As well as the ridiculous number of spare ‘A’s, this is one of the two border points for heading to and from Russia. It seems to be the standard immigration port for folk who are heading for St Petersburg. The border post is the quay in the south west corner of the island. If staying the night you’d be better off in the fantastically sheltered inner bay, up the very narrow but well marked channel. The village in the inner bay looks very pleasant, though little frequented by cruising boats that aren’t en route to or from St. Petersburg.
A couple of odd coincidences. The red yacht pictured alongside the customs quay was the same German yacht I helped to free from the mud hundreds of miles away in Rano Hamn, Sweden. The red yacht pictured in the inner harbour was a Danish yacht I’d first seen on the mooring next to Zoph in outer Peel Harbour, Isle of Man, twelve months before (see my book ‘A Gigantic Whinge on the Celtic Fringe). I was even able to date our encounter and find photographic evidence. The blokes aboard Wasa, the Danish yacht, were gratifyingly stunned by my feat of memory.
Locate Haapasaari on the map and find more adjacent harbours and marinas here.
Disclaimer: While Martin Edge and Sail in Finland have taken every precaution to ensure that the information in this post is correct, it is not a replacement for proper charts. Safe navigation is the responsibility of the skipper and Sail in Finland assumes no responsibility for accidents occurring while entering or leaving the harbour.