After a night at the jetty of Santio Island (the Finnish border control) we set sail for Russia and the Saimaa canal. The completion of part one of this adventure is nearing and the very reason for my obsession - Captain Pertti Duncker - is onboard as a pilot. Pertti is also in charge of all the procedures of travelling through Russia. He has faxed the mandatory forms in advance and I have not needed to worry about anything. Charlie is getting a bit restless, like she's sensing the upcoming change that will transform her world from a 32-foot steel tub into a seemingly never-ending world of Finnish forest and lake. (60% of Finland is covered in forest, 10% with lakes)
We have a 30-mile-day, which means we leave at sunrise, in case there is headwinds or other problems. Pleasureboats are allowed in Russian waters only during daylight hours. The wind is not perfect and we spend most of the day motorsailing. Early afternoon Uuras,the old outer port town of Vyborg was close. The massive looking structures and light towers of the Russian oil terminals stay in the distance as we turn towards the narrow winding channel that leads to Vyborg and the Saimaa canal. We were in old Finland. The city of Vyborg (pop. approx. 80 000) was twice evacuated during WWII before the Finns finally lost it to Russians, along with other areas in eastern Finland.
It's only 3pm when we get to the passport control in Uuras (Vysotsk). I'm surprised by
