Sunday 3.6.2007 – A day of action

Here are my first thoughts when arriving to Märket.

After apartying ferry from Turku settling down to Märket is very relaxing. A casual gulls scream. A quiet roar of small wave. Three good humoured locals setting up bults and fenders in two landing places. A calm fellow, Hans, to be a partner for the following week. My dog sleeping in the shadow of the lighthouse. What a shiny start for time in Märket!

So on Saturday me and Hans arrived at Märket. Some persons from lighthouse society and local press visited Märket with the same boat that brought us here. Three locals were here to fix place to land. Soot was removed from the chimmey by a specialist. The day was full of sunlight and small wind died totally thowards evening.
A modern person could think that it is a experience of the lifetime to spent a week in lighthouse, and definitely it is. But thinking previous times … In the old days they spent years and years example here. Like KEE Eriksson, the former lighthouse keeper of Märket who visited the island yesterday.

It have been a great opportunity for many persons to get a job at a lighthouse. Firstly, to have a work. Secondly: live in beatiful house (I wonder is there nowadays enough money to built anything so beatiful) in an own nice room, have food and heating system. My thought of the historical life in lighthouses have settled in new light when starting to understand more about the item. Thanks to Kee and Hans of opening my eyes.

Sunday saw a large group of visitors who came with the first ever scheluded tourist trip to newly opened Märket with Bengt Granbergs boat. Beside tourists there were two lighthouse keepers, Jasri and Hans and the former lighthouse keeper on Märket, KEE Eriksson, with his wife.

 

 

 

KEE Eriksson guided the whole group through the building where he lived and worked more than 30 years go.

 

 

 

 

By another boat arrived the man who brushes the chimneys and owens. After his work the owens can be now used again!

 

 

 

 

Mr. Humell from Åland installed new hooks and bumber tires for boat to land on Märket! This is a really big thing for the boat traffic! The bumbers are on the north side. The boat owners are asked to leave a minum of 10 euros to the lighthouse for their visit to restore the buildings.

 

 

 

Monday 4.6.2007 – A day of new projects

Today we have a report from both lighthouse keepers, Jari and Hans.

Jari: We had a shiny windless morning with songs of seals. There is at least hundred of those on the small island that can be seen from Märket. Actually it looks like that the island could not take more of those furry fellows. In the morning sound of the sea was like a gentle whisper.

During the day we were very active. We tested z-pull for lifting the boat agains the wall with good success. Only few tips and everybody can lift the boat if needed due to harsh weather. After that Hans used his sea captain knowledge to set up the boat nicely to the strand.

In a nice sunshine with gentle sea breeze we started to cut and pile firewood. Yesterday KEE Eriksson, former lighthouse keeper of Märket, told us that in the old days the warehouse (about 130 cubic meters) was full of wood in the autumn and empty in the spring.

The wood that was done today was kind of strange to me, very thick. Explanation for this is the fact that wood is from abroad. It have got over board from a boat in the winter storms and been carried to the island by the sea.
Hans: This morning I slept until 0730. There was somebody – Jari – making tea and coffee in the kitchen when I came down from my penthouse in the upper floor, under the lantern. We planned for a lot of different works during the day, but days are too short here. First I started to do the dishwashing, about two days ”production”.
By the way, we have outdoor kitchen and we eat every meal outside. After that I did some seamans work with the boat. In this weather we keep boat moored as seen on the photos.

After a quick lunch I made fire in one of the owens and opened hatches in the funnel. Still there was smoke in every floor. We must be careful because the ovens have not been used for a long time.

Next project was to get one gas refridgerator working. Now we can store a lot of the provision cold. After that there was some cleaning to do in the lighthouse.

Before a late dinner I was in the original kitchen and remowed paint from roof and walls.

No visitors today. What a shame. In this weather it would be easy for even older people to get a shore. Today there was a seal only some thirty meters away from us at as it saw the dog. She left. A pair of birds live on the island closest NW of Märket.

Now there is a small boat coming closer – maybe guests!

 

Tuesday 5.6.2007 – Visitors and hydrographic survey

We had two visitors from Åland yesterday evening. Father and son. Father had been building the generator room in 50’s. Before that he had been here with his father, who worked as lighthouse keeper. That was time before electricity and other fancy things.

Other visitor, the son, is the last person who have painted the lighthouse in end of 70’s. He told a story about sand and sea on Märket. He had been in agroup making concrete here some tens of years ago. They managed to spread sand for the concrete all around the island by a wagon and showels, 40 cubic meter of it. During the midsummer break the sea had rinsed all sand away. The tractor left on the island had fallen to the sea.

We have enjoyed once again warm sunshine with very gentle winds. In days like this it is not so easy do any work inside. Even though we managed to remove upper floor material from two rooms in second floor. We hope that lighthouse will now start to dry. Some water has come into the house during the empty years of the lighthouse.

