Week 22:Katja, Elina, Kimmo and Erkki

 

Saturday 24.5.2014

 

The weather was sunny but a little bit windy when a new crew left for Märket from Eckerö. Skipper Mats was friendly as always and steered the boat via the Sankan rocks, where grey seals can be observed. Tens of seals were visible. This was a good beginning for the new Märket lighthouse keepers comprising Katja, Elina, Kimmo and Erkki.

At Märket the old crew was waiting on the cliffs. One member of the previous group had stayed on the island for three weeks. In spite of the long stay, the new crew arriving from more normal human conditions on the mainland didn’t notice in him any signs of the island syndrome.

After the welcome coffee and information exchange of information between the old and new crew, skipper Mats returned to the boat and made it ready for the trip back to Käringsund.

When the old crew had left, it was time for the review of the Märket safety procedures. The new chief delegate Katja was in charge of the informative summary. A safety review is customary at the beginning of every stay, as we prefer avoiding unnecessary flights on ambulance helicopters to mainland hospitals. During this summary a new lighthouse keeper can also familiarise her/himself with the different parts of the lighthouse complex after the absence of several months.

Kimmo and Erkki were ready to start working in the afternoon. With the expert guidance of Kimmo the status of the sauna project was examined and future steps planned.

On the second floor living quarters another area was waiting for talented maintenance workers. The surface condition of the walls need to examined and perhaps some preparatory work done before the walls can be painted.

Katja, Elina, Kimmo and Erkki send you regards from Märket.

 

Märket diary 25 May 2014

 

The morning was a bit foggy today, but that had not scared sportfishermen. A boat arrived at the lighthouse around 11.30 a.m. Then the weather was turning sunny again. The boaat crew just wanted to take a few pictures without landing. After the photos the fishermen continued towards the open sea.

It was Sunday, but at Märket that did not mean recreation. There are many people in this world who have to keep the world running. In our case Elina did her part by protecting strategic wall areas of the “radio amateur” room on the second floor. After that painting in the room could start.

Meanwhile, Kimmo adjusted the dressing room windows of the sauna, as they were too tight. Wood was removed and the result was perfectly fitting windows. Thank you, Kimmo.

Katja´s main project today was painting on the second floor. The future occupants of the living quarters are likely to remember her with gratitude, as the new paint reflects more light than the gloomy wall surface in the past.

Erkki, the Märket frogman, had a challenging task today. It comprised the finding and marking of the old concrete weights of the Märket moorings. The plan is to start using the mooring buoys again. Thus visiting Märket would be easier for tourist boats. The snorkeling resulted in the finding of one of the original weights.

In the afternoon Kimmo continued the work in the dressing room of the sauna. He placed isolation material and tar paper on the cement floor. A wooden floor will be built on top of the protective layer.

Don´t worry, Katja, Elina, Kimmo and Erkki will keep Märket running for you.

 

Märket diary 26 May 2014

 

Monday morning was grey. But no problem – all lighthouse keepers know that life is not a party every day.

While starting to work, the crew kept observing a welcome visitor: this lonely swan reminded us of the fragile beauty of life.

Kimmo has already shown us his hard-working character. This morning he was eagerly taking measurements in order to finish the floor construction for the dressing room of the sauna. It did not surprise anybody that the work was finalised in the afternoon.

After some complementary painting on the second floor and after cleaning in the boat warehouse, the always attractive female members of the crew went to the beach today. As visible in the image below, at Märket visiting the water´s edge may mean collection of scrap metal and old tiles. Here this activity is also called Bay Watch – let´s not forget that even Pamela Anderson has roots in Finland. When Pamela arrives at Märket one day, dangerous pieces of old metal will not put her little feet at risk.

The mooring buoy project continued today. As the wave action increased during the day and there were also some technical problems, only one mooring buoy was installed. In any case, one is much better than zero. Thank you, frogman!

Against the early expectations this Monday, towards the evening the party started nevertheless. The best party at Märket takes place when the sea shows its full force.  Around 7 p.m. big waves started to roll over the island. The roaring sound could be heard everywhere and there was foam in the air. The water streaming over Märket formed rapids, which were an exciting sight.

Please do not forget the hard-working lighthouse keepers, i.e. Katja, Elina, Kimmo and Erkki. In spite of the rough conditions, we hope you will hear from us even tomorrow.

 

Märket diary 27 May 2014

 

On Tuesday morning yesterday´s storm continued. Big waves crashed one after the other against the Märket cliffs. Most of the island was covered by the surrounding sea.

The local tern population must have suffered heavy losses during the storm. We are sure there are only few eggs left in the nests in case the nest is still there… Before the storm we had seen many nests with eggs.

Elina and Katja were active in the kitchen and general housekeeping tasks today. Elina also removed old paint from the wall of the third floor. The wall next to the stairs will get new paint in the near future.

Kimmo and Erkki continued working in the sauna project by starting to install the benches for the future bathers. In the late afternoon the work on the upper bench had been finalised.

In the evening the waves of the Baltic were still impressive. There was even talking about postponing our return trip to the mainland because of the unfavourable weather prognosis. In this situation a famous island prisoner came to our minds. On Youtube we found his innovative ideas for island escapes during extreme conditions.

You will probably hear from Katja, Elina, Kimmo and Erkki again tomorrow. Even Papillon decided to stay.

 

Märket diary 28 May 2014

 

Wednesday was another windy day at Märket. It is not summer here yet. Outside you feel comfortable only if you have a cap and gloves on.

At noon the big waves hitting the cliffs had diminished to reasonable size. In the early afternoon the wave height started increasing again.

