Towards civilization

Our way (the white line) from the entrance after Gulfo des Penas to Caleta Yvonne

Caleta Yvonne

Drying up

Cocking away

Shades of grey

Lines ashore

Another grey day

Two knots current

We decided to stay in Caleta Puerto Francisco for another day, partly to rest from the overnight sail over Gulfo den Penas but also to explore the beautiful anchorage/lagoon. So the second day we sat out hoping to see more of the dolphins and seal as we had seen coming in but the excursion in the dinghy only offered the beautiful sceneries that were surrounding us. We also had to tome the excursion in between the rain that was coming down. We went all the way to the narrow entrance and it was easy on the way out since the tide carried us but Milo had to struggle a bit on the way back fighting a two knot current. In the narrow we could see lines hanging from the trees, something we saw frequently in other protected Caletas. It is the fishermen who leave them hanging so when they come in the just grab them for their anchorage.

On Nov ember 3 we started the trip to our next Caleta, Puerto Island, a bit more than 20 nautical miles to the south. After a short overnight stay we got up early to cover 37 miles to Caleta Yvonne. We motored the whole stretch since the wind from behind was not consistently strong enough for sailing. The rain clouds were lingering around us in the mountains on either side of the canal, but they did not venture out in the canal towards our position. So in spite of overcast it became one of the more dry days we have had in a long time.

Glacier or not

Caleta Yvonne is situated at the mouth of an Estero where a glacier is reaching down to. It was around 20 miles to the glacier and no good anchorages in the area so we had to get back to Caleta Yvonne before night fall. We talked about going but decided against it. Partly because we were short on time and there would be more glaciers further down. But most importantly the wind was supposed to shift to the south and the anchorage was only good for winds from north to southwest. So we decided to push on the following day a short distance (16 miles) to Caleta Vittorio, that was protected from all winds but from east. It was raining so we started waiting for it to stop but soon realized it would be one of those Patagonian rain days were there are no breaks from the moisture. Again not enough wind to sail so we motored along in shades of grey. Just before we reached the anchorage the wind built up with a lot of squalls with heavy gusts. So for the first time so far we did not succeed in our anchorage procedure at the first try. The first choice was tucked in in a very narrow bay in the Caleta which made it hardly any room for swinging. So the shore line had to be secured fast in the shifting wind (and the anchor had grip the first try). The anchor did not bite so we decided to anchor a bit outside the narrow bay. And soon we were tucked away with anchor and two lines ashore at the same time as the squally wind faded away. And we are now only a short day trip from getting in contact with civilization again, Puerto Eden is just around the corner, a small fishing village that according to rumors now also have Internet facility (and possibilities for taking showers).

Drying out

Since it was a short distance we had time in the afternoon to start the heater and dry our foul weather gear and bed clothing, something that basically needs to be done every day. Milo has a stainless steel bar inside the toilet were we hang or gear for drip drying before they are dry enough to bring in to the saloon for a more proper drying procedure closer to the heater. We also had a good meal with some of the staple food we stored. The gourmet dinner was noodles with a pasta sauce consisting of a ready base (this one with pepper) and additional fried onions, aborigine, carrots and tomatoes (and sometimes canned mushrooms).

Milo has also been asked to partly take over the short wave radio community Patagonia network for a while when Wolfgang is going on vacation. He will travel around Chile for two to three weeks but wants the network to live in his absent, so Milo and Ian, an Australian that now is close to our destination in the Beagle Channel, will handle it together. Right now there are only the two of us and one other boat in the area it seems (at least hooked up to the network). Occasionally we have a couple of boats and a land based person, Bob, from the Falkland Islands hooking up with the network. That is a treat since he can sit by the computer and give us good weather reports. But he is not on every day due to his work. So in spite of her lethal morning mood she heroically is up by nine o'clock every morning. And there are few boats around, even fishing boats are scarce and we have not seen a sailing boat since way before Gulfo de Penas.

On our way to civilization

The morning in Caleta Vittorio was beautiful. The rain clouds were lingering on and hanging very low so even smaller not so high mountains had a "halo" of clouds surrounding the top, and it was dead calm. The reflections in the water made the magic surrounding look even more intriguing. It was shades in grey in the most spectacular way. So we set off what we hoped to be a fast and easy trip to Puerto Eden in calm and cloudy weather. We past the first navigation aids for a long time and could see on the red boy that we had a couple of knots current with us. But soon we were going to be met by a southerly gale hitting us on the nose with increasing seas, affecting the decision if we should go in to the port or not since it did not have a good protection from southerly winds. But that is for next entry.

