Hanko to Uusikaupunki by boat

Much of the area is traditionally Swedish-speaking, although there now is a large Finnish-speaking minority. Rymättylä, Velkua, Kustavi and Uusikaupunki are Finnish-speaking, although you can find traces of Swedish in some place names.

As many of the inhabitants of the archipelago have been involved in shipping and fishing, traditionally "learning to row before learning to walk" as somebody put it, shipping authorities are usually fluent in all of Finnish, Swedish and English. In the yachting community Swedish speakers are likewise over-represented, although probably still a minority.

The word fjärd (Finnish: selkä) is common in names and denotes an open water area, in contrast to more sheltered and narrow sounds.

There are many words for different kinds of islands, although with the postglacial rebound and other factors, they are sometimes misnomers. Land is a large island, often with the parish village. Ö is a smaller but still large island. Holme is still smaller, but big enough to have arable land. Skär is a low island, sometimes a group of skerries. Båda, klobb and kobbe are mostly just cliffs, grund is a shallow, sometimes a minor island.

The main attractions on the route are the seascapes, endlessly varied. The Archipelago Sea also has a rich birdlife, with terns and gulls; eiders, goldeneyes and mergansers; white-tailed eagles and ospreys; and many more. Many of the guest harbours are at archipelago villages that have survived the urban development.

Hanko, Dalsbruk, Pargas, Turku, Nagu Kyrbacken, Naantali, Iniö Norrby, Velkua, Kustavi and Uusikaupunki all have at least a grocery store, most of them a selection of shops, including for souvenirs. Most also have repair facilities at least nearby. Harbour masters should be able to give advice on any special needs.

Fuel is nowadays rare in marinas without road connection. There are still several marinas on the route that have fuel, mostly on the mainland or main islands.

The Hanko peninsula projects out of the archipelago to the open sea, marking the end of the Gulf of Finland. If you start east of the peninsula, such as from 🌍 Hanko's more busy eastern marina, you have to cross the freighter lanes. Keep good track on what sea marks pertain to your fairway.

One sight is the Hauensuoli (Gäddtarmen) sound just off the peninsula, where people waiting for good winds used to carve their names (and more) onto the rock, including nobles in medieval times.

Soon after the peninsula you cross a shipping lane, turning parallel with the boating fairway, with a fork northward to 🌍 Salo (1.9 m on the last leg) via Finnby (Särkisalo), Mathildedal and Tykö (Teijo), with the 🌍 Teijo National Park, and to the inner fairway via Dalsbruk, a possible alternative route. A sidetrip to 🌍 Västanfjärd is possible. 🌍 Dalsbruk has a big marina, an ironwork history and some cultural activities, such as the Baltic Jazz festival. It is one of the more urban centres of Kimitoön.

The sea west of the peninsula, "Hangö västra (fjärd)", is quite open with small rocks distributed quite evenly all around, some below the surface. Keep to the fairway, marked with pairs of lateral marks, unless you really know what you are doing. Here you cross the border to Finland Proper and the municipality of Kimitoön, comprising much of the eastern Archipelago Sea, and you pay a short visit to the eastern corner of the Archipelago Sea National Park.

The fairway then joins the shipping lane and reaches more sheltered areas with Vänoxa to the north and soon Hitis and Rosala to the south. Hitis and Rosala are island communities, 🌍 Hitis with a well preserved village milieu, 🌍 Rosala with a Viking centre and tours to the 🌍 Bengtskär lighthouse in the outermost archipelago. The fairway via Dalsbruk joins the itinerary near Hitis.

The fairway towards Rosala continues to 🌍 Örö at the border to the outer archipelago, with tour boat connection from Kasnäs and a view to Bengtskär. The island was a military area with coastal artillery, but now is part of the Archipelago Sea National Park.

There are no official fairways farther to the south, although both the marine and local freighters have their own ones out to the sea. The official fairways to the sea lead east to Hanko or west via Utö.

By Rosala the itinerary turns north-west towards Kasnäs, more or less by the border to the national park.

Also 🌍 Kasnäs has a big marina. There is a ferry harbour for some of the island communities, such as Hitis, Rosala, Vänö and Tunnhamn. The village is best known for the modern spa hotel and associated services.

At Kasnäs you reach the areas covered by the Archipelago Sea chart series.

