Week 31: Elina, Outi-Sofia and Päivi - Suomen Majakkaseura ry

Saturday 25.7.2015

The day started with sunshine. It is Saturday again, and at Märket it means that old volunteers are leaving and new ones coming.

The arrivers Outi, Elina and Päivi spent the night in Eckerö and they met with Mats in Käringsund in the morning.

Some preparations needed to be done before the departure. Päivi filled the water containers with fresh drinking water.

The volunteers did not need to travel alone as a cheerful family having a vacation in Åland took the same boat to Märket.

The shift turn was quite hectic. The old group updated the newcomers with the latest news. Also, Elina learnt how to use the rubber boat and Päivi learnt about shop keeping. Outi, who is at Märket for the sixth time, did not need any introduction.

There were also some quite special guests waiting on the island. They did not enter the island by any usual method as they had arrived by swimming on the previous evening. The Stockholmers, Simon and Rasmus, are raising funds for the Baltic Sea by swimming and running from Singö (Sweden) to Turku (Finland). The original plan of the athletes was to complete the journey in 11 days but the schedule is vulnerable to changes due to the whether conditions. Simon and Rasmus were accompanied with Larsa and Hanna who were following the swimmers by boat. You can read more about Simon’s and Rasmus’s project on www.ostersjosimmet.com

Next stop for Rasmus and Simon is Eckerö.

Before the old group could leave, Martti, Adelis and Lucia were given a tour at Märket.

Martti, Adelis and Lucia had come all the way from Columbia to Märket.

Sunday 26.7.2015

When the group woke up, it was rainy and cloudy. The wind was blasting at 16 m/s and the temperature was around 14 °C. The sound of the waves and the wind could be heard clearly inside the lighthouse. However, the real storm did not ever show up.

The view from the window in the morning.

This week, the group of volunteers consists only of three persons: the three brave women, Outi, Päivi and Elina, are taking care of the lighthouse and its visitors. It was agreed that the renovation work would not be progressed further this week as due to the summer season the week is expected to be busy with visitors. Elina and Päivi continued exploring the lighthouse and its surroundings.

The picture does not make justice to the waves that were really high.

On a rainy day there was also time for puzzle…

and learning details about the lighthouse. Pieces of rails are used in the constructions of the building.

It is amazing how rapidly the weather conditions can change here at Märket. While just a moment ago the air was thick with fog and it was raining lightly, suddenly the clouds just disappeared and the sun came out – and this all happened in no more than fifteen minutes.

It was a beautiful summer day again, although the wind continued blowing strongly.

In the evening, Market’s sauna was warmed up.

Finally there was some time for Outi, Päivi and Elina for settling in after their arrival. The day was stunning and it was really pleasant to sit down with a cup of coffee and look at the sea and how the small waves were hitting the cliffs. However, the tranquil moment did not last for long as the whether was changing little by little. A storm was expected in the evening, which the newcomers were quite excited about. How thrilling it would be to sit in the lighthouse and watch the storm on the sea outside. All the loose items and pieces of furniture were collected and carried inside. The boat was wrapped properly. It started to rain and Outi, Päivi and Elina were only waiting… and waiting… and waiting..

Monday 27.7.2015

On Sunday evening, the weather surprised Outi, Päivi and Elina once again. Very dark clouds appeared on the horizon in the west just out of the blue. In half an hour the clouds were above Märket and it started to rain. The wind was also very powerful again. It was a light summer storm that put volunteers to sleep.

The light of Märket was captured in the photo with the storm clouds behind.

In the morning, it was a peaceful and cloudy summer day. The wind was blowing quite warmly from the southwest at 9 m/s speed. However, there were still warnings of strong wind, so it was rather unlikely that many spontaneous visitors would arrive by boat.

At around one o’clock, the Märket’s telephone rang. Outi, Päivi and Elina learned that some special guests are expected to pay a visit on the following day. It is going to be an interesting day! At least the quiet days are over since there are some other bookings for the rest of the week as well. Also, the wind is expected to die down, which might bring some more visitors.

As it was probably the last peaceful day of the week, Outi, Päivi and Elina decided that it was time to do some cleaning. Also, an inventory was made in the shop.

There are many beautiful postcards in the lighthouse’s shop. If you send a postcard from Märket, you will get Märket’s own postmark on it.

During the day, a seal was spotted on the island and a few others on the small island nearby. Päivi’s project is to study the birds at Märket.

In the evening it was still calm. It was cloudy but bright and the temperature was around 17 °C.

Tuesday 28.7.2015

What an exciting day!

In the morning, the sun was glowing behind a thin cloud cover. The air was warm and later the temperature was expected to rise to 20°C. It was blowing softly from the south. At last, it was not too windy and the first timers at Märket could climb up to the tower.

A busy day was ahead. The visitors from the Finnish Border Guard were arriving in the afternoon. Elina and Päivi studied the script for a tour. Suddenly, the Märket’s telephone rang and Outi learned that soon would more guests be arriving by boat.

Some preparations needed to be done before the guests. Normally – or if the volunteers are not too busy with other tasks – cinnamon buns or some other bakery goods are prepared for the guests but this time there was a problem since the oven had broken down on the previous week. Outi and Elina decided to prepare doughnuts since for that were no oven needed.

