Saturday 9.6.2007 – A day rush

What a day! It’s first time when I feel tired here. We have had a lot of tourist activity today.

The day started under lucky stars. Two Swedish fishermen brought us as a gift 9 kilograms´ salmon which they caught yesterday. They said that it would not stay good in the warm boat the whole day. So we started morning with these men eating grilled salmon! Actually the fellows arrived during the night and I gave them permission to put up tent on the shelter of the lighthouse.

Then a group of the lighthouse society´s members and other visitors arrived with Granberg. Also my new partner Asta came for the next week. Granberg could not strand his boat on the northern side of island due to swell. So we had to row everybody with our tiny boat. The island was full of people. It felt strange. There was also two diving groups with two different boats on the NW side of the island, but they didn’t strand to Märket.

After a couple of hours our guests had to leave the island. So it was time to say goodbye to Hasse, to a person who is great company in remote island. We gave a big bear´s hug to each other. The moment was saddest thing in the whole week. But on the other hand I am sure that Asta will be very good company for the following week.
Some of the visitors were in a hurry to Viking Line´s ferry and I tried to be as fast as possible. I tried to row fast and the metal thing in the oar which goes inside the boat side broke in two peaces. So I had to paddle the rest of the trip.

In afternoon we had two boats and six persons visiting us. The other team had cruised from Mariehamn and others from Signö in Swden.

It have been full sunshine the whole day, but towards night some clouds have appearred. Is weather changing to something else?

 

Sunday 10.6.2007 – Aeroplanes and fireplaces

Things don’t go in life always as you think. Today we were expecting loads of guests, but we had only ultralight aeroplane pilot in the morning and Holmbergs family in the evening. So we were actually able to do some work inside.

My new partner here, Asta, made good work with doors and sealing. Some of the old paint was taken away. My warming up process wasn’t going so well. I made fire in the fireplace of the first floor – and the smoke was goming out of fireplaces in the second and third floor! This may have been due to weather – almost no wind. I actually spent a couple of hours playing with the fireplaces and smoke. In the end I managed to heat them up a bit!

About 11 PM last night arrived last visitors. We had already gone more or less to sleep and I had to say to the four guests that the lighthouse is closed for the day. Well, after all they spent some time on the island and bought some postcards and stamps.

The story behind the visitors was that all of them have been sailing with ships on the sea nearby Märket hundreds of times but had not ever visited this place!

About 10 AM today we saw aeroplane arriving from Eckerö direction. After some rounds above Märket and nearby I guessed that the pilot was going to land. He had seen the best spot from the air to strand his aeroplane with pontoons. The pilot visited the lighthouse quite briefly because he was worried about the pontoons and possible big waves.

As evening guests we had Holmbergs friendly family who arrived for swimming and eating. They told us it was too hot in Mariehamn. Here the day have been warm and partly cloudy.

Still going excellent

Jari and Asta

 

Monday 11.6.2007

Today´s writer is Asta, the new lighthouse keeper.

How to begin. My third day in this odd but fascinating enviroment.

Calm but rather laborous day and beautifully sunny also. Some walls inside were ripped down, as was the closet in the first floor. We poisoned three windows full of insects in third floor, in the kitchen and in the first floor shopping room. The floor was cleaned, too.

The ”office work” and the daily routines take their time. Still every now and then we have time to take an enjoyable moment rumbling around the rocks and and searching for seals under the shining sun.

Eating is one of the happenings of the day. We still eat salmon (given to us by two Swedes) and create variating meals of it. Additionally we are creative what comes to eating places, depending on the direction of the wind and the position of the sun. What a luxury to have new exciting places for the table and the chairs and the vast horisont of the sea around us with its voices.

The weather report has promised changes and we probably shall see more wind and rain. And what happens in the house then. Now it is fairly dry. Just now the wind has turned to south and is getting stronger. Tomorrow will show…

 

Tueday 12.6.2007 – Finally the guests arrived

Today morning we were expecting visitors to arrive at 11 AM, but they didn’t. There was about 10 m/s wind from North in morning and during the day. Towards evening it got more gentle.

At some moments there was no wind at all, if we belive the propellers of Finnish Meteorogical Institute. Institutes windmeters are situated at the top of lighthouse. Daily you can hear Märket’s numbers in the radio. Today (12 AM) it was +11 N 10 even though the day have been warm. It’s much more colder high up than down here.

Weather changes here are miraculous. Yesterday there was somewhat strong wind and waves from the North, but then in the evening wind turned to South and southern swell started to grow. Early this morning wind was still in S until turned back N.

So, in the morning we were ready to receive visitors, but none arrived. Coffee was done and the rowing boat was ready.

