Lethma harbor and trouble.... towed to Dirhami
We had half joked about fleeing Estonia that we found gloomy with its watch towers and unwelcomed shores. The reminiscence of the Soviet era is still strong. We keep reminding ourselves, that it has been only 20 years since those countries got freed from the Soviet boot. During the Soviet era, to go to the islands from the main land, required permission. Some people got shot on Huiimaa Island to set an example, as they were suspected of having some desire to flee the country. No wonder why we found people a bit wary, they are still trapped in the Soviet Education. So when the Yanmar engine refused to start in Lethma, this outpost harbor of a lost island… we thought we were doomed in Estonia!
So yes, to my opinion, the Baltic countries are not the best sailing grounds. The water is too shallow and the coasts too difficult or impossible to approach unless you go to designated harbors and still have to be careful to stay in the channels. The Bight of Riga itself is a challenge. We got some 15 to 20 knots of wind there, so what would have been a good comfortable sailing became a session in a washing machine with very short waves breaking at the top as if the wind was blowing 35 knots and only 4 seconds between them! The average depth is 20 feet. We were glad to get out of this Bight. Without the engine working we could still get out of Lethma and sailed the 24 miles to the mainland where it would be easier for the mechanic to come. It took us 24 hours though since the wind as usual died… We could not get close to the entrance channel at night so we hove to for 4 hours. Then in the morning, the wind veered south, right on the nose. It was impossible to tack in a 60 feet wide channel with dangerous rocks on both sides. We called on VHF the harbor and a boat from the ‘’border patrol’’, the local Coast Guard towed us to the harbor. We felt a little ashamed not to have been able to sail in but that would have required the perfect conditions to do so and after 24 hours trying to get there, it was quite a relief to get in even shamefully towed in. Dirhami is another commercial/pleasure harbor. Though the big wharf seems to fit freighters, it is empty and I doubt if any commercial ship can come in view of the narrow entrance. It is another harbor financed by European funds. A few slips, wide and short, a big wharf in an isolated place again, no villages close by, no fishing boats either. People are nice but mostly distant. There is of course the barrier language as very few people over 30 speak English, like in Lithuania they had to learn Russian. I have found Lithuanian to be a bit warmer and may be the softer and more musical language intonations helped feel so too. Since we do not get close to any villages or towns except for one in Saareema island it is hard to have contacts and see people in their day by day life. It is disconcerting in fact. We have spent time now in Lithuania and Estonia but except for the tiny Rhunu I have the feeling of not having seen much or learned much about the country and its people, beside shallow waters, pine forest and sand coastline and former soviet watch towers!
So yes, to my opinion, the Baltic countries are not the best sailing grounds. The water is too shallow and the coasts too difficult or impossible to approach unless you go to designated harbors and still have to be careful to stay in the channels. The Bight of Riga itself is a challenge. We got some 15 to 20 knots of wind there, so what would have been a good comfortable sailing became a session in a washing machine with very short waves breaking at the top as if the wind was blowing 35 knots and only 4 seconds between them! The average depth is 20 feet. We were glad to get out of this Bight. Without the engine working we could still get out of Lethma and sailed the 24 miles to the mainland where it would be easier for the mechanic to come. It took us 24 hours though since the wind as usual died… We could not get close to the entrance channel at night so we hove to for 4 hours. Then in the morning, the wind veered south, right on the nose. It was impossible to tack in a 60 feet wide channel with dangerous rocks on both sides. We called on VHF the harbor and a boat from the ‘’border patrol’’, the local Coast Guard towed us to the harbor. We felt a little ashamed not to have been able to sail in but that would have required the perfect conditions to do so and after 24 hours trying to get there, it was quite a relief to get in even shamefully towed in. Dirhami is another commercial/pleasure harbor. Though the big wharf seems to fit freighters, it is empty and I doubt if any commercial ship can come in view of the narrow entrance. It is another harbor financed by European funds. A few slips, wide and short, a big wharf in an isolated place again, no villages close by, no fishing boats either. People are nice but mostly distant. There is of course the barrier language as very few people over 30 speak English, like in Lithuania they had to learn Russian. I have found Lithuanian to be a bit warmer and may be the softer and more musical language intonations helped feel so too. Since we do not get close to any villages or towns except for one in Saareema island it is hard to have contacts and see people in their day by day life. It is disconcerting in fact. We have spent time now in Lithuania and Estonia but except for the tiny Rhunu I have the feeling of not having seen much or learned much about the country and its people, beside shallow waters, pine forest and sand coastline and former soviet watch towers!
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