Saturday 25.5. – Friday 31.5.2013 Aarni, Erkki and Jori

 

Saturday 25.5.2013

 

A fresh three-man crew arrived on board the boat of Mats, the familiar skipper, at the lighthouse at 10 a.m. In addition, four other, technically skilled men took the same boat to Märket, in order to establish the problems hampering the electricity generation by the windmill, an important power source of Märket.

The work on the wind-powered generator started immediately, and soon the root cause of the problems was established: a loose bolt, which seemed to have resulted in internal damage to the generator. The windmill was left unoperational while the details of the repair are being analysed. Related work, completed today, included the tightening of one of the wires which holds the windmill mast upright.

During the morning coffee offered by the old crew, the setting up of the field sauna was taken up. At noon, soon after the crew of the previous week had left together with the wind mill technician, a team of five men started carrying the elements of the existing provisional sauna to the site chosen. In less than three hours, the little building looked ready to receive its first bathing visitors.

Initial work was done also on the Cabin of Carlberg, which is a deteriorated room of the lighthouse complex. For example, rotten wood was found in the external walls. Care is being taken with the analytical work, as Märket is a historical site.

Towards the evening, the wind was calming down and wave height got less than in the early afternoon, when the Baltic was quite rough. The sunny conditions prevailed. The waters around the lighthouse looked transparent. The waters are still cold, tells Mats, the skipper, the surface temperatures varying between seven and eight degrees Celsius.

As regards the grey seals often seen around the lighthouse, even today a few seals could be observed with binoculars on the islets surrounding Märket.

Best wishes from the Märket crew of Jori, Aarni and Erkki. In addition, Ari, Henri and Markus are present and help in the analysis of the repair and maintenance needs.

 

Sunday 26.5.2013

 

This Sunday started well: at 8 a.m. in the morning the weather was beautiful with 20 degrees Celcius in the sun. A refreshing, moderate wind was blowing. In the surrounding Baltic there was some wave action, but for the positive-minded lighthouse keepers that was just normal.

The weekly crew initiated the work early. Today’s task was to start disassembling the “Carlberg cabin”, i.e. the old living and working quarters of a man who used to live on Märket. The room is not considered worth conservation. Nevertheless, even the task of tearing down the structure is a time-consuming task.

Some work on the cabin was carried on by Jori, Aarni and Erkki during the early hours. Meanwhile, the technical specialists, who had analysed the repair needs of the windmill on Saturday, were packing their backpacks, as Captain Mats was on his way to take them back to Eckerö around noon.

After the departure of the boat of Mats, there was a moment for relaxation for the weekly crew on Märket, for example by watching the arctic terns which nest on the island. Also observation of the near-by seal rock took place. The animals continued their peaceful life in spite of the passing of many freighters and tankers, which follow the maritime highway behind the seal colony.

The tearing down of the Carlberg room became hard work in the afternoon. The external building material of the walls – on top of the wood – is concrete, and carrying the pieces to the area reserved for construction waste requires a lot of time and effort. In addition, the details have to be documented. Today pictures were taken for example of the stove, the outer structure of which was removed.

Happy and peaceful life on Märket continued in the late afternoon, in spite of the sky turning grey and even some rain drops falling on the cliffs.

 

Monday 27.5.2013

 

Today Monday the disassembling work of “the Carlberg cabin” continued. Filling material on top of the ceiling was taken outside and packed in sacks. Finally the whole ceiling was removed. Most of the old material was transported to the ground level either to store it or to use it later for example as firewood. The goal-oriented three-man crew worked hard in order to advance in the tasks assigned.

The sunny and warm morning weather changed around 10.30 a.m. Fog surrounded the lighthouse. The isolation was completed by the fact that the internet connection was not functioning. The crew admired the professional lighthouse keepers of the past who spent years on this rock without complaining.

Late in the afternoon the weather changed again. The sun appeared. As the sea was calm and there was hardly any wind blowing, the adventurous nature-loving side of the weekly crew started to appear.

Two photo-oriented lighthouse keepers drove the Märket dinghy to the near-by seal rocks in order to document the behaviour of the grey seals. Care was taken not to disturb the population. The seals were interested in the lighthouse keepers and let photos to be taken. For maritime safety, the third Märket crew member observed the whole operation from the lighthouse with binoculars.

The photo operation was successful and resulted in some digital memories for possible publication and as a record for future generations. Two photo examples are included in this report.

 

Tuesday 28.5.2013

 

Today´s work on Märket started very early. A team photographer got up at 1:30 a.m. and documented the islet in moonlight. This kind of work could perhaps be called moonlighting. The only difference with the traditional moonlighting is that on Märket moonlighting is honest, unpaid work.

