At the helm

If the trip on August 5th was one of the best days, this may have been the best.

The evening before, our hosts - a couple that Katrina had been an au-pair for no less than 32 years before - asked what we wanted to do. My hand was up first (all that Scottish primary school training was not wasted). "Sailing please." That was that decided then, and off we went to the island of Hittis (Hiittinen in Finnish).

It was a truly wonderful day. On arrival, we tied up and I was persuaded to go swimming in the Baltic. At 22 degrees, that was no hardship, but I was glad I did it before we spotted the mink, which might have made me less enthusiastic about going in. Nannu had brought lunch with us, so we cooked up some potatoes with dill, some fish, and a glass of wine. All on the deck in the sunshine.

A short walk to the vilage of Hittis brought us to a beautiful wooden church, and I was amused to see a very old painted wooden panel of San Andreas.

The trip there and back between the islands, with views of the many summer cottages, as the Finns call them, in stunning seashore locations, made me wonder if I was missing something.

Bobby, our host and very experienced skipper, allowed us both turns at the helm. This is Katrina in charge, with Bobby and Nannu trying their best to look relaxed. Spreadeagled on the foredeck with the camera, I had every confidence in her.