Next weekend we decided to sail from Kotka to Svartholm Island with a small fleet of three yachts. A 2-day hike. 4-5 hours to the island, overnight on the island, and back the next day.
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Svartholm Island is a small island off the coast of Finland, 2 nautical miles south of the city of Lovisa.
There is an open-air museum on the island, an ancient naval bastion fortress. The construction of the fortress began in 1748, when the island belonged to Sweden. The fortress lost its defensive importance when Finland became part of Russia in 1809 as a result of the Russian-Swedish war. Later, the fortress was used as a prison. In 1855, during the Crimean War, Svartholm was destroyed by an Anglo-French squadron.
Currently, the fortress has been restored (the restoration began in 1930).
The island has several berths. Parking is free. But there is no water or electricity. There is water in a column in the center of the island. There is a restaurant on the island where you can have a delicious dinner after the sea crossing.
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As we approached the island, a cloud overtook us, and the wind died down. We were worried that we would have to dock in the rain, and we spent the rest of the route, a couple of miles, under the engine. As a result, our yacht arrived last, when the other members of the "mini-expedition" had already bought up and were fully ready for dinner. However, first of all we explored the island.
Like all islands in Finland, Svartholm is interesting and beautiful in its own way. As on all the islands of Finland, there is not a single speck on it. Maybe because they clean up, but most likely because they don't litter :-) There is a warning that snakes may come across (we didn't). The paths running along dangerous cliffs are fenced with wooden handrails. We also met campers in tents. As a precaution, there are already stones on the island with eyelets screwed into them for stretching tents.
A very interesting island! We will definitely come there more than once, I hope.
And of course, we ended the evening with a friendly gathering in the cockpit of the An Li yacht.
The next day we were pleased with a good tailwind.
https://youtu.be/T5krveT_gik