From Kasnäs the fairway continues north with big islands sheltering the route from the more open archipelago. On this stretch sector lights are heavily used. You pass the Högsåra ferry, and could make a landfall at the 🌍 Högsåra marina, take a walk by the meadows and take a coffee at Farmors café.

By Högsåra there is also a 7 M fairway (3.2 m) to Dalsbruk, for a sidetrip from here. There is another one (2.4 m) a bit to the north, which may be suitable as shortcut when continuing from Dalsbruk. Both pass under the Lövö bridge (for the road to Kasnäs). The northern fairway allows you to make a sidetrip to the 🌍 Söderlångvik manor (no official fairway, but reasonably well sounded; 3 M from the main itinerary).

At the island Purunpää the fairway forks. Continuing northward you follow the inner, more sheltered route. The western route leads through the more open southern parts of the Archipelago Sea, via Korpo and Houtskär to Skiftet towards Åland. The routes rejoin north of Iniö.

You now have Gullkrona fjärd to your west, behind minor islands. It is a symbol of all the outer Archipelago Sea.

You could take a sidetrip along the western fork to Helsingholmen 4 M away, unless there are strong winds. See the outer route.

Also using the main itinerary, you have a 7.5 M-stretch ahead not well sheltered for the common westerly winds. You have leading lights, sector lights and some cardinal marks with lights. Then you enter the sound leading to Pargas. The narrowest passage, a nautical mile ahead, is known as 🌍 Pargas port ("gate to Pargas"). There is a restaurant here. Ahead is a section without lights.

After a few nautical miles the itinerary turns west (🌍 fairway fork) while the fairway to Pargas continues north, or rather, the shipping lane from the west turns north. The channel north has dense lateral marks. If you want to make a sidetrip to there, this is your best opportunity.

Pargas is the main town of the archipelago, although small. The 🌍 Pargas marina is as close to the centre as one can get, and you have hotel, restaurants, cafés etc. in reach. The nearby grocery store is small, you might want to take a trip with your dinghy (if you have one; height restriction 2.2 m?) through the nice sound to its northern end, where you have the supermarkets.

Turning west, you are following the shipping fairway from Pargas. The channel has cardinal marks with lights and some sector lights. If you made the sidetrip, you can take a shortcut without lights to the south-west (depth 2.1 m), unless the 🌍 drawbridge at that end of Kyrkfjärden hinders you. There have been problems, and if it is out of order the passing height is 6 m (check Notices to Mariners). If you cannot pass, you have to return the 7 M to the turn westward (or, with depth max 1.5 and height max 15 m, sail east, then north and west, via 🌍 Vapparn to Erstan, to rejoin the route by Haverö or Själö, or west of Rymättylä having sailed through some of its sounds).

7 M after turning west you reach the fairway northward to 🌍 Turku over 🌍 Erstan (Finnish: Airisto). You could take a sidetrip to the 🌍 Airisto Strand marina 1.5 M towards Turku, on the west end of Stormälö. If you do, you could use the fairway west from there, over the south part of Erstan, with a maze of navigational aids. With northerly and north-easterly winds the stretch is unsheltered, but those winds are uncommon.

The itinerary passes south of Haverö. At the point where you make your choice you pass the ferry between Pargas and Nagu, and if you turn west, the 🌍 ferry to Haverö. After Haverö there are some very steep islands, making winds unstable. You then continue west between Svartö and Själö. This leg is without lights. In the evening you may prefer to overnight at Airisto Strand, or go via the bigger fairways over Erstan. The passage from there to Nagu, by Själö's western shore, has lights. In the day you could also take the shortcut south of Käldö, reaching the Kyrkbacken marina from the east.

Unless you opt for the shortcut, you pass 🌍 Själö, an island well worth a visit. There used to be a leper hospital and later a mental hospital for women, from neither the patients would return. Now the island hosts a biological research station and is an important tourist destination. The guest jetties are on the eastern side while there is a ferry quay on the west side, by the channel with the Utterberg light.

The 🌍 Nagu marina at Kyrkbacken to the south is the largest in the Archipelago Sea. If you came via Själö you will sail west of Kaiplot.

Kyrbacken is the parish village of Nagu, with the bustling marina, a medieval church, a local shipping museum, a beach, restaurants, grocery stores etc.

