Having previously enjoyed seeing the Tall Ships in Helsinki in 2013 we were keen to catch up with them again, this time in Kotka. Located on the south coast of Finland, Kotka’s city centre is situated on Kotkansaari island. Getting from Helsinki was very easy, we booked with Onnibus who have regular daily services between the cities, are inexpensive and have comfortable coaches with pre-bookable seats. The journey took approximately 90 minutes and it was then only a short walk to the port area to view the Tall Ships.
The Tall Ships Races are part of the international youth sailing event attracting approximately 3,000 sailors in 73 boats from 20 countries. The boats had all arrived in port the previous day and were an impressive sight lined up along the quay with their brightly coloured flags fluttering in the gentle breeze.
It was possible to board many of the larger ships and to get a feel of what life on board is like. The Royal Navy of Oman’s ship, Shabab Oman II was particularly impressive. This boat had only been in service for three years and is a blend of traditional and modern with luxurious interiors coupled with authentic tall ship wooden decking, sails and rigging. On boarding a Polish boat we were offered mugs of home made soup which was both welcome and delicious.
Standing at one end of the port is the Maritime Museum of Finland which has a 300 metre long sloping roof accessed from ground level with good views of the boats. As part of the Tall Ships festival the museum was offering free admittance to the Tarmo icebreaker which has permanent moorings alongside the quay. Being interested, we clambered on board the ship which was built in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Our self guided tour proved extremely interesting and was an unexpected bonus to our visit to the Tall Ships.
After several hours spent admiring the boats we decided to take a look around Kotka as we hadn’t visited previously. The market square had a collection of fruit and vegetable stalls, outdoor cafes plus a temporary stage for the festival. Not far from there we wandered through Isopuisto Park which had been constructed around the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas built in 1801. The park has been designed to resemble an English style landscape garden reminding us of home.
Near the small boat harbour we joined crowds lining the streets to watch the crew parade which takes place in each port. Crews from the 73 international boats taking part made their way slowly along to enthusiastic cheers. Some crews wore fancy dress whilst others wore full naval uniform often pausing to sing and dance in styles reflecting their homeland. Prizes were awarded in several categories for crews participating in the parade.
Feeling happy that we had been able to watch the crew parade, there was just enough time to explore the Sapokka water garden and the small boat harbour on the southern shores of Kotkansaari. It was more attractive along here than in the port area and on a future visit I’d like to explore this area in more detail.
Attractive small cafes overlook the harbour with outdoor terraces taking in the scenery. Glancing at our watches there was sadly insufficient time to stop for a drink as our bus back to Helsinki was due to depart twenty minutes later. Unsurprisingly, we were soon fast asleep on the return journey to Helsinki after enjoying a splendid day out in Kotka. Hopefully we’ll have an opportunity to return one day to explore the waterfront in more detail.
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I love watching and touring tall ships. Kotka looks like a real tidy Scandinavian town, very pretty. Thanks for sharing Marion. Allan
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Kotka is very pretty and it was good to catch the Tall Ships there too. Thank you for taking an interest in this post Allan. Hope you have a good day. Marion.
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We often have Tall Ships visit London and I’ve been lucky enough to have sailed on one on 2 different occasions they are marvellous lovely photos. It all looks so clean and fresh.
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Finland is very clean and the nature is very tranquil. It must have been wonderful to have sailed on the Tall Ships. I saw them in London a couple of years ago at Greenwich and Canary Wharf too.
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Oh brilliant!! They are certainly impressive. Perhaps next time you could book a sail
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I saw the tall ships once. They really are a sight to behold! Lovely photos 🙂
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I can never tire of viewing the Tall Ships either! Thank you for your much appreciated comments.
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You’re very welcome 🙂
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Awesome shots.
Please do checkout my blog.
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Namaste
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Thank you for your kind words.
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Those tall ships are quite a sight – you got some great pictures Marion. The parade looks impressive too and I love how you could explore the ships as well, we would have loved that!
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About three years ago the Tall Ships came to London, Greenwich and Canary Wharf but there wasn’t enough space for them all to be moored by the quay so the bigger ones were anchored slightly off shore which wasn’t so good as visitors couldn’t get access. Going back n the museum boat was a bonus and my menfolk spent ages examining the engine room etc!
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I was never into boats as I get sea sick but there is something about boats and ships that I find fascinating. Great shots!
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Thank you for your kind words. The Tall Ships are fascinating to look at from the quayside.
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Interesting to see so many large sail ships still in existence. I noticed one that operates on coal too. That would be a classic!
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Well spotted with the coal powered ship Ian. The Tall Ships were very impressive!
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How fun! That first photo of the ships with the flags, with bright blue sky in the background, is gorgeous!
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Thank you Susan! I can’t resist a chance to view Tall Ships if they are nearby.
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you take us to peepinto tall ships being moored to shores and the beautiful cafes with terraces overlooking and capturing beautiful scenery. Very minutely discussed details are interesting with some good pictures.
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Thank you for your kind and inspiring thoughts on this post, they are much appreciated.
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Thanks for liking my comment
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We wanted to see them too!!!
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I always love Tall Ships, wherever I find them 🙂 🙂
Have a great weekend!
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Thank you Jo, I’m pleased to read that you are also fond of viewing Tall Ships.
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Kotka has an abundance of parks, I hope to write a post on them sometime soon. It’s quite amazing for such a small place. I’m sorry you didn’t have time to explore Sapokka more. Glorious photos of the ships. When I visited Kotka with my co-workers, we had trouble finding sparkling wine anywhere – I hope they’d fixed that for the Tall Ships days 😉
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Thank you for your kind words Suvi, it was a good day out but a bit chilly at times as I hadn’t taken a coat. I saw people sipping sparkling wine so they must have resolved the problem, but we just had hot drinks to keep warm! M.
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Looks amazing! I think Kotka just went on my bucket list!
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Thank you, Kotka would make a pleasant day trip from Helsinki or when touring the coast. I hope you get to visit there sometime.
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Once again–GREAT JOB with your post. Truly enjoyable read. Take care.
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Thank you so much once again for your inspiring comments on my latest post. It makes me very happy to learn that you are enjoying reading my blog.
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So beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
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It’s my pleasure! So pleased you enjoyed this post.
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That’s original and interesting because no one ever talks about Finland! 😉
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I’m sure that lots of people talk about lovely Finland, it’s one f my favourite countries! It’s good to read that you enjoyed this post.
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Oooh I always love the Tall Ships festivals and parades especially when blue skies☀️😉Have visited first one in Amsterdam more than twenty years ago and since then two more here in Antwerp, hope they return soon 😉💙 enjoy the weekend!
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Thank you for your kind words. The Tall Ships are always interesting to view and I hope they return to the Netherlands again soon for you to visit.
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Wow….loved your account of Kotka!
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Thank you for your inspiring comments and for taking the time to read my blog.
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Good Morning Marion.
Wow. Wow for photos and the informative text. Thank You. We visited there on Saturday. Alter a short visit; we decided that some day we will return to Kotka later, because it seemed to be worth for a longer visit.
My post about this race will be published about on Wednesday the 13th, September, because on next Wednesday, I will publish the continuation of my Mobile Sauna post.. It was interesting to see how we treat the same item.
Happy weekend.
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Thank you Matti for your kind words on my visit to the Tall Ships. We visited the day before you, Friday. I’ll look forward to reading your post about it too. Have a good weekend. M.
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Great shots 🙂
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Thanks Emily, the Tall Ships were so attractive !
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