Scorpiosail Blog

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The tropical weather in Finland this summer is astonishing. After my previous log post we were hit by a second storm. The first one was called Asta and a few days later arrived Veera. And a third one is predicted to hit the republic in a couple of days.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute reports that there was 23,000 cloud-to-earth lightnings during the Veera-storm. They have some kind of lightning detector network for counting. This number of lightnings is not unique, but extremely rare.

During the past 19 years we have been cruising almost all over the tropics aboard Scorpio. Avoiding certain areas when they are potentially exposed to tropical storms, hurricanes, cyclones, taifuns etc. has been our main guide-line when planning our routes. Look at the photo above, it is of a camper field in Pirkanmaa, Finland, where 50 of 100 camper wagons were completely destroyed. The destruction is quite similar to what we have been used to see in photos from marinas in places like like the Caribbean and Florida after a hurricane has passed. In Florida, however, people should know from experience that those disasters occur every now and then. The folks in the forests of Finland were taken by complete surprise – this was unthinkable.

(Click on chart for a blow up)

On the chart above you can see the path of the two storms, Asta and Veera. Asta hit from the southeast and passed very close to our summer place (between Mikkeli and Imatra on the map), but we didn’t have any problems. Just a few days later Veera-storm entered from the southwest and crossed the country in a northeasterly direction.

It is interesting that the traffic on our web site trippled after my previous blog. Apparently these climate issues are fascinating.

On 3rd August, when my previous post was published we had 3 times the normal traffic on this site.

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Sometimes when abroad we hear stories of polar bears roaming the streets in Finland. There’s no truth in these tales of course, but the winters can be very cold indeed. Last winter’s lowest temperature was below -40C (-40F). This is why we prefer to spend our winters in the tropics, where we have been accustomed to temperatures around 40C (104F) – a difference of 80C (176F)! The lowest temperature we had any night aboard Scorpio in South East Asia was 29C (84.2F).

This summer, the weather has been extraordinary warm and dry in Finland. Because of the low humidity we have found it very pleasant although some people complain that it has been too hot. Maybe our blood has thinned after more than a decade in the tropics.

Our summer place is located in Puumala, which was on average the warmest spot in the country in July, with several days of highest-recorded temperatures, around 33C (91.4F). An all time high of 37.2C (99F) was recorded in Liperi not far away (as a comparison, the all time low -51.5C (-60.7F) was recorded in northern Finland in 1999). We found 27C in the water, which is almost the same as in Thailand were we last went swimming from the yacht.

(Source:Lehtikuva)

Also the tropical storms seem to be heading this way now. A week ago a violent windstorm, blowing up to 30m/s (almost 60 knots), produced by a band of fast-moving thunderstorms, crossed the country causing devastating damages, chopping thousands of hectares of forest, that crushed houses and cars and broke power-lines, leaving tens of thousands of homes without electricity, water and phone connections.

Canis lupus lupus

It isn’t just the weather that has been exotic. The wildlife has been exiting too. There has been several cases with wolf packs killing dozens of sheep even in densely populated areas in southwestern Finland. In the north and along the Russian border there has been several sightings of bears, although not polar bears.

Ursus arctos arctos

Yesterday radio programs were interrupted by an announcement from the police: People in and around Rovaniemi, the largest city in northern Finland, were warned that a bear had been sighted and folks were advised to stay inside.

The bear is ever present in Finland, however, and in many ways. The Russian Bear is a national personification for Russia, used in cartoons and articles at least since the 17th century, usually in a less flattering context – often implying that Russia is “big, brutal and clumsy”.

The Russian bear threatening Georgia,
(source: www.rendevouswiththedestiny.blogspot.com)

A cartoon, illustrating the world around 1900.
(Remember to click on it for a blow up)

And indeed, Finland has several hundred years of unhappy experiences with her big neighbour.

Finland itself, in it’s coat of arms, is illustrated as a lion defending the West against the East. The right fore-paw is replaced with an armoured hand brandishing a (western, straight) sword, while trampling on an (oriental, crescent shaped) saber with the hind-paws.

During this long hot summer we have been refreshing ourselves with larger quantities than usual of my favourite beverage, beer. One of the most popular beers is called Karhu, which is Finnish for bear. This fact brings us back to the polar bear, or actually the Polar Beer, which we found in an unlikely place, namely Venezuela – a rather tropical country as well.

(Source: www.popartuk.com)

The beer market for the thirsty in southern Finland has long been Tallin in Estonia, only a couple of hour’s ferry ride away. With Estonia’s entry in the European Union and increase of their economy the difference in prices is decreasing, but is still substantial if you are buying quantities. It is common to go there to stock up with beer and booze ahead of weddings and other big parties.

The word Bear Market, of course, has little to do with the mammal or with beer, and is usually used to describe a general decline in the stock market over a period of time.

A perfect description of a lurking bear market
(Source: www.cityunslicker.blogspot.com)

Graphic of two bear markets
(Remember: click for a blow up)

Let’s hope that the most recent bear market, that started in late 2007 is now behind us. The beer market is doing well, however.