Golfo de Penas

Sjökort över Caleta Jaquelin till Mallibu och starten på Gulfo de Penas

Överseglingen över Gulfo de Penas

Inloppet till Puerto Francisco

Estrero Balladeros

Estero Mallibu

Estero Mallibu

Leaving Mallibu

We left Caleta Jaqueline after breakfast October 28 and motored around 20 Miles to our next anchorage, Estero Balladaros. With the anchor down with 40 meters of chain and two lines ashore we were satisfied although the anchorage is quite wide. We were getting close to the open sea again, preparing for the trip over Golf de Pena so the weather report from the Navtex was not favorable since it predicted south to southwest winds (on the nose over the bay). So we decided to stay in the anchorage to wait for better wind. During the stay we also got in contact with the Patagonian network for the first time. It is “run” by Wolfgang and mentioned in most guide books. Wolfgang is now living in the area and has a short wave radio (SSB) that he contacts all the boats en route or at anchorage in Patagonia every day at 09.00, local time. Apart from keeping track of all the boats and make sure nobody has an emergency he can download grid files on his computer and give relatively good weather prognoses for your specific position. Since the Navtex does not seem reliable of sending every night (or receiving conditions are bad at times with the high mountains) this felt as a good network to keep in contact with. So Milo has made it a daily routine to check in to the networks (a bit reluctant since getting up early in the morning is not one of her strong points). The new weather report was better since it predicted the wind to shift back to the prevailing northwest, but it was also expected to increase to gale force so we decided to wait for another day. But since we still were in more protected waters and also needed an anchorage with better protection for the new wind direction than the present we decided to move even closer to the opening of Golfo de Penas. So on October 30 we motored another 20 Miles to Estero Millabu just by the opening for the Pacific Ocean towards the peninsula reaching out towards the Golfo de Penas.

Estero Millabu was an even deeper fjord than Estero Balladeros with high deep slopes, where you still can see some snow higher up on the cliffs, on either side of the way in to the mouth were an impressive waterfall was throwing itself down the cliffs down to a broad and flat delta that was exposed during low water. It reminded a bit of Trollfjorden up in Lofoten in northern Norway for those who have been there. The mouth of the fjord was fairly broad so we had to join two lines together to reach both ends for a secure anchorage (the longest line we had was 100 meters). When we had finished tying up we made an excursion with the dingy to the sand delta in hope to see the waterfall more close up. This turned out to be trickier than expected since the flat sand delta, covered with different kinds of crabs, clams and mussels, was creating creeks that were filling up in the incoming tide water. The problem was to find a place to tie up the dinghy that we actually could get back to without being forced to walk in knee deep 10 degree water on the way back. We finally realized that the safest bet was a short walk on the flats before getting back to the dingy without exploring “the source of the waterfall”. However, it was nice moving on land again, if only for a brief moment.

When we came back we got a guest onboard. Some kind of raptor had taken a liking to our wind vane. Probably a buzzard or hawk sat on top of the vane fitting and was not easily scared. It was exciting to get so close to a wild predator, staying for half an hour even when we needed to move around on deck. But the raptor was not the only bird around. We had a couple of albatrosses that had been following us during the day that lay in the water waiting for our next move. Beside them a couple of penguins were fishing and high in the sky a vulture, maybe a condor, was souring. The clouds had been hanging around us but it had not rained during the day, but in the evening it started to pour down. It rained hard all night long and in the morning the waterfall that was impressive by our arrival was really making a significant noise when the water was tumbling down the mountain sloop.

The weather reports gave at hand west to north west winds, however the strength differed depending if you believed the Navtex (strong winds) or Wolfgang at the Patagonian network (moderate winds). The only way to find out is to poke the nose out there and see for yourself, so in the morning we headed for the open sea to sail across Golfo de Penas, the last longer stretch of open water on our trip. What we could see immediately was that we could not see, the visibility was really bad with low clouds and drizzle. The wind was also weak so we motored the first three hours before we got out of the sea lee of the peninsula sticking out protecting from the old wind direction from the south. The rain increased in intensity and in the open sea there were at least three different old wave systems that was meeting and with light wind we motored while Artimisia 2 was rolling heavily. To avoid wearing the autopilot out in the rolling sea we hand steered during the night in wet and bumby conditions. The steering in the pitch dark under the overcast and rain with no landmarks, no wind, no healing, no compass and a GPS that reacted late on course changes and rolling conditions it was very tricky to keep a steady course.

