence>

Back on topic. Considering the only major con Finlandia has compared to others - the timetables -, I had two options. I could have either gone and then return straight away without getting off the ship or spend a night in Helsinki, and I'm very glad I chose the latter. I would've probably found it extremely difficult to turn around right at the front door of my favourite city and despite the fact that I enjoyed my time on board Finlandia a lot, 6 hours in a row would have been too much.

I've also determined that travelling solo may as well be the best kind for me, because when it turned out that I'd be doing the trip alone, I felt a burden fall from my shoulders. No need to take account of anyone's needs and endless possibilities and ability to do whatever I feel like, and I usually feel like either taking ridiculously long and aimless walks or getting in touch with locals and/or fellow travellers. Long before this trip I had a feeling that I won't be alone during the trip, and the feeling was justified. Hardly an hour after my departure from Tallinn I met the person who ended up accompanying me during most of my stay in Helsinki. Briefly, I was hanging out with someone from the other side of the gulf for a big part of the trip. I dare say it was the best option for me because I really don't feel like a tourist in Helsinki anymore. I spent the night at Stadion hostel, which is a good place to consider if you're not seeking luxury.

But when it comes to Finlandia, based on my experience, the timetables really are the only con. The price-quality ratio is definitely by far the best. As I boarded, I immediately noticed that the design of the interior is quite interesting compared to any other ship I've been on. The ship is also very simple; there are no dead ends and it's impossible to get lost because there are signs and deck plans everywhere on the walls and floors, neatly complementing the design. That made getting around the ship enjoyably easy.
In addition to that I saw the sundeck being washed before the departure and adding the fact that most information was freely available in four languages, I think I'm right to say that visible effort is put into making the ship a pleasant environment for everyone.

First thing I saw after boarding

Staircase

Another staircase

Funnel and.. what a surprise, another sign.

I especially liked the sundeck. In the middle of the ship it was full width and there was a bar and a small elevated sitting area right in front of the funnel. It left a cruise ship like impression, the only thing missing was a small swimming pool.

There was always live music at least in one place on the ship and the general atmosphere was very nice. Something that probably applies to all ships of her class (adding Superstar of Tallink and the Moby Line ferries) is the great view from the large windows at the bow and stern.

Bar Nosturi

Satama Cafeteria

I also chose to have prepaid lunch on board. The Eckerö Buffet was a really nice place and the food was really delicious, especially the desserts. In fact, I spent most of the journey to Helsinki eating there.

Of course I couldn't let go of a chance to take lots of photos at sea, especially since the traffic is quite heavy nowadays. In fact, as we were approaching Tallinn I didn't really get a chance to go inside between the passing ships.

A tugboat towing a barge

Explorer, Balmoral and L'Austral in Tallinn

Ryndam, Princess Anastasia, Star and Norwegian Star in Helsinki

Silja Europa arriving in Helsinki

Explorer near Tallinn

Superstar passing Eurodam

Viking XPRS leaving Tallinn

HSC Merilin doing the same

The gorgeous AIDAbella, also outbound

Celebrity Infinity in Tallinn