June 17, 2006

Ship’s Log
June 17, 2006
Departure Location: Granskor, Sweden
Departure Time: 7:20 hours
Distance Traveled. 46.61 Nautical Miles
Arrival Location: Utö, Finland
Arrival Time: 18:15 hours
Weather: Clear blue skies, cool weather

Personal Comments
We arrived tonight on Utö, which translates to “out island” in English. The island is Finland’s farthest south-western outpost before the Äland Islands, which are disputed between Finland and Sweden.

We were scheduled to stop in Kökar, which is rumoured to be the most beautiful island in the Äland Islands, but made a calculated decision around mid-day to push on and gain as much ground towards the mainland of Finland as possible. At first sight, Utö appeared to be nothing more than radar towers, coast guard boats, and military barracks. Before dinner we spent an hour exploring the island and John almost stumbled into an active military bunker. The island had no visible property delineations and reminded us of an early 1900s mid-west settlement. There seemed to be less than fifty households, but the island seemed alive with couples swimming, families taking evening walks, and children crowded around the one shop\cafe\ice cream parlor.

Research Comments:
In pushing on past Kökar, we are within two days of Troy.