In the morning on November 1 the wind started to fill in and the confusing seas started to slow down. Still not enough wind to sail if we wanted to make the anchorage before nightfall but now we at least could use the auto pilot. The Caleta Puerto Francisco was situated a short distance from the entry of the canal (fjord) south of Gulfo de Penas, 160 nautical miles or more than 30 hours of sail. The rain stopped and we motored in through a narrow (not more than 20 meters wide) entrance stretching several hundred meters through lush vegetation. On the other side of the entrance a lagoon surrounded by mountains was opening up with several alternative anchorages. On the way in the narrow entrance a seal was lingering in the surface minding his own business and in the lagoon dolphins came to greet us. They followed us up towards our chosen anchorage and soon after the anchorage procedure was done we started the heater. The memories of a not so pleasant overnight sail soon disappeared in a haze when the enjoyment of the warm welcoming, beautiful surrounding and the warm interior of the boat took over the senses. We were now in the “real” Patagonia were there were numerous fjords, fewer boats, higher mountains (over 3000 meters), and lingering interior glaciers sometimes reaching out to the Esteros. I slept very well that night.

The beginning

The first part in more detailed of the sail from Puerto Montt (north of the map) where Caleta Jaqueline is south of the map (included in next entry)

The white line shows the approximate sailing path

The first anchorage in Isla Heupen

Penguins in the water but no collony

Dolphines welcomed us to the anchorage

Santo Domingo with impressive back drop

Milo trying to get the lines ashore

Santa Domingo was also a beautiful anchorage

Sailing at last

After waiting in Valdivia for more than a week for avoiding close to gale force winds on the nose we took off October 16 and got a bumpy ride down to Puerto Montt, 200 nautical miles south, where Patagonia really starts. We timed the arrival to canal Chacao perfect for the tide and zoomed through there sometimes with eleven knots. The trip took a couple of days.

Last minute provisioning in Puerto Montt resulted in a stolen wallet for Milo and back problems for me. A MRI at the hospital showed wear and tear on a fetlock resulted in pinching nerves. So it was painkillers for me rest of the trip and leaving all the heavy duties for Milo. All this described in earlier entries in the blog (in Swedish though).

We left Puerto Montt October 23 in a drizzle and no wind with snow-capped mountain tops hidden in low clouds. Our destination was 130 nautical miles to the south so it would be an overnight sail. But to get there before dark the second day we motored since the wind was very weak, We were heading for an anchorage inside a small group of islands, isla Heupen, outside Peninsula Coca on the main land, partly chosen for the reason of the guide book stating that there were supposed to be a penguin colony there. The night was clear and the moon gave some light which made the night shift pleasant. We arrived in the afternoon in dead calm and the beauty of the place was striking with lush small islands with the mountains as a back drop. But the best part was the welcoming party. A school of dolphins followed us all the way in to the recommended anchorage playing in the bow wake and sometimes looking up to get eye contact. It looked like they were making sure we were finding the right way in to the anchorage. How can you not be overwhelmed with joy with such fantastic creatures hanging out with you. On top of that we passed several penguins swimming in the water. They were however more shy than the dolphins and disappeared under the surface before we got really close. But it was a good sign of what we hoped to be a penguin colony. Well inside we anchored and secured with a line ashore although there were no wind at all.

The following day we decided to stay and explore the area by rowing the dingy to the island where the penguin colony was supposed to be. For being an inflatable dinghy it is pretty good for rowing and with Milo (yes, I had my back problem) by the oars we took off. It became quite a long excursion covering more than half a Swedish land mile (about 3 nautical miles). And Milo worked up a sweat not only from rowing but also from the sun that was shining from a clear blue sky. We were disappointment at the arrival at the island though because no penguins were to be found. The trip was well worth the effort though (especially for me sitting back relaxing the whole way) since the scenery was great and the dolphins came back to make us company, both on the way there and back. And having them at an arm’s reach from the dinghy is a special treat.So we could not have gotten a better start (well with a penguin colony it would have been perfect) to our Patagonian adventure.

On October 25 we took off for our next anchorage 20 Miles away, Puerto Santo Domingo, which was also on the mainland behind a small low peninsula sticking out as protection from the prevailing northwesterly winds. We motored there since there was sunshine and no wind. At the anchorage Milo got the first challenge on the trip as line handler. The shore line consisted of very slippery stones in the tidal area on a steep sloop. Not only were the stones slippery they were also rolling underneath her feet threatening to slide her into the 10 degree water. But with willpower and skill she managed to climb up to the flat of the peninsula and found a couple of good trees for our lines. In the bay, which was surrounded by high mountains, there were a couple of fishing boats anchored and a couple of small shacks ashore (more wind shelters). Obviously a place often used by fishermen from the area. And we really could enjoy the beauty of the surrounding mountains since it was high pressure weather with clear blue sky.

