Saturday, August 12

It was a Saturday morning rendez-vous at the Käringsund harbour that brought the new team – volunteering lighthouse keepers of the week 33 – together. Elina, Henri, Mirka, Tipe, and Jouni had arrived in early morning hours to Marienhamn, with the Viking Helsinki-Stockholm route, and spent the early morning hours with an open-air breakfast nearby the docks. Martti, the sixth team member, had arrived to the scene already the day before, and so, by parking his car just after eight beside the ship for an easier unloading operation for several bags of concrete, the team was unified. After loading the ship, we were on our way right on time as Mats steered out from the Käringsund strait at 8:33 am.

On arrival to the Märket reef, the passing of the baton of lighthouse keeping was smooth. Almost before anybody actually realized the two teams – the coming and the going – had with a swift co-ordinated effort emptied the vessel from the inbound material and loaded it again with the material heading back to mainland Åland. After a quick chit-chat and briefing of the current status over a cup of coffee, a new team had assumed its position on the westernmost spot of Finland.

Not long after settling in, a group of four sailing from Öregrund paid a visit. Tipe, our guide, gave a tour to Madelene, Claes, Amanda, and Alexander, who also brought with them a bright sunshine washing away the morning greyness. As customary, the tour was concluded with a warm-spirited moment over tee & coffee, including a freshly cake baked cake, courtesy of the recently parted team of week 32.

The rest of the day was spent in preparing for the week ahead us. Throughout the day we were keenly observed by the indigenous population of the reef, among others arctic terns, seals, cormorants, and two adoringly cute swallow youngsters, patiently waiting in the boathouse for the frequent food deliveries by their parents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, August 13

The main projects today were storing firewood and cleaning the sauna. Several cubic meters of wood in intermediate storage in the front yard – results from the toils of teams from previous weeks – needed to be moved to a more secure place. Leaving the wood there would be tantamount to saying good-bye to this precious resource – such is the roughness of the sea and winter on this barren reef. The target place was to be the second storey of the magazine, the southernmost building of Märket. Henri took charge of the operation, making sure that the wood be packed sufficiently loose so as to enable efficient ventilation, yet at the same time sufficiently tight in order to keep the stacks robust. With the help of a cable-elevating device, two wheelbarrows, and several pairs of eager hands, the moving of the woods from point a to point b was accomplished safely. As for the sauna, today was the time to have an in-depth cleaning of it. This included washing the benches, walls, the floor, and the water boiler.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With a damp weather and relatively moderate wind – highs at around 11 m/s, turning from south to north during the day – we were kept to ourselves and our daily chores. Even with these wind-speeds, the swells when blowing from north are compelling enough to hypnotize the gazer with the perpetual motion and the subtle hints of the underlying power. Thus a lighthouse keeper led astray from the task at hand and just standing by the shore was not an unusual sight today.

Towards the end of the day the sun revealed itself, gracing us with a peaceful and harmonious cloudless sunset, ushering in the ever deepening dim. So to sum up the day in two words: extraordinary ordinariness.

Monday, August 14

The night had cleared the sky totally, and the blue morning sky gave a promise that held the whole day. This was a good day to air all the bed-linen. Thus quite soon after the breakfast the inventory of blankets and pillows were spread out to the upper level of the premises.

In anticipation of possible guests, we decided to test-drive the two boats. It’s overall a good practice to lower the inflatable boat to sea an back, since for some of us, this is the first visit here (Elina), and for some it has been a while since being here (Jouni). The engine of the boat is still in maintenance in the main-land, so the test-drive to the buoy needed to be done manually by rowing.

Perhaps this is a good time to say a few more words about this week’s crew. Mirka is the team lead. Elina is responsible for the kitchen-operations, Tipe, as we have already seen, for guiding and me, Jouni, for keeping these notes. The two remaining members, Henri and Martti, take charge of any technically oriented operations. They both are experienced radio amateurs in which circles they are better known as OH3JR and OH2BH, respectively. Based on their stories and information from other sources, I’d call them more accurately as radio amateur professionals. They are also both true Märket veterans, as they have been coming here for decades, Martti’s first visit was in the 1960s and Henri’s in the 1970s. Thus the rest of the team has benefited from various stories and legends accumulated over the years, including accounts about very rough weathers, something on the very opposite end of the spectrum from today.

Towards the evening we got guests from Grislehamn. The northern side was not open for landing, so the entry needed to happen via the southern side buoy – which suited us well taken in consideration the drill we had earlier the day. The landing was conducted with the older boat that was better to handle with rowing. Thus Tipe got to give an evening tour tour Tiina, Jan-Ore, Tobbe, and Sally. Long discussions and many interested questions!

Tuesday, August 15

The day started off with a short ceremony to celebrate Marja’s day – today being the official day for Finnish names Jaana, Marjo, Marja, and Marita, among others. So Tipe, áka Marja, was almost woken up by the rest of the crew, perhaps she had a second sight and knew we were coming for her, with a basic breakfast, initially intended as a wakeup call.

The celebration was however cut short, as we received early guests. Now, as on previous days, from the western side of the waters. Anders and Staffan had started paddling early from Singö, and took a break en route to Eckerö. And what a lovely surprise they had for us, two decks of cards representing various natural parks all over the world. Undoubtedly the present will come handy in coming weeks, as the autumn starts to creep in with increasing frequency of days with difficult weather and reduced amount of light – giving birth to lighthousekeeping moments where instruments to pass time are gladly welcomed.

