Location 50° 45S, 74°48W
Thursday 11.29.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 50° 45S, 74° 48W at noon on November 29th. We were making our way through the Angostura Guia inbetween Canal Inocentes and Canal Sarmiento. It is still blowing out of the NW with an average speed of 15-20 knots. It is overcast, raining occasionally and not too cold. We have the fore up alone, with the engine helping a bit. There is plenty of wind to sail, but it is generally funnelling straight down the channel, which tends to make the jib useless and the main dangerous.

We have come 779 NM from Puerto Montt and have 407 to go to the Horn. The barometer is at 995 and continues to fall.

Last night we tucked behind the well-named Isla Bun in Bahia Hugh. It was perhaps 200 meters by 200 meters, with 10 meters of good mud for the anchor in the middle. I could have dropped our “Away Party” with their lines off over the bow, as almost all the shores were steep-to. The entrance carried 10 meters of water all the way through, though the trees on either side almost brushed the gunwales. The wind whistled overhead, but we barely moved all night. We toasted the Italians for finding this lovely spot for us.

Our trip since the marvelous spot last night has been immensely spiced with dolphin playing around our bow and jumping out of the waves. We believe that they are Lagenorhynchus australis, known as the Blackchin Dolphin. But the usual name in literature is Peale’s Porpoise as they were first classified by Titian Peale, who was naturalist on the USS Vincennes on the 1838-42 expedition to Patagonia. Titian Peale is an ancestor on my mother’s side.

We hope to spend tonight in the marvelously-named “Caleta Moonlight Shadow.” It is a two mile long inlet in Isla Piazzi. The isla was named by Fitzroy in 1830 in honor of Guiseppe Piazzi, the astronomer in the observatory of Palermo. At the end there is a tiny caleta, just 25 meters wide by 100 meters long.

The big news today, though, is that we have had our first knock-down. We were carrying just the fore with the wind at about 20 knots, on the port side at about 140-150 degrees relative. We had been watching a black cloud catch up to us, certainly full of rain, and we expected some more wind. We didn’t realize how much. The wind jumped to 40 knots and all was obscured by the rain and flying spume. All the crew was on deck in an instant, in full foulies, ready for anything. And it was something. The wind increased to at least 62 knots (highest noticed on the wind gauge), and shifted in an instant 40 degrees starboard, jibing the fore. She took a knockdown, burying the port rail and more, but Hannah, cool as a cucumber, eased the starboard, windward, sheet and Freddie trimmed the port. The Maggie B sat right up, responded to her Captain at the helm and took off downwind like a shot.

With steady 40-50 knots, the Maggie B was surfing at 10-12 knots, in zero visibility. We functioned perfectly as a crew. Hannah went forward as bow watch, Curtis was on the radar to help keep us in the channel, and Alden and Freddie stood by the sheets. It was wild but safe. Great credit goes to North Sails for building the fore to take such a ride.

All is well.

Location 49° 31S, 74° 26W
Wednesday 11.28.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 49° 31S, 074° 28W at noon on November 28th. We are off the northern tip of Isla Saumarez (yes, the famous English Admiral) in the Paso Abismo (no translation necessary). We are heading south under power, making 8-9 knots with the current. The wind is northerly at 15, blowing in fits and spurts out of the different intersecting fjords. It is overcast with very rare bright intervals. Rain with occasional sleet. This northerly breeze is due to continue for at least the next several days. The barometer is down to 1008 and continuing to fall.

We have come 690 NM since Puerto Montt and have 468 NM to go to the Horn.

The landscape is definitely changing. Now on the high hills there aren’t occasional waterfalls any more, often the whole hillside is a waterfall. All the hills have snow on the top, not just the distant Andes. Trees hide along the shore and in gullies. Low tundra is spread across the open slopes. The water is cold and choppy. Winds alternate from NE and NW, making sailing essentially impossible as we would be gibing every minute. If only Nigel would have let me have a proper yard!

Hannah is making good progress on sewing up or rip in the main. Curtis and I believe that we have traced the Onan generator problem to some feed restriction from the port tank. More investigation to come. Freddie is working on the verses and score to Barrett’s Privateers and painting the scenery; Alden is reading 1421 and Curtis is everywhere.

We are getting good at setting up and clearing from three point anchorages, improving every time.
Tonight we are planning on being in Bahia Hugh, tucked behind Isla Bun on Isla Figueroa, at 50° 24.2S, 074° 45.7W. The Italians describe the entrance as “delicate and difficult to find,” being encumbered with islets and submerged rocks, but once inside “a hurricane proof cove of great beauty.”

All is well.

Location 48° 59S, 74° 27W
Tuesday 11.27.2007

At noon on November 27th, the Schooner Maggie B’s noon position was at the Angostura Inglesa, 48° 59S, 74° 27W. I used to think that Angostura was a secret brew that my parents put in special alcoholic drinks. In fact, it means “narrows” in Spanish. This narrows is transited by very large ships, which must be quite wild at times. There is a tight 90 degree turn in the middle and currents run at up to eight knots. The small island at the tight turn has a statue of the Virgin, which is no surprise. After the narrows, we stopped at Puerto Eden to check in with the Armada (obligatory) and to buy whatever supplies we could. That consisted of three kilos of potatoes (US$3) and 60 liters of diesel (pesos 650/liter or about US$1.25). Sixty liters isn’t much, but that is 60 NM of steaming.