Suddenly, a sailboat was spotted on the sea. It was far away but certainly it was coming towards. Outi, Päivi and Elina were enthusiastically waiting for the guests. When the boat was about to fasten to buoy, a helicopter where the officers of the Border Guard were, approached the island. After the helicopter had landed, the sailboat continued its way. The visitors decided not to enter the island. Perhaps they thought that there was an emergency or something because it is quite unusual to see a helicopter in the archipelago. What a shame as the guests were really anticipated!

However, the arrival of the Border Guard was very delightful. The crew consisted altogether of 10 officers and 2 technicians! After almost three days of loneliness Outi, Päivi and Elina were really happy to host so many guests. As for the visit, it was one of those routine check-ups that officers do every now and then. The visit was very cheerful and surprisingly, a very special gift was handed over to the Finnish Lighthouse Society! According to Capt Jukka Savolainen this was for the good cooperation and the warm hospitality that the Coast Guard has received at Märket by the Finnish Lighthouse Society.

Capt. Jukka Savolainen (Coast Guard) and Colonel Jarmo Vainikka (Border Guard) are handing over the gift to Outi.

And suddenly, a sailboat is approaching Märket! More about the sailboat and its guest will be told tomorrow.

Wednesday 29.7.2015

Wednesday was a really busy day at Märket. On the previous evening, Märket got two delightful guests, Olli and Aava. The father and the daughter decided to stay the night on their sailboat, so Elina, Outi and Päivi could enjoy their company on Wednesday too. Many nice things were done together: joking, playing, having coffee, swimming and even a small boat trip. It was not until the late afternoon when Olli and Aava continued their trip to Djupvik.

Olli and Aava are going to sleep on Tuesday evening

At ten o’clock in the morning, a boatful of visitors arrived with Mats. Päivi gave a tour to Anna, Martin, Jouni, Carin, Mikael, Carolina, Hannele and Pentti, and after that the guests were having coffee in the dining room. It was a good day to visit Märket since the weather was beautiful. The wind was blowing at 3 m/s speed from the south. It was not too warm though: the temperature was around 17 C.

The guests were enjoying the summer day at Märket.

When Mats had left Märket with the guests, Elina, Päivi and Outi started to prepare lunch. But soon there was already a new boat approaching Märket. It turned out that the group of passengers consisted of three generations.

Maarit and Tero from Turku and Hanna, Niklas and Mark from Helsinki visited Märket on Wednesday.

In the late afternoon, there was one more sailboat coming. There were five passengers originally from Turku that wanted to visit Märket. Päivi and Elina took care of the guests and showed them around.

It was finally time for dinner. Suddenly, Elina noticed that there was a motorboat coming. Elina and Päivi rushed outside. It was time for Päivi and Elina to give the last round at Märket.

Lilli, Amanda, Carina, Mikael and Jan (not in the picture) from Åland visited Märket for the first time.

After the long day, Outi, Päivi and Elina felt exhausted but happy. It was altogether 25 persons that visited Märket on that day. Now it is time for rest!

Thursday 30.7.2017

On the previous evening, the sunset was very impressive.

On Thursday morning, it was raining. The sky was covered by a thick mass of clouds. The weather forecast told that there could be a thunderstorm on that day. Outi, Päivi and Elina were expecting guests to arrive at 10 a.m. and 12 a.m. but now it was uncertain if the boats could arrive. Soon however, the weather turned better and Mats’s boat was already approaching the island. The boat brought three active members of the Finnish Lighthouse Society, Pekka, Erkki and Leena. They arrived because of the book of Märket, which is going to be published the next autumn. Pekka is giving the finishing touches to the project and some photographs should be still taken by Erkki. Pekka, Leena and Erkki were accompanied by Anders Hedin from Stockholm who has written several books about lighthouses.

Elina and Päivi felt lucky to have such experts around, as there was now an excellent change to learn a lot of new things and hear stories about Märket and its history as well as the lighthouses in general.

Erkki helped to get Mats’s sunken anchor from the bottom of the sea. Later, Erkki went to take some pictures from the shipwreck S/S Hesperius that is lying on the northeast side of Märket.

There was also a family from Turku travelling on Mats’s boat. Almost at the same time with Mats’s boat, one more group of visitors arrived by a motorboat. Then it was time for a tour. This time, it was led by Pekka.

The guests were enjoying the well-detailed tour given by the old president of the Finnish Lighthouse Society, Pekka.

Juha, Netta, Matilda, Vili and Iiris are from Helsinki.

Saija, Jukka and Valtteri are living in Turku.

When the two families had left, there were two paddlers coming. Henning and Claus from Copenhagen decided to have a break at Märket on their long trip from Grisslehamn to Turku. They were heading to Eckerö for the night.

Henning and Claus have also been peddling together in Greenland.

Later in the afternoon, a cheerful group of visitors arrived. A tour – this time in Swedish – was led again by Pekka.

Inger, Kjäll, Gitte and Mikael. The father of Inger and Gitte had worked at Märket during the 1940s.

Friday 31.7.2015

It was a windy but beautiful day. The wind was blowing at 11 m/s speed from the north. The sun was shining and the temperature was around 17°C. Due to the strong wind, no visitors arrived. It was the last day for Outi, Päivi and Elina at Märket and there was a feeling of wistfulness in the air. It was time to enjoy and explore the last bits of Märket. In the evening, the Märket’s sauna and grill were heated up.