From Nagu the fairway leads to the north, by the Finnish speaking Rymättylä. First you cross Ominaisfjärden (Finnish: Ominaistenselkä), with a maze of fairways, including the shipping and cruise ferry lanes to Turku and Naantali.

North of Ominaisfjärden the fairway keeps a steady course north-northwest. No lights here; to get lights you have to take the 10-m fairway to the north-west from Ominaisfjärden, directly towards Heponiemi. On that fairway you mostly have leading lights.

When the 5.5-m fairway turns west-northwest after Iso Maisaari you could make a sidetrip to the 🌍 Röölä marina. If you feel like going to Turku, you can also use the narrow sounds by Röölä to get to Erstan. If visiting the Röölä marina, you then probably need to backtrack, as the bridge east of Röölä is just 2.4 m. The bridge on the south fairway is 16 m high.

The city of Turku has a few recreation areas on islands of Rymättylä. One of then is on 🌍 Iso Maisaari (Majsor). Take the 2.4 m fairway north of the island. There is no fairway all the way, so keep your distance to the shallows by yourself.

The fairway turns north again between Pakinainen and Ruotslainen. Here is a second of the recreations islands, 🌍 Pähkinäinen (Pähkinäis), 1.5 M to the south-west. Most of it and much of the archipelago all the way from Själö is a Natura 2000 area, and part of Pähkinäinen is a nature reserve.

7 M after the turn (or the sidetrip) you reach Palva, with the (former) parish village of 🌍 Velkua. From here there is a 2.1 m fairway eastward via 🌍 Merimasku to 🌍 Naantali, would you be inclined to visit that town (the fairway directly from Turku has an 11-m bridge, the one at Merimasku is 16.5 m).

After Velkua you turn west over Länsiaukku, again a less sheltered area. To the north is Kustavi. A 2.4 fairway leads to the south-west to 🌍 Iniö, also once an independent municipality, the smallest such in Finland except Åland in the 1990s. On that stretch you have some lights, but the channel is narrow and mostly marked with lateral marks without lights.

The outer routes leads over more open waters, not suitable for boats for sheltered waters ("D"). Still, you will seldom see the horizon. The itinerary keeps close to the larger islands.

Before Purunpää there is an opening between the islands to Gullkrona fjärd, and the outer route leads north-west via 🌍 Helsingholmen 4 M away. The harbour is in a bay on the north side, use the 2.4 m fairway to get there, otherwise there is a narrow passage by its south-west shore.

Helsingholmen has a nice guest harbour, sheltered but for north-easterly to easterly winds. If you are continuing towards Pargas you can turn to the north-east between Sandön and Södergrunden, take the 7,5-m fairway north after Helsingholmen and turn north-east for Pargas port, or continue via Gullkrona.

From Helsingholm the route continues to the north-west towards 🌍 Gullkrona, a further 7 M to north-west. The area around Gullkrona and Gullkrona itself is a maze of islands and islets; the fairways are well marked, but by sail you may have to plan your manœuvres well. There is a small sea pilot museum on the island. The harbour is now commercially run.

If this was just a sidetrip you can sail north partly along a "boating route" instead of a proper fairway, or north-east and north, also joining the inner route in inner archipelago, or north-east and east to join it before Pargas port.

The boating route continues westward, with 🌍 Brännskär 3 M ahead. The island is nowadays owned by a foundation for keeping the archipelago inhabited. The family living there keeps a guest harbour and cottages besides handicraft and other work.

The boating route turns south-west, then west. Another more sheltered fairway (4.3 m) leads to the north-west. 4–5 M after Brännskär, after crossing Haraskärsfjärden, you reach 🌍 Berghamn of Nagu (there is another island by the name in Houtskär). Also here the channel to the harbour is a bit tricky.

The 4.3-m fairway northward leads to Nagu Kyrkbacken and Erstan.

If you turn to the 4.0-m fairway to the south-west on Haraskärsfjärden and continue over Ådöfjärden you reach 🌍 Nötö. Fairways from here go to 🌍 Jurmo and 🌍 Utö. The itinerary keeps closer to the main islands.

The itinerary continues west over Barskärsfjärden, crossing a 10-m fairway north, leading between Nagu and 🌍 Korpo towards Ominaisfjärden. If you are going to Korpoström, you could use this fairway and then the one through the Korpoström strait between Rumar and Kait. You can also follow the outer fairway, which turns north to the other end of the strait.