Today Katja and Elina continued in the same duties as yesterday. Those included gathering of old tiles and metal waste from the cliffs. Also important household tasks were implemented. In addition, Katja kept in touch with the work coordinator of the Finnish Lighthouse Society on the mainland.

As yesterday, Elina was also removing old paint upstairs. Many walls here are covered by paint of the previous generations. The walls need a fresh surface in order to keep the building in a good shape.

Kimmo and Erkki continued developing the sauna interior. A lower bench was installed on Wednesday morning. Kimmo is designing one more bench for the sauna floor.

At Märket it is important not only to pay attention to the lighthouse. This is also an excellent place to admire the migrating birds and local grey seals. One more thing to remember here are the historical aspects of the island. Among other things Märket has been the western border of Russia towards Sweden.

Nowadays Märket is part of Åland (Ahvenanmaa), which is an autonomous area of Finland. The Swedish-speaking Åland has its own flag.

Katja, Elina, Kimmo and Erkki send you genuine lighthouse greetings from the Märket rock.

 

Märket diary 29 May 2014

 

On Thursday morning the weather was sunny and the air clear. The Understen lighthouse on the other side of The Åland Sea was visible from Märket. Through a long tele lens many details of that lighthouse complex in the outer Swedish archipelago could be observed.

As usual, several freight vessels were navigating north and south in the waters between Märket and Understen today. The breakers visible around the rocks and underwater cliffs around Märket reminded us of the dangers hiding in these waters. No wonder why there are so many old shipwrecks around Åland. Navigation aids like Märket and Understen must have saved the lives of many seamen…

The lighthouse crew continued nature observation today. The terns were the main study object. The conclusions included that the storm at the beginning of the week had not destroyed all the nests. Several arctic terns (Sterna paradisea) were seen hatching their eggs.

Clearly, the southern part of the island is tern territory. The terns may attack you if you are not careful. As the lighthouse keepers are sensitive, eco-friendly people, the terns may concentrate on their family life. Luckily, the tasks of the lighthouse crew result in minimal interference in the life of the terns.

The island routines today included cleaning of the rooms, gathering of old, unused tiles from the cliffs, improvement of some details in the kitchen furniture, preparation of the meals, washing dishes, reporting of the activities to the mainland and trying to understand the meaning of life.

Katja, Elina, Kimmo and Erkki need a few more days at Märket in order to understand the purpose of human life. We hope to complete our analysis before we have to leave the island.

 

Märket diary 30 May 2014

 

Friday morning was grey and a bit foggy at Märket. The air didn’t feel warm. We wouldn´t sweat today in spite of the sometimes hard lighthouse maintenance tasks.

For the Märket frogman this was just another day in the office. Under the waves the water was surprisingly clear. In spite of this, the concrete weight of the other mooring buoy couldn’t be located on the sea bottom. Only the smaller mooring buoy is in use now.

The absolute highlight at Märket today was the arrival of a helicopter operated by the Finnish Border Patrol. The helicopter left two men from the Finnish Meteorological Institute on the island. They were on a maintenance and inspection mission. There is automatic weather observation equipment at the lighthouse.

The meteorology professionals climbed to the top of the lighthouse, where they inspected, repaired and calibrated highly specialised equipment. The men stayed with us for four hours. They hardly had time for the lunch offered by the Finnish Lighthouse Society.  When the big helicopter came back to pick up the weather guys at 2 p.m., the population of Märket returned to its normal level, i.e. to four persons.

The working life at Märket today also included checking of air circulation in the kitchen. Good air exchange in the humid lighthouse environment is important.

In the sauna, Kimmo adjusted the windows so they could be opened and closed without problem.

The Märket crew was also involved in a variety of household and cleaning tasks. Clear-minded lighthouse keepers are able to keep their lighthouse clean.

As one crew member happened to have her birthday today, the other lighthouse keepers tried to be especially nice to her. In the afternoon Elina decided to make a cake for today´s celebrity Katja. Nobody was against the cake idea.

Katja, Elina, Kimmo and Erkki continue their adaptation to the demanding lighthouse environment. We will keep in touch.

 

Märket diary 31 May 2014

 

Saturday was a bonus day for the lighthouse crew – exceptionally the duration of the current management shift at Märket has been eight days instead of seven. On Sunday the four lighthouse keepers will return to the mainland and a new group will replace them.

Satuday´s activities included nature observations. Two adult common eiders were seen teaching four recently born juveniles. Both of the adults were females. They did their job well: when a person approached the eiders to take a photo, the juveniles were immediately guided far away from the shore.

Another bird observed today was the oystercatcher. The species is common at Märket. As visible in the image below, this wader is easily identifiable. Mostly the oystercatchers are seen looking for food at the water´s edge.

When the morning fog disappeared, tens of grey seals could be seen resting on the rocks 500 metres away from Märket. Binoculars or a telephoto lens were necessary to observe the animals. As the seals would normally stay on some other rocks further out, the lighthouse keepers felt lucky to have these interesting animals so close to Märket.

The sauna project continued today. Kimmo found a suitable piece of wood for the threshold. A few moments later the threshold was in place under the sauna entrance door and an additional achievement could be logged in the Märket diary.

Today Katja did some complementary painting in the kitchen, in the sauna and in the radio amateurs’ room on the second floor.

The rest of the crew was active in all kinds of other tasks. This work included household management and information duties.

The week on the island is coming to an end.

The deeply philosophical conclusion is that everybody is a lighthouse. You are the keeper of that lighthouse. – In case you want to know more of this philosophy, keep watching your mailbox.

During the past week, the Märket post office has been managed by Katja, Elina, Kimmo and Erkki. We hope you have enjoyed our company.