The Lieutenant at the Armada office didn’t have a secretary, so we escaped with only a long entry in a big book. He was enthusiastic and helpful. Also he had no English, so I had my first full successful technical conversation in Spanish. He had a big iron stove with a wood fire, which was very welcome.

Yesterday we motored up to the Seno Glacier. It was stunning. The incredible fractures and the deepest, lapis lazuli, blues. We stopped the engine for 1/2 hour just outside the bergy bits field and listened to the glacier crack, groan and explode. It threw off Volkswagen bus-sized pieces every few minutes. The experience was only slightly diminished by the intermittent rain and sleet.

As we circled around after the glacier, we went by a small prefab house with one resident glacier scientist. He was the first human we had seen since Bahia Dorata, several days ago. He called us on the radio and said “come my house” but there was, unfortunately, no safe anchorage.

After the glacier we motored out to Caleta Ivonne at 48deg39.8S/074deg19W. It was a spot so tight we could have tied up on all four corners with 100 meters of line and had rope left over. It was marvelous. We had captured one bergy bit at the glacier and it made for perfect ice for our Mt. Gay and Laphroaig.

Tonight (writing at 2130) we are anchored at Puerto Riofrio, named after Lieutenant Mauel Riofrio of the Chilean Schooner Covadonga, which sailed these waters in 1872. It is at 49° 11.8S, 074° 24W.

Outside, according to the GRIB files, it is blowing 35-40 knots from the NW. It was supposedly blowing 25 knots the day before yesterday when we experienced 40 knots sustained. We are SO happy to be safe in the canals with two lines ashore and the anchor out with 6 to 1 of chain. The clouds are streaming by overhead and we rarely have more than 20 knots in the anchorage, which is picture-postcard pretty.

Alden, with help from many sous-chef’s, made a stunning dinner of onions, carrots and sausages, chopped fine, wrapped in spring roll wrappers with ship-made mango sweet and spicy salsa.

We have come 664 NM from Puerto Montt and have 483 NM to go to the Horn. Perhaps we will knock off another good 100 NM.

I just paid to have our insurance restrictions eased as we will pass south of 50 degrees south tomorrow.

All is well.

Location 48° 11S, 74° 46W
Monday 11.26.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 48° 11S, 074° 46W at noon on November 26th. We were proceeding SSE down Canal Messier at 8.2 knots under reduced sail and engine, pushed by a favorable tide. We hope to make Glacier Seno by about 1700, where we may be able to spend the night, depending on wind and ice.

We have come 567 NM from Puerto Montt and have 540 NM to go to the Horn.

Last night we got what is apparently a typical Gulfo de Penas spanking. There was a proper NW’erly gale with winds sustained for a while above 40 knots. We sailed with the main with three reefs and jib, and the Maggie B handled it well. The waves were large and confused, breaking all around us, but not often on the boat. All watches got wet and cold and no stomaches were unsettled. We made the famous light at San Pedro at a little after dawn and we were as happy to see it as the lighthouse keepers were surprised to see us.
We found, or caused a one foot rip in the main between second and third reef, which seems contained and fixable on board (Hannah! Help!). During one of our reefing evolutions, one of the lines looped around the helm station Furuno display and ripped it free of its mounting. The display is fine, but the balance arm is only good for recycling.

As the wind petered out and we started the engine and the Newport Stove, we have been mostly able to dry out and warm up.
Our plan is to head in to the glacier and see if a nice cove on the north side is relatively ice free for us to stay tonight. If not, we will admire the glacier and slide back out ten miles to a snug anchorage (Caleta Yvonne) near the mouth of the fjord.

All is well.

Location 45° 49S, 74° 54W
Sunday 11.25.2007

At noon on November 25th, the Maggie B was at 45° 49S, 074° 54W. We are just on the south side of Bahia Anna Pink, making for open water. We finally have our sails up, but are still motoring as the NW’erly hasn’t come in yet. (As I write this at 1500, the wind is NW at 10-12 and we are almost ready to shut off the engine).

We have come 381 NM from Puerto Montt and the Horn is 674 NM away. The skies are clear and it is warm and sunny (for 46 degrees south in Chilean Patagonia).

We expect to reach south at good speed, passing Cape Rapier at about sundown and crossing the Gulf of Penas during the night to arrive at the mouth of the Messier Canal (Bahia Tarn) at about dawn. We plan to push on the the Seno Glacier for the night of the 26th, which should be spectacular (Position 48° 42.3S, 073° 59.3W. We are not sure where we will be able to anchor as it depends on the ice and the wind.

But spectacular €“ we are running out of adjectives. We came into Puerto Millabu about 1700 yesterday and were all just gob smacked. The hills are steep on either side - perhaps 1000-1500 feet, with the inlet fairly narrow. The fjord is about two miles long and has a wide sand beach at the end. The base of the fjord is highlighted by the Salmon river which cascades down the hill in a series of stair-step waterfalls from lakes up the side of the mountain, which is almost 3000 feet high, closing the North end of the fjord.

Our arrival was further highlighted by a swarm of small (3 inch) red crustaceans that rushed about under the boat. They looked like crayfish and traveled by snapping their tails, but the red color surprised us — it was as if they were lobsters that had already been boiled. If we had had a dip net, I believe we would have had a feast. As it was we ate marvelously: Carrot ginger soup with a garnish of cream, balsamic vinegar and spicy pepper; chicken marinated in garlic, morel mushrooms, heavy cream and red wine (Chicken Millabu); potato pancakes with lemon zest