With a moderately hefty S / SSE wind developing after the morning calm Anders and Staffan remained the only guests for today. The relatively quiet day was spent in several core maintanance operations dealing with waste management. Also water channels up in the lighthouse tower needed to be cleaned. So a basic, relatively uneventful day, yet characterized by co-operative work and high sprits, came to a close with one of the many variants of Märket sunset, leaving the lighthouse embedded in blue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, August 16

After a couple of days of sun, today it was time for some rain. The robust wind from the south brought with itself a solid layer of clouds, with light rain starting after the noon. However, we had enough time in the morning to move another lot of firewood from the front-yard up to the second storey of the magazine building. The important thing is to build strong enough frameworks to fit the wood material in, so they don’t fall down while stored.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of the day was spent on minor household activities and coordinating the handover with the crew arriving on Saturday. Towards the evening the wind has calmed down and the sun has returned giving a mellow evening light. That’s all for today – keeping it short and simple, as the classic acronym advises.

 

 

Thursday, August 17

Today saw a crossing of three distinct paths at Märket, three completions of pursuits towards this distant outpost. The scene for this conjunction was set by the nearly dead-calm morning sea, after the wind had gradually died down the previous evening.

While still engaged in our morning routines, a boat was spotted, landing eventually to the eastern end of the reef. Quite soon after it, a second boat landed in the same cove. The first of the early-birds, Juhani, hailed from Helsinki, with an intermediate stop at Kökar. Märket acted for him as a planned and already-familiar way-point, further to explore lighthouses on the west coast. Anders, on the other had started off from Eckerö. While living nearby, he had never before visited Märket, yet knew it, its history, and some of its past personnel well. With the perfect conditions and a dog-sitter arranged, nothing prevented Anders reaching Märket today morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The third Märket-pursuit resembled close to the choreography of a mountain climb. Not long after the two early arrivals, a pair of kayaks appeared on the plain and calm sea. This turned out to be the last leg of a long trip which the heavy winds of the last two days had almost undone. Lewis and Samantha’s big idea, conceived nearly two years ago, was to cross the sea form Finland to Sweden at around the height of Åland. As this turned out to be potentially too risky endeavor, they made their plan to paddle from Åbo to here, this reef on the border of Finland and Sweden.

So, after clearing their way over the course of several days to Käringsund, having among other things almost trespassed the summer premises of the President of Finland, kindly, yet firmly pointed out by a representative of staff, they had taken their chance by the calming of the wind on Wednesday evening and moved to a forward position, a base camp as it were, the islet of Ängeskär. As it happened, the conditions in the morning were nothing short of perfect, so the last stint towards the lighthouse could be completed. It was a joy to observe the wide smiles at their summit, up the 17 m tall lantern tower of Märket.

The beautiful day attracted later on also other visitors. Elisabeth and Anders (name-sake of the early-bird guest) sailed from Eckerö and were introduced to the lighthouse and its history on the tour headed by Tipe. Yet another pair of smiling faces at top of the tower, matching the sunny ambience of the day!

On other frontiers, we continued the wood-transportation project. During the day, yet another heap of firewood was cleared from the front-yard and moved to a winter-proof storage. Being mentally enriched by the encounters of the day and physically wearied by the toil, we relieved ourselves in the evening in the gentle embrace of the Märket-sauna – a perfect way to end a day to cherish later on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, August 18

Today’s weather turned out to be perfect – for cleaning the lighthouse thoroughly and preparing for the shift of watchturn scheduled for Saturday morning. Rain and wind suited us well, as we went through the main building from top to bottom leaving no reasonable spot untouched. Also in order to give the new team a soft start, Elina organized a baking session to fill up the freezer with sweet servings for possible visitors on Sunday, the international lighthouse day. We further gave our last touch to the firewood project, as we strengthened such wood-piles in the front-yard intended to be stored on the spot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While mopping the floor of my sleeping quarters, something dawned to me. All these mundane activities – waking up early, taking a dip at the water reservoirs of the reef, making breakfast, carrying water, washing dishes, moving firewood from point a to point b, cleaning – serve a purpose. A purpose no more and no less significant than being part of preserving our cultural heritage, of which a totem of the age of seafaring, a lighthouse amidst notorious waters, is a living example, however small “from the perspective of eternity” it may be. In addition, one important part of this preservation is making sure that Märket remains open for radio amateur activities – upholding the unique status this tiny spot of land holds among the DX-community worldwide.

For without the basic activity of just inhabiting this outpost, the forces of time will prevail. The grueling teeth of history, the formidable powers that in the end make any humanly endeavor in vain, would take the upper hand rather sooner than later. Yet, all is not lost and there is no cause for hopelessness: the main antidote is to “keep things running”. That, to me, is the essence of being here, the purpose which makes me glad to be part of. And I believe I’m not going too far in believing that the same goes for the whole crew of this week and the preceding and succeeding crews, for that matter, bound to our crew by the seamless link of weekly watchturns annually from around May to around October. Thus, if weather allows, the crew of week 33 will be on its way home tomorrow Saturday, and a fresh set of lighthouse keepers will be having the watch, including keeping these notes. So, concluding the diary of the week with selected moments from the past days .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Elina, Henri, Jouni, Martti, Mirka, and Tipe