Week 23: Markku, Katja, Kimmo, Marcus, Johanna, Mirka, Jomi and Erkki

Monday 6.6.2016

Monday noon time, finally we get to go! This week’s crew has been waiting in Eckerö for couple of days due to strong winds that prevented approaching Märket as planned.

Still it was not the calmest day and we couldn’t get onshore from north harbour nor from the lagoon. So we dropped Markku off on the rocks on north side and he went to fetch the rubber boat while we went to the buoy. Few rounds back and forth and the crews were swapped.

Water line is so low at the moment that with a full load on the rubber boat it’s not possible to drive to the south harbor with the engine on so we drove to the rocks on the opposite side. It took quite a while to carry all the stuff indoors but it was good sports for the day…

First thing we did after getting all the stuff in, was chasing few birds out the lighthouse tower and the shop room. That was a long tricky battle which really required some improvisation and creativity but finally we managed and the birds got out safe and sound.

Tuesday 7.6.2016

On Tuesday the sea was really calm and showed her most innocent, pretty face to us. We naturally took everything out of it and went to a boat trip, for a training of course, now we can all lift the boat up and down and in emergency also get the engine started and drive.

Btw, it takes minimum two people to get the boat on the water at this time of the year. One to lift the boat one one to watch her back. Nesting terns are very protective now and they truly do their best to warn you off their ground.

Mysterious souvenirs found from nearby islet

A calm and sunny day was also perfect for painting jobs. Markku dragged the foot bridges out from the corridor downstairs and washed them.

Sun dried them fast so Jomi could start putting new tar on. What a lovely smell of tar and what an exquisite view on this working site!

After a lot of cleaning and painting etc a thorough wash-up was really needed. Sun has heated the rocks and ponds so well that no sauna is needed for washing the day’s dust and dirt off. Tomorrow is bound to be windy and we are preparing for that by closing doors and carrying all loose items indoors. It’s a bit difficult, however, to believe this calm and peaceful sea could turn that rageous overnight… But she has her ways to surprise and show her powers so we’ll be prepared.

Wednesday 8.6.2016

…And true it was, the weather today is certainly windy. It was raining early in the morning but soon the sky cleared out and the wind started to blow strongly, about 20m/s was the record of the day. What a marvellous waves it created!! It’s difficult to go do anything else while you have something so fantastic going on in front of you. Difficult to stop staring at all this beauty.

It is really amazing to see this kind of waves in a perfectly sunny day. Much better show than any fireworks ever! We’re glad for having the best seats in the front row. 🙂

As the wind made it quite impossible to perform any painting or any other outdoors tasks for that matter, we had an Ultimate Kitchen Arranging and Cleaning -day. Few new plastic boxes were brought here and put into use. hopefully the goods are now easier to find and will stay in good condition.

Once the kitchen was taken care of, the lighthouse called for some nice scent of bakery. Apple pie and vanilla sauce worked well with a windy day. 🙂

Then back again to admire the grand waves…

Thursday 9.6.2016

Thursday was evenmore windy. Waves were massive and wiped over nearly the whole islet.

We were expecting a bunch of people to join us today but they couldn’t get here, for obvious reasons. Now it’s their turn to wait in Eckerö. Some say it’s been an exceptionally windy springtime this year and several groups have been stuck in Märket or in Eckerö waiting for the wind to calm down

For our crew today was a maintenance day, with various household chores. Though we still needed to take breaks quite often to go out and watch the grand waves…

Fire extinguishers were washed and refilled and this time we didn’t end up with a fierce water war but everything went smoothly and nobody got wet.

Markku the Happy Dishwasher 🙂 This updated version (Markku 2.0) comes with manual drying program!

The task Mirka had was not really her favourite one ever. She did the job completely without watching. The warm sweet smell of biological waste in progress was too much to bear to turn a nose that way. But now it’s fed properly, it’s warm and working!

Really grateful for the fresh breeze afterwards!

Now in the evening we’re hoping for the best; the wind to slow down enough to get the special troops here tomorrow. At the moment it doesn’t look too good as in the southern harbour the waves are still this big. And it seems we’ve lost one buoy.

But we’ll sleep our fingers crossed for them to make it here safely as soon as possible!

Friday 10.6.2016

Friday was definitely the longest day of the week. All day we were waiting to hear and see if our Special Guest group can or cannot make it here. Probably both sides were as anxious and excited to find out if the sea calms down enough during the day – and that was a loooong wait and lots of staring at the sea!

Saturday and Sunday 11.-12.6.2016

Saturday and sunday were so hectic and fully scheduled that nobody had time for documenting the progress… Shortly said there was some diving, emptying rain water tanks, lots of measuring and installing things, building a scaffolding, cleaning, museum project, inventory, fixing and adjusting things, and a lot lot more.