🌍 Korpoström has fuel, coach connection to Turku, restaurant, and events and exhibitions of the "archipelago centre" (Skärgårdscentret).

The fairway still continues to the west and then turns north, passing the Gyltö restricted area and shooting range (there is a coastal artillery base here). A 2.4-m fairway leads to the 🌍 Verkan guest harbour, with restaurant (Buffalo), near the parish village of Korpo.

The main boating fairway turns north-west and west-northwest over Lövskärsfjärden, crossing the 13.0-m fairway to Turku and Naantali, used also by the big cruise ferries from Stockholm, and then past Houtskär's Berghamn. This is probably where those coming via 🌍 Kökar join the itinerary.

You could take the 3.0-m fairway westward over Österfjärden to 🌍 Jungfruskär, which is a lush island, where the trees are still cut in a peculiar way, traditionally to ease harvesting of leaves as winter fodder. The island belongs to the Archipelago Sea National Park. The name Österfjärden (öst=east) hints that this area was once thought to be part of Åland. After a sidetrip to here you have to backtrack; there is no fairway to the north-east, and you should probably not take a shortcut. If you are coming from Åland, this may be where you join the itinerary.

The fairway rounds Fiskö and turns to north-northeast. This was the glimpse you got of Skiftet between Åland and "mainland" Finland – unless you continue north-west to 🌍 Brändö. If you do, you can take either fairway from the 🌍 Snöbådan lighthouse, to north-west for 🌍 Lappo or north for 🌍 Torsholma.

If you did visit Brändö, you will probably return to the main boating fairway by one of the fairways by 🌍 Nåtö to Iniö.

The main boating fairway circles Houtskär, turning mostly north-east. After Hyppeis you have an option of a 2·5 M sidetrip to 🌍 Näsby, the parish village. A bit farther you could moor at 🌍 Björköby, which used to be a big village with grocery store (which might get revived). The village has maintained much of its traditional character.

Then you pass Nordanlands, better known as 🌍 Mossala. The guest harbour is where the Archipelago Trail ferries for Iniö leave. Mossalafjärden has a peculiar shape, caused by a volcanic intrusion nearly two billion years ago.

The fairway continues zigzagging to the north and passes between Keistiö and the main island of Iniö. A 2.4-m fairway leads north toward 🌍 Kupmo and north-east and south-east to the main village Norrby. The main fairway circles the main islands to the west and then leads to the north-east to Heponiemi. If you go via Norrby you can continue between Kolko and Hepmo and then north to Heponiemi. The outer fork of the itinerary joins the inner one off the peninsula.

The forks rejoin off 🌍 Heponiemi ferry harbour, with the ferry port for Iniö. Short stays are possible by the ferry quay and there is a guest marina, 🌍 Peterzéns, a little further. From here the fairway goes north-west through the sound between Vartsala and Kustavi main island, without lights. The 🌍 Lootholma marina is 2 km south of the parish village. Closer to the parish village is a guest jetty near the 🌍 Kivimaa road ferry quay, where shorter visits are allowed. For motorboats also the 🌍 guest jetty close to the centre is possible (continue east of Lootholma and through a narrow sound northward). The fairway continues between Lypyrtti (Swedish: Lypertö, showing the movements of the language border) and Kaurissalo. 🌍 Pleikilä on Kaurissalo has the last guest jetty (for short visits; in between the islands with marks and leading lights) before briefly getting out on the Bothnian Sea (still with some archipelago, though) before turning to Uusikaupunki. You can make a short sidetrip to the former coastal fort 🌍 Katanpää in the Bothnian Sea National Park (restaurant, café, sauna and other services, beside the natural and man-made sights). Look out for changing weather, as there is little shelter off Katanpää.

On the unsheltered leg you first have some lights. Soon you will soon turn in among islets and rocks with leading lights ahead. You then have sector lights until you reach the bigger fairways to Uusikaupunki.

You could choose to follow the fairway for one more stretch with a leading line at Putsaari and turn to the 4.5-m fairway when reaching the 10.0-m one. This is a little easier to navigate than the 3.2-m shortcut, which is certainly challenging in the night.

Regardless, sail by Humalainen and Nuhja (south of the 🌍 Hanko island, namesake of the city), joining the 8,5-m fairway for a while, to get to the 🌍 Uusikaupunki marina.