When nobody arrived we decide to demolish one inside part of wall and cork carpet from first floor. Now it’s done and material is out of the lighthouse. The blights smell is awful in the room, but still the work is best what we could do for the house, to get it liveable again.

About 4.30 PM we saw Granbergs boat approaching. Guests were lucky to arrive island in the afternoon enjoying nice almost windless and warm weather. They brought salad and batong to be shared with us. We had beatiful picnic in the NE side of the lighthouse.

More than anything here I am worried that if visitors will feed my dog! It’s strongly forbidden. She learns new things very easily and if fed she will start to think that strangers means food. That is something what I don’t want.

Going strong Jari and Asta.

 

Wednesday 13.6.2007 – Changing wind and no visitors

First day without a single visitor! But more work inside. At night it rained and in the morning there was hard wind from west. Later the wind turned to west. Now, in the evening, again wind from north, but very weak. The waves are anyway high and roaring strong. Not any seal today either, but Jari is saying that he have seen at least two of them.

We teared wet surficies from the stairway, one room, and cealing, and cleaned the trashes etc. For lunch – what else but salmon!

We had sunshine also today, but now again clouds are gathering to the western sky. Very good order: rain in the night, sunshine at daytime. Day after day more small white flowers ( some kind like daisies) opening between stones.

Time is running. The place begins to feel like home, and now only two whole days left!

Jari says few words of weather and waves. During the day we have seen how wind grows waves and old swell. Morning we had strong wind, but relatively small waves. After a few hours of about 14 m/s wind and we started to have waves roar especially in the northern side. Then wind died. Swell was left – and what a swell.

Nearby in the western end of the island there was very interesting waves coming from three different directions. That would be interesting place to row with our tiny boat.

Starting to be worried loosing our 360 degrees horisont sight,

Asta & Jari

 

Thursday 14.6.2007 – The day of changing weather

This has been a day of variable weather. Forenoon there was strong wind (up to 10 m/s), showers from drizzle to moderate strong rain and temperature around 10 degrees.

Around 5 pm we had amaising show on the sky. Clouds arriving from west were changing their shape and so did the colours of sky constantly. Thunder storm clouds passed us from north, but when they will grow above land in Finland, they will form proper lightning.

When the clouds had passed by we had half on hour of sunshine. Then the wind turned 90 degrees to SW. For a moment or two wind was very weak and it was warm. Soon after the strengtened wind was cooling down so effectively that it was cold without gloves. Now at 9 PM sea is not so totally white as it was an hour ago.

Today as well as yesterday we have done plenty of work. We removed toilet products from the rest room. Also a hatch from same room was removed and now the ventilation and light conditions are much better than earlier.

Upper wallpapers were ripped away from one room in the second floor. That should help the wall to dry. Some of the fireplaces were also heated with great luck. No problems with the smoke in the strong wind conditions.

One day with big waves hitting the northern shore of island was almost too much for the about 6 mm thick stainless steel wires which were holding tires i.e. fendars. We removed them, fixed rope to tires and tied tires well to the wavebreaking wall from which they can easily be taken when needed.

During supper we could watch through kitchen window two seals in the eastern end of island!

Friday 15.6.2007 – Our last day on Märket

Some information of landing to Märket. There is two natural harbours with fixed hooks in the northern side of the island.

On the southern side there is about 2 meters deep, very narrow route without any buoy. There one can sail a small boat so near the island that only walking few meters in shallow water is needed for landing. In the picture in front of stony area is a small peninsula. The route comes to it’s head about direction 0 degrees.

Anchoring on the southern side and then rowing with our small boat to land is one option as well. All these operations and actually everything in Märket is fully in our own responsibility. Posibilities of using any of early mentioned landing places is ruled totally by wind and waves. For example today, before evening none of these could have been an option. Surfboard for good surfer could have worked.

We got some stronger winds last night as expected. During the darkest hours wind was blowing so hard through my rooms (Karlberg´s hut) western wall that the closed door on the eastern side opened. At least ventilation was very effective.

In the morning we were wandering around and admiring the power of waves. Actually we needed to be careful not to be washed away by waves. There was rivers running through the island from north to south. They were formed when huge masses of water roared up on land on the northern side. It’s difficult to judge, but I would say that at least 10 to 20 percentage of the island was under the water. According to my theories the yellow moss on the stones exists on the areas where there is no water in normal strong winds. At least today wet and mossed areas were correlating well.

Today we have seen tens of seals all together. Maybe about ten of them have been lying on our island. I have seen so many seals that I’ll leave next more careful reporting for following persons here.

If the sea allows, tomorrow heading back home,
Jari and Asta