During those morning hours when normal people took the bus or train to their job, the Märket team just left the dining area and walked approximately 25 steps, thus entering the Carlberg cabin, a room which has not been considered worth conserving. There the energy given by the nutritionally balanced breakfast was converted into disassembling the Carlberg room. The focus today was the stove made of bricks. As the morning was beautiful with sunshine and pleasant springtime temperatures, it was a joy to work on Märket.

All the important steps in “the Carlberg process” were photographically documented. Towards the end of the afternoon the work had advanced significantly. Today´s achievements are visible in the image sequence which is part of this report.

Most of the oven tiles were then carried downstairs and stored at the ground level for possible future use. Also work on the old wooden parts of the cabin continued. This material, which had been removed on Monday, was organised at the ground level.

At 6 p.m. it was time for some well-earned free time. As on Monday, today´s recreation included photography. Some additional images of the grey seals were taken, as the conditions continued favourable. The waves were small and the wind moderate. Even the sun appeared again.

 

Wednesday 29.5.2013

 

During the night between Tuesday and Wednesday the weather had changed. Luckily, on Wednesday morning the nightly rain did not continue. Nevertheless, Wednesday morning was cloudy, windy and chilly.

Aarni started the intellectual part of the Märket day by noticing pollen on the surface of a water pond. He concluded that it was probably question of pollen from Åland / Ahvenanmaa pines which had ended up here with the wind.

The intellectual conclusions were followed by the less brain-demanding work to disassemble the stove of the Carlberg cabin. As Märket is a historical site, the process was documented with camera even today. The steps are visible in the photos of this summary.

Finally, only the bottom tiles of the stove were left. A close inspection of the structure revealed that the bottom was kept together by hard cement. The last tiles could not be removed in the same way as had been done earlier. The only way to advance was to change the technique and use powerful tools instead of muscle power.

The high hopes of a beautiful afternoon did not materialise. The sun did not appear and the weather remained cold. A 360-degree panoramic photo from the islet illustrates the Wednesday conditions.

In spite of having spent the fifth day in isolation and away from civilisation the Märket crew still enjoyed a peaceful co-existence today. No tensions had appeared and the lighthouse keepers Jori, Aarni and Erkki continued sharing their breakfast, lunch and coffee around a shared table, where ideas about all kinds of topics were exchanged.

 

Thursday 30.5.2013

 

Most of the day the weather on this national weather station remained worth reporting, i.e. it was only partly cloudy, with sunshine and pleasant daytime temperatures. The sea remained calm, and the wind-chill factor was low. Only towards the evening some rain drops fell on Märket.

The big brother(s) from the gray seal colony continued keeping an eye on us also today. We answered by watching back with the high-quality observation equipment of Aarni.

As regards work, especially Jori met the expectations by entering the familiar Carlberg cabin without hesitation this morning. As the stove had mostly been disassembled, Jori continued packing the filling material located under the floor. Then he carried this material in sacks downstairs. The work revealed a layer of publications from 1948 and 1949. The news in the circulars, magazines and newspapers reminded us of the historical and philosophical side of Märket. Human generations come and go, only Märket stays.

Perhaps the most interesting and thought-provoking article, which resulted in hair-raising coffee-table reading, was found in Stockholms-Tidningen of October 20, 1949. According to the interview with Mrs. Rut Grubb, an experienced medical doctor and director of the Växjö prison in Sweden, the woman only becomes criminal because of sexual reasons. As the lighthouse keepers did not include any specialists in criminology this time, the three-man crew did not have any strict opinion on the matter. Only some doubts were presented.

 

Friday 31.5.2013

 

It is difficult to believe it is Friday today. The week on the small Märket island has gone so fast.

The past days have included hard work as regards disassembling the Carlberg cabin in order to have space for something better to replace it. The old room is still there, but in a reduced form. The next Märket crew will probably be able to finish the work quickly.

The current lighthouse keepers dedicated this Friday mostly to cleaning up the working area, kitchen and living quarters.

In one accommodation room there was a surprising visitor. A reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) had entered the lighthouse building. The species was identified by Aarni, who is a knowledgeable amateur ornithologist. Aarni also managed to take the bird out without difficulty.

As today’s weather was perfect with sunshine and calm seas, the crew also enjoyed the unique island atmosphere of the outer archipelago. In this kind of conditions it would be easy to stay here another week.

The current island crew of Jori, Aarni and Erkki together with the near-by special forces SEAL team send you a lot of positive energy from the Märket lighthouse.

Jori, Aarni and Erkki send you kind regards from Märket.