Day 1:
Excited to be once again on my way to stay aboard Sweet Hope, and see Mika and Katri. A slightly different itinerary in some ways (fishing for [pike and perch), but the same in others (great company, exquisite food and awesome hospitality that Sweet Hope offers). We were greeted aboard with champagne and a wonderful reindeer pie, and Sweet Hope was in fine fettle. We set off from Ruissalo Marina, Turku to Meri Masku, a short skip of 2 hours. Once anchored we could appreciate the seclusion of the spot Mika had chosen and how settled Sweet Hope was in the water. We went for a jet ski to explore the area, had a swim in beautifully warm water and a jump off the 7m roof of Sweet Hope was a perfect wake up before dinner, which was an amazing meal of salmon soup and pancakes wonderfully prepared by Katri.
Day 2:
Fishing always means an early start (no problem for me!). We were not as early as true fishermen would be, but as amateurs, a 06.30 set off time was OK. Katri had breakfast ready on the table beforehand, and our fishing guide, Hannu, arrived spot on 06.30. We set of on his well-equipped Boston Whaler – target was perch and pike. We duly arrived upon one of the best nearby spots thanks to Hannu’s local knowledge. The weather has been unusually warm (despite Mr Trump’s denials, environmental decline and global warming is a real thing we can see in our daily lives) and this has affected fish habits in Finland. Certainly, fishing in waters which are 23c where fish are less concentrated in certain areas makes it more challenging. We (I 😉) caught a perch, so at least I was not going hungry. It was clear the perch were not biting, so we headed to a different spot which was more common for pike. We were all casting with different lures, ranging from local traditional wooden ones to lures which consisted of tassels and frankly could have looked just at home on a Christmas tree! Our host, Hannu, was the first to land a 2 kg pike. It was beauty, and despite the hot weather, convinced us all to keep fishing. We (I again 😉) caught one more, a 1.5 kg pike, and we decided we certainly had enough food for supper, and so decided to call it a morning.
Day 3:
Weather was not quite as sunny as we had anticipated, and after the earlier start for the fishing expedition the day before, we had a welcome later departure. We decided to head back toward Turku to be closer to our drop-off point for the following day. The route we chose was a new route also for Sweet Hope, and involved navigating a 10m wider bridge which opened for us. Mika guided Sweet Hope through with ease, although there was not a huge amount of room to spare. We arrived late afternoon in a wonderfully quiet and open bay, only to be visited by a friendly local warning us of shallower waters than were marked on the charts – good advice for us which we were to heed when leaving.
Day 4:
Woke up to a wonderful blue sky, light breeze and a perfect morning for breakfast on the fly bridge. After a leisurely breakfast, we set of to Turku. Perfect conditions to round off what has been yet another wonderful trip aboard Sweet Hope. Mika and Katri, thank you once again for being such wonderful hosts and fountains of knowledge. For my next trip aboard Sweet Hope, I am looking forward to seeing the forward-looking radar system, remote anchor wash system and much more…!
