Åland from Rödhamn to Lappo – Summer 2024

🧭 Factsheet

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📍 Our route & stages

Stage 1: Rödhamn → Mariehamn

After two relaxed days on Rödhamn, we don’t want to wait for the wind any longer and set off towards Mariehamn. For the ten miles, the engine has to run again. The only town in the autonomous region of Åland is a capital en miniature: in the small town centre there are six consulates, including a German one, and you hear many languages in the streets. And yet everything is close together.

There are two harbours, one to the east and one to the west of the centre. We stayed in the east. In the western harbour you may be lying a little less peacefully, but you are alongside the beautiful four-masted barque Pommern. An impressive ship that, together with the museum, is well worth a visit. The ship in particular and its voyage are presented so grippingly with an audio guide that you almost forget it is lying safely in harbour.

We meet old acquaintances again. The STINA and her crew are lying on the other side of town in the western harbour, and we spend lovely evenings together. Our Dutch friends also pop by for a quick visit.

Stage 2: Mariehamn → Kastelholm

After a few days in Mariehamn, we want to move on. Distances are short here between the islands, so you really can sail a few miles verrry slowly and still arrive before dinner. On a downwind course with little wind, after passing through the Lemström Canal we try a sort of trade-wind rig: the genoa on one side and our small jib on the other. Even without poling out, we make about three and a half knots. That’s enough to be there by lunchtime. Here too, the harbour fee is not exactly cheap. They charge 38 € per night. After visiting the castle and another lovely evening aboard the STINA, we head to our first anchorage.

Stage 3: Kastelholm → Bomarsund

After a short working day, we leave the harbour, narrowly escape a thick black cloud and only just avoid getting wet. The anchorage Skötviken is picturesque and gives us such a breathtakingly beautiful sunset that, to this day, we still haven’t seen anything comparable. But we couldn’t really enjoy it. Myriads of mosquitoes descended on us and bit every piece of exposed skin. We took one last look at the fantastic colours and barricaded ourselves inside the boat. The next day, Bomarsund was on the plan. The pontoon near the campsite is rustic, but unbelievably cheap (16 €). We have to stay a little while because of a storm, but at least it won’t be expensive.

Stage 4: Bomarsund → Kumlinge

From Bomarsund, we continue eastwards. As we pass between the islands of Mickelsö and Presto, we have quite a strong southerly dead against us, plus waves and current. Poor TIAMAT really has to struggle, and we make barely one knot of speed, even under engine. When we finally get through, we see a pair of sea eagles circling above us. A wonderful experience; we had never seen any in the wild before. The little paradise called Skarpskär, which we picked for anchoring, is ours alone for two whole days. To top up our supplies afterwards, we make a short hop to Kumlinge. It is a pretty island, but the harbour was nothing for us: an unfriendly person at reception, dirty sanitary facilities, noisy pontoon neighbours, and expensive on top of that. We leave at the next opportunity.

Stage 5: Kumlige → Enklinge

The pontoon where we moored in Enklinge looked anything but trustworthy. The wood was rotten and the mooring rings were rusty. On top of that, there was only a dry toilet, no showers. Rusty hire bikes too. But somehow this shabby chic was rather nice. And the island was simply wonderful. Pure nature. A top marina would probably only have spoiled it. There was also a tiny little village shop. The prices were utopian even for here, but fair enough, everything first had to be brought here.

And then a storm came in from the south that somehow hadn’t been forecast quite so strongly. We were lying on a stern buoy in about the worst possible position for a southerly, and in the morning we were woken by heavy rain and the forestay banging against the pontoon. Outside, the harbour cinema was already in full swing. Our neighbours from Cologne had picked up a poorly anchored buoy and were lying half sideways. We then helped them get alongside the pontoon lengthways. There was plenty of room. The English boat further forward also had problems with the buoy, and they immediately moved to the other side of the pontoon. Phew, we’d picked up the only good buoy. Lucky escape.

Stage 6: Enklinge → Lappo

From the rustic pontoon in Enklinge, we moved on to the well-run marina in Lappo. At last we could sail again, with a fantastic 10 knots from the south. A beam reach, then. Add sunshine and a few clouds, and it was perfect. The last harbour in Åland before we sail across the Skiftet to Finland. Here there was everything you could wish for. Showers and free laundry. Both were desperately needed.

🗺️ Special experiences & learnings

• the beautiful archipelago world of Åland
• pair of sea eagles
• You shouldn’t trust stern buoys without question.

⚓ Our favourite place on this trip

• Enklinge

💡 Practical tips for fellow sailors

• The bookshop in Mariehamn has a good spiral-bound harbour and anchorage guide (also in German). With that, you have all the information you need for about 40 €.
• The small free brochure “Sail Åland” is also enough in an emergency. Download it here.

🖼️ Gallery