Four visitors with two boats have visited us today. Hans gave good presentatios for them with his better swedish than mine. Other team was so lucky that they could spot a small seal from less than 5 meters distance.
We also tested the rowing boat in the water and surveyed the southern side stranding routes. I am almost forgetting the seals – it’s so common to see them here. The song of seals have been going on all day long.

A hydrographic survey has been going on for two days on these waters by the Finnish Maritime Administration. Today the other of the two surveyboats were measuring just next to island. Maybe we get good new sea maps of Märket waters – but how about the Swedish side? Could Mr. Varonen or Mr. Laaksonen from the FMA Hydrographic office inform us about this?

According the meteorological institute there will be stronger northern wind on the Gulf of Bothnia. I wonder if this will cause some small swell to us tomorrow.

 

Wednesday 6.6.2007 – Albanus on Märket

Report from a very popular island, today produced by Hans:

A nice morning again and a nice summer day. Fit for a full days work allready at 7 AM.

Two small Swedish fishing boats left after seven, they anchored late yesterday south of Märket island.

After brekfast we made some cleaning works. About 10 AM we saw a two masted sailingship coming from south. No wind so they was using motor.

At the same time a small boat arrived to the Northern side. One man from Singö in Sweden was here to anchor some marking buoys on shipwrecks on the Northern side. Diwers from Sweden are coming Saturday and Sunday for diving and maybe they will have coffee and information about Märket.

I went out to the sailing ship vith our small boat and piloted them to the Northern side. Her name is Albanus (from Mariehamn) and she was on a four day cruise in the archipelago with young people from Diabetes society.

They had lunch onbord and after that they visited the lighthouse 10 persons. Onboard were 18 passangers including crew. Bajen Lindholm was captain. They left about 2 PM when Bengt Granberg arrived with a three person family from Nagu. They have their sailingboat in Kärringsund Eckerö. After 4 PM we had our lunch.

We are now waiting for next visitors. All visitors have been able to see seals and even take photos as You can see from the Albanus photo.

The work in the kitchen have rested today, ventilation is working and there are now two windows open to the west. As the carpets are removed it will dry out very fast. The cellar is still wet and difficult to ventilate.

Regards from two busy lighthouse keepers

 

Thursday 7.6.2007 – Aranda was here

At this moment (6 pm) I can see from the top of the lighthouse that there is some meat and vegetables in the grill. Delicious smell is coming to my nose. Hasse is making some dinner.

This is an island of sounds. Today we have had a new one, the sound of swell arriving north. We had some light wind from north earlier during the day, but waves have born somewhere more north in stronger wind. Now the mild wind has turned to west. And once again it has been sunshine all day long.

There is also another new sound experienced today, mewling insects. In Märket there are millions of them. They don’t bite but they are a bit irritating.

Last evening RV Aranda (and Finnish Marine Research institute) visited us. They left the ship about half mile from island in the southern side and used a boat to take two loads of crew and scientists to land. With those very friendly people we enjoyed a beautiful evening.

In the morning we noticed that a sailing boat coming from Uusikaupunki had reached Märket during the night. At 10 am they had come on shore on the island even though that they have been near since 5.30 am. Brisk sailors. They brought us donuts and local beer from their hometown Laitila.

Those two groups are the only ones who have been here during the last 24 hours. So we have had time to do some repairing work in the lighthouse and to survey stranding routes more carefully. We have also managed to empty old fresh water tank from the cellar. The size of it was at least 5 cubic meters and we believe that work will assist the lighthouse to dry.

Enjoying our life here,
Jari and Hans

Friday 8.6.2007 – Adventures of the young seal

Today´s report was written by the lighthouse man Hans.

This day has been a bit windy and a bit colder then the last days, about 15 degrees and wind 10 m/s from West and later NW.

No other visitors than a few seals in the morning. They all left when we came closer.

Also gone is the young seal wich has been around for a few days, as seen in the photos. She was very friendly and liked to be in the photos. I think she is a little bit stupid. But she was good for the tourists. Maybe she will be back.

Yesterday evening when we had a beer in the sunset on the west side of lighthouse there was one seal climbing the cliffs in front of us, but as she saw us she didn’t like the company.

During the day we have done a lot of cleaning, from the top to the bottom. On the way down we removed loose paint and had three full plastic shopping bags of paint and dust. It is good to use the breathing filters that we finally found. We have opened windows in the second floor in every room and in the stairs.

The inside of the lighthouse is drying very fast now that we had the last tank with about five cubic meters of water emptied a few days ago. Also removing of all the paint make it dry easier.

Inside the rooms all the outside walls are covered with one inch thick plasterboard. Under that there is wooden pearl sponted panel witch probably is from the beginning of the lighthouse. The plasterboard is for better insulation at wintertime, but it has stopped the ventilation. Too bad.

Tomorrow we vill have a lot of guests coming with speedboat from Eckerö. If the weather will be good for diving some divers will arrive from Sweden.

Also the timber shed is drying fast as we opened partly the other end of the house.

Regards from the lighthouse cleaners.