A stylish, easy cruise for those who enjoy being out on the water but don’t necessarily want ambitious sailing. A sturdy, seaworthy »tiny home« – a holiday home on the sea. An eye-catcher in any harbour, especially in Scandinavia, as this little vessel is of Nordic origin. We don’t know the exact details; as is not uncommon with historic vessels, there is no written history, only clues passed down by word of mouth. These came, many years ago, mainly from two Finnish pensioners who wanted to set off on a long voyage in the Rannö. Unfortunately, they only made it as far as Travemünde, where they got stuck at the Böbs shipyard with a broken engine. A new engine was apparently beyond their means, so they sold the boat to the boatyard and returned to Finland without it. It is they who have pointed out that this ship was originally built as a pilot cutter for the waters around the Åland Islands. The ship’s name refers to a small island in the Aland archipelago where it was probably built around 1905 in a small shipyard Its size and hull shape suggest this, though the superstructure and rigging do not – but these were, of course, added only much later. Pilot cutters were in widespread use around the islands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; anyone familiar with the labyrinthine fairways through the archipelago there will be able to imagine why they were so important. At the start of the 20th century, the Åland Islands boasted one of Europe’s largest sailing fleets; the islands were strategically situated at a crossroads of various maritime trade routes in this part of the Baltic Sea. The four-masted barque Pommern still bears witness to this. Built in 1902 and later acquired by the Finnish shipowner Gustaf Erikson, it had its home port in Mariehamn, where it now lies as a museum ship. In the 1930s, the island’s capital was regarded as the last port of call for the great sailing ships, whose time was indeed soon to come to an end. Fortunately, the era of the small pilot boats was not quite over yet. Although many were converted from sailing boats to motor vessels, their hulls remained intact. The Rannö is said to be one such vessel. This is supported by its extremely solid A UNIQUE MOTOR-SAILER WITH HISTORY IS NOW FOR SALE 94
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