The following day we took off for a new overnight sail of 113 Miles to the next bay, or caleta as it is called here. It was caleta Jaqueline. We left in bright sunshine but quite soon the clouds were building up and from my shift that started at eight pm it rain all the way to our arrival in the afternoon on October 27. However, the rain also brought some wind so we did some sailing during the night. There were quite a lot of traffic with fishing boats and commercial ships in the canal in this part of Patagonia. We have not passed Gulf de Pena yet and it is not until then we get down into the more remote areas. The anchorage has been a bit unsettled since the wind direction has shifted radically in the different squalls that have passed by, but we have good lines ashore so there is no danger, just a bit of uncomfortable at times.

Two and a half months in ten minutes

Sometimes the weather was just beautiful

Always majestic backdrops

Visit to a glacier

Dolphines visited every other day

Caleta Brecknock, one of the best ones

Fixing an extra line up in a hail storm

The Beagle Channel

Sitting in my apartment in Stockholm looking at the snowfall outside the window trying to collect my thoughts around that I just came home (after catching the last plane for the night from Frankfurt before the airline chaos continued as the snow fall picked up again) from a two and a half month in Patagonia. It is an experience of a life time for sure, and one that you really have to love sailing, nature and roughing it to be able to enjoy it fully. Did I? Well, in hindsight in a snowy Stockholm definitely – when in Patagonia, sometimes I did and sometimes I did not.

I will continue to update my blog with a more chronological way with more details, but while waiting for my luggage (that got lost on the way back from Ushuaia but was found again and is supposed to be delivered to me today if the traffic chaos in the snow storm permits) I write more in general terms of the adventure.

The two unique features for sailing in Patagonia are the nature and the weather. The Andes reach all the way to coastland and are creating exciting fjords which cuts through the mountain range. You sail in canals that can be only 5 nautical miles wide but has a depth of over 300 meters and snow caped mountains in sight that reach over 3 000 meter up in the sky. The vegetation is lush (due to the exuberant annual rainfall) and trees and bushed grows all the way down to the water. The vegetation together with the steep hills makes it extremely difficult to explore the interior and most of the area has not has human influence ever as far as I know. The whole high land in the south have a huge ice cap which means that every here and there glaciers are reaching down to canals. It is a bit dangerous to get to close since they frequently break up part of the ice in a noise reminding you of an explosion. If a big chunk is dropped the wake can be big if you are to close, but they are magnificent to look at from a distance as well. The glaciers together with the high mountains give the scenery a majestic look. And the wild life is plentiful, especially if you like birds. We often had company by albatrosses and labs that could follow us for days. We often saw penguins in the water. And there are some unique birds for the area, we saw a couple of steamer ducks that for example that get their name from how they transport themselves with their wings as paddle wheels. But of course my favorites are the dolphins that at time came by to visit several times a day, but could also be absent for several days. And the seals where also fun to see even if they were not as frequent guests, as the sea otter.

The weather, apart from the plentiful precipitation (annual precipitation of over 3 000 mm, about 5 times of that of Stockholm (about 500 mm), the weather changes makes it a challenge to sail in Patagonia. We are talking about southern latitudes of between 40 and 55 degrees south, and they are not called the roaring 40:s and the screaming 50:s (and furious 60:s for those who sail the Drakes passage to Antarctica). The only thing you know for sure is that at a steady stream low pressure systems with cold fronts will pass the area, usually every third of fourth day. This means prefrontal rain (or hail or snow) in a north to northwest blow will be released by less rain and a wind usually picking up further and turn southwest to west (after front passage) and finally the wind will subside and hopefully the sky clear up a bit for a day before the next front pass. Sometimes a high pressure moves in and temporary block the low pressure tracks, a welcome break in the precipitation. In principle the same pattern like in Sweden with the difference that the intensity of the low pressures are bigger and more frequent, the wind stronger and the rain more intensive. And especially in the channels where the weather and wind is affected by the mountain range (both in a good way – giving lee, and in a bad way – giving strong mountain winds the so called rachas (williwaws)).

These weather conditions mean that when you are sailing you always have to be prepared for fast changes. A lot of the canals (fjords) can be very broad and 200 nautical miles long, so in half an hour in a heavy blow a nasty sea can build up. At the same time it will calm down with the same speed. You also have to anchor prepared for a storm. The good part is that the strong winds (in spring/summer) always come from the same direction – from north/northwest by west/south west. We get weather reports from Navtex and through a network that are in contact via short wave radio, but they are not reliable since changes happen fast. So the most reliable tool is the barometer where you can read the pressure changes and thereby see if a low pressure is approaching and how much it is expected to blow (how fast the pressure changes). And the usual store is often either to little wind for sailing or too much for comfort.

