Saaristokatu street 8 A
Old sailors enjoyed reminiscing about their experiences at sea and in foreign countries. Matias often visits Katinhäntä to listen to his grandfather Matti's stories about life in the age of sailing ships.
Old sailor Matti sits smoking his pipe in a rocking chair in his small house in Katinhäntä. His grandson Matias has come to visit his grandfather. He always enjoys listening to his grandfather's stories from his days at sea.
Matti served on ships from Raahe for ten years, so there are plenty of stories to tell. He got his first job on the Illion and sailed with it for seven years.
- How far did the Illion go? Matias urges him to get to the beginning of the story.
- We made two trips on it. That took seven years. We only visited home once during one summer. On the first trip, we visited Odessa on the Black Sea, Taganrog on the Sea of Azov, and the Mediterranean Sea. We took coal and brought salt from Cagliari (Sardinia) to Raahe, Matti begins his recollection.
- Was it nice to go on another trip? Matias asks, even though he already knows the answer. But it's so nice to listen to Grandpa Matti's stories.
- The departure was such that my wife and children didn't come to see me off. When I had to cry, I didn't feel like coming. The girls didn't come either. They liked sailors in the summer, but in the winter they were happy with farmhands and farmhands. But they preferred to be with sailors. They liked sailors, Grandpa Matti smiles.
- Did sailors have girlfriends in every port? Matias teases. He goes to the kitchen to put coffee on, puts the pot on the stove, and adds wood so that the fire doesn't go out.
- I don't think so. At least not all of them. The girls from Raahe were kept busy. We didn't really get along with the farmhands. When the sailors went to sea, the apprentices got to stay here and collect their monthly wages. It wasn't always easy, Grandpa Matti admits, but he adds that the sailors built a house in Katinhäntä and created a home where they could live. We live in our own house here.
- How did the other trip go? Matias calls from the kitchen. He has set the table with fine porcelain cups that Grandpa Matti brought back from the seas. On his way back, he had bought fresh buns from Lang's shop.
- On our second trip, we went to Mexico to load mahogany for England. Then we sailed from Lisbon to Bergen in Norway. The weather was so rough that everything that could break did break. The sea broke the ship's sides, the bow split, the lifeboats blew overboard and broke, Grandpa Matti has gotten into his stride with the story. Matias already knows what happened next, but wonders aloud whether the men also went overboard.
- First mate Ravander suggested that we write a list saying that if we make it ashore safely, we will donate money to the poor in Raahe. The list was made and signed. It was paid when we arrived in Raahe. Frans Vikander was the captain, Grandpa Matti confirms. What could be done once the promise had been made? And here Grandpa is sitting in his rocking chair.
Matias knows that there is a votive ship hanging from the ceiling of the church in Raahe. It was not donated by sailors in their distress, but carved by Olavi Pelkonen. But it serves as a reminder that sailors made all kinds of promises when they were in distress at sea.
- Then salt was taken from Trapani (Sicily) to Boston in America. The men had to load and unload the ships themselves at that time. Does Matias know what unloading is, Grandpa asks.
Of course I know. We've talked about it many times. Loading is transferring cargo from a ship to land. Unloading is transferring cargo from land to a ship. It's been hard work.
- I also spent a year with Johan Fellman on a ship belonging to the Lundberg company. It was a pure cargo from Pensacola (Florida) to Shields (Newcastle, England), Matti continues his story about his life as a sailor.
- Is that where Grandpa got those porcelain dogs? Matias asks, even though he knows they were brought from England. They now sit on the desk and spend their retirement days with the old sailor. Back then, they used to sit by the window, looking longingly out as Matti was at sea. When Matti was ashore, they were quickly turned to face the cabin.
Wellamo was Durchman's ship, and I sailed on it for three years. On a sailing ship, you have to sail with the wind, wherever it blows from. You've made some good coffee. Pour me another cup, says Grandpa. Matti is curious to hear if there was any free time on the ship.
- The Montini girls had put books on the Wellamo. There was the Kalevala and a book called "Ainoa hetki" (The Only Moment), which was a play. There was also a Bible. Everyone had an almanac. Whenever we had free time, we read. Now I can visit the library every day, Grandpa Matti muses. Times have changed. We also wrote letters. But more about that another time.
"Mom said to come visit us again at Christmas," Matias reminds us.
Source and text quotations: Eero Sovelius-Sovio, People from the City of Ships, 2011.
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