After very warm May, windy days in June have turned waters upside down and surface temperatures in lakes are now 14-17 °C in Southern Finland. So I jumped in my wetsuit and swam a short swim with hand paddles in Lake Lohja, my home lake. Visibility in greenish gray water wasn’t that good, just a length of a biceps, to quote Colin Hill’s (Chillswim) description of water in Lake Balafon in Hungary, where Marathon Swimming Wolrd Cup was held this weekend. I … Read More
I had a nice evening swim at my home lake, at Lake Lohja. Lake Lohja offers great locations and sceneries for open water swimmers. Four years ago I started to invite people to Lake Lohja to swim with me and things evolved in direction that last spring I started a business called Swimming Holidays in Finland. I hope more people find they way to swim in this wonderful lake and of course in many lakes and ponds around Lake Lohja … Read More
Tonight’s swim under a full moon was very special. I went for a swim after a party and felt the cool water of Lake Lohja extremely vitalizing and refreshing. It’s hardly dark at all during nights, so long white nights of summer are almost here. Location: Lohjanjärvi, Lohja
My home lake, Lake Lohja, was colder today than I presumed. Only around 13-14 °C in Kivessalmi Strait. So I put on my Aquaskin half suit and it helped me stay a bit longer in water. I wanted to explore the shoreline high rocks, which are partly so steep, that there’s no access by land, unless you have climbing kit with you. Many protected plants, especially various moss and lichens, grow on these calcareous rocks. Wagtails love to jump and fly … Read More
Lake Lohja, my home lake, has an area of 122 km² with 31 km² of islands. It has rich and versatile nature, but also it offers different views to cultural landscape. I went Karstu public beach, which is on the north-west side of the lake. While swimming I spotted Church of St. Lawrence, which is built in the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, tower of Tytyri limestone mine and Mine Museum, Pitkäniemi industrial area with an old paper mill. A view … Read More
‘ Lake Hormajärvi is really nice clear water lake in Lohja. Because it’s tranquil, loons populate on the lake willingly. I was lucky to swim with one loon on a rainy morning. It came quite close, only 5 meters from me and I felt I had a swimming companion. Probably it was nesting and watched over me that I don’t head towards the nest. Opposite the public beach there’s an islet nearby, which is fun to swim around like a … Read More
Today was the official opening of open water swimming season. Every spring Helsinki-Uusimaa region has a week-long campaign to promote open water swimming and to inspire people to enjoy lovely waters we have in the area. It was the warmest and sunniest campaign start this far. Water temperature in Lake Lohja was astounding 20 °C! All week of sunshine has done its job. First-time-this-spring swimmers took their wet suits off, when they realised water temperature. I had a short swim … Read More
Today I had to settle for my home lake, Lake Lohja. It was a nice evening swim between two islands and sun going down behind a third island. To get to the small neck of land, I walked a slope path through a forest. There were tiny leaves in trees, but still the landscape looked naked. Yellow reeds sticked out of the water and new green growth waited underwater to pop up. Lucky to spend time by a big lake, … Read More
I owe this to Viv. Her exquisite photography and stories have inspired me to take this challenge to swim in 31 different waters, in lakes, ponds, rivers and sea in Finland, in 31 days of May. Let’s see what happens! I’ll visit familiar beaches and other beautiful swimming spots, but I’m sure I’ll find new exiting outdoor swimming locations too. It should be easy, because there are 187 888 lakes to explore… I started this challenge on home ground, swimming … Read More