Since the canals stretches in a north to south direction (apart from Magellan sound and the Beagle channel in the very south which is more west to east stretch) you always get the wind with you when you sail from north and then to the east as we did. So we only used the roller furling genua (fore sail) by rolling it in and out depending on the wind strength. When coming in for anchoring in the chosen bay (caleta as it's called) the procedure was to scout the anchorage and decide how to proceed. Apart from the anchor we never had fewer than two lines ashore, often four, to be on the safe side for heavier blow. And this even if it was dead calm when we arrive. Since I had back problems (I did a magnet scan of the spine in Puerto Montt hospital after the back locked and it showed nerves being pinched so I have had painkillers the whole trip) and Milo is very apt to climbing (being a retired ballet dancer and Green Peace activist with over 30 missions under her belt where climbing often is a part of the mission) she took care of rowing the lines ashore and climbing the shore line on slippery stones exposed by the tidal range to find a good tree to tie up to.

Once settled I "built" a wind cover from the cock pit awning to prevent the heater chimney from being reached by too much wind. To have the diesel heater going was vital in the latter part of the trip since it was raining and blowing a lot then and to avoid everything being soaking wet down below. At the same time Milo was starting the heater. Often we had to put it out during the night of safety reasons since the insecurity of it going out involuntarily or not. Then it was time for making dinner and since we were quite soon out of fresh produce and nowhere to restore there was a mixture of cans as gravy/sauces to pasta, rice, couscous or mashed potatoes. None of us liked to cock and considering that I think we succeeded in eating OK the whole trip. We only had breakfast and dinner, and some snack in the day. In the beginning when we had a lot of nice weather with no wind and sunshine we could make a sandwich. But further south wind heavy wind and constant rain we tried to avoid going down below to not wet everything down so some fluid, nuts and chocolate bar was prepared for the trip. The day trips varied from more than 10 hours to half of that depending if the caleta (bay) was 20 or 50 nautical miles away. We averaged around 5 knots.

Apart from a frustrating wait in Valdivia for non-south near gale force winds the start of the trip was fantastic. The first couple of weeks we had mainly no rain and light winds. The first week or so after Puerto Montt it was clear blue skies and warm weather. It was not until the end of the trip and we got closer to the Magellan strait that a persistent blow and rain kept us for 7 days in one anchorage and 5 days in another (and a couple of days in several others) waiting for a weather gap. Even if the prognoses looked good when we left after the blow sometimes it developed to continue to be nasty. But I will go in details about the trip step by step later.

When I left Ushuaia we had covered more than a 1000 nautical miles (approximate around the whole of Sweden's coast line. They scenery had been breath taking and although worries about not coming home in the time span planned and the back problem constantly present, the trip was fantastic. The sceneries breathtaking, the nature life spectacular and sailing with Milo was a pleasure. I have learned a lot of new things, especially how you can live onboard a boat with a minimum impact on the environment, but also ideas of how to do things. Everybody who have sailed knows there are as many solutions on a boat as there are boat owners, and I might not always agree with everything, but I have got a lot of new aspects. Coming from charter boats that are bigger in size and has a different budget this type of cruising was a good experience. And most important, Milo and I never really disagreed on anything that dealt with safety. We reasoned in the same way and a mantra we had was that although we were pressured for time we would not let that affect our decisions. And the waiting gave us a chance to great conversations and me to read over ten books – a mixture of novels, fictions and facts. And we had very few incidents. Dragging the anchor in a storm, a ripped fore sail, almost losing the propeller shaft, flipping the dinghy over in a gale in the Magellan Strait and getting the anchor line tangled in the propeller shaft (in 8 degrees water temperature) are the only close calls. But I come to them as the whole story unveils.

Short summary

I am sitting in Puerto Williams library on a slow internet with only a
short upwind daysail to our final destination Ushuaia. A mixture of
feeling is overwhelming me. The longing for getting home at the same
tiome the exitement of all the experience the trip has given me. How
do you summarize two and a half month in an area still so very
untouched by human and som spectacular when it comes to sceneries and
wild life. I think humbleness is the one summerizing word.

The trip has mixed beautiful calm and sunny days with dolphines playing
in the bow wake with hardship with storm winds and a lot of hard
rain, hail and snow fall. But always these majestic mountains and
glaciers as a back drop, areas so remote and hard to access that I am
sure no man has ever put his foot there before - ever. Mindboggling.

The storm we had last night with gusts over 60 knots has subsided and
the prognose looks good for making our last move tonight. So I will
make this short and with no pictures but continue the blog after my
homecomming with more details and pictures about the trip.

Magnus