Selkie - Sweden for Selkie

Left to Right: Tristan, Nick, Rory, Lily, Mara, and me behind the camera. Here we hike and forage for berries ashore. -- Maggie Magdalena Hirt   "Writing is a process, a journey into memory and the soul."                           -Isabel Allende IMG_5242.. read more...

Selkie - Sweden for Selkie

   Sweden was like Candy Land for us. In Stockholm, the Vasa and the Junibacken, which is a kid’s museum based on Swedish children’s books, kept us enthralled all day long. Though Nick had to stay behind and fiddle with the engine, the kids probably had the most fun day of the entire Baltic. Nick and I let loose later in the night, when we rented scooters and zoomed all around the city, which landed us at a delicious steakhouse.     In the Swedish Archipelago, we had to motor against the wind and waves a lot dodging and weaving between rocks in the fairway, but we found so many nice anchorages and marinas. We explored the forests foraging berries and meeting mythical white cows, we fed the ducks and explored peninsulas of the mainland by biking and hiking, and we. read more...

Selkie - Finland for Selkie

The Finnish Archipelago started out slow and easy with hikes and berry picking amongst the islands at anchorages. We were the first to squeeze into Helsinki, and I knew that we loved the marina and the town straight away. The best part of getting around were the glorious electrical scooters. Blekholmen, the yacht club island we all docked at, had beautiful weddings all weekend. After Helsinki, we went back out amounts the islands hoping for the best. We were quickly humbled on day one. The islands and rocks are everywhere, and we managed to go straight towards one. Locals quickly helped us, the mysterious beauty became a dangerous, stressful one. Don’t get us wrong, we rated Finland as one of our top three favorite countries right from the beginning, but everyone has to be very. read more...

Selkie - Russia for Selkie

Nick has studied Russian history with his dad all his life. It was the only history class that he received perfect scores in. A few years ago, Bill (Nick’s dad) died after a nine year battle with ALS, but we could feel his excitement for us after we cleared customs and headed into St Petersburg.Warning to all, though dangerous due to boat traffic, do not steer away from the buoys upon entry. I did. Oops. Nick always comes to the rescue. In Russia, they apparently love the jet ski. Big boys with toys paying attention to no rules. Anyway, tied safe and sound with the fleet at the yacht club, Selkie quickly found a playground and got some rest. In the days to follow, we toured the Hermitage and saw loads of art. We ate stroganoff at the nearby nightclub and enjoyed watching young adults. read more...

Selkie - Tallinn, Estonia for Selkie

On our morning upon arrival, our engine, which had a hiccup the night before and had been patched up by Nick, died again. We informed Mark and Cecilie. They were kind in finding us a raft up to to haul us in, but were also happy to catch lines if we sailed in. Nick got to work on the engine, and it was, of course, playgrounds and ice cream for the kids and me. We tried out the Hop On, Hop Off bus, and we got a bit of history and a bit lost. The next day, with engine part ordered, Nick joined us on the bus and we visited the Eppingi Tower. It was small and perfect for the amount of time we had. Walking along the wall, you come to an open door. There are no big signs and the medieval wall itself is breathtaking. Inside, the kids dressed up in every costume they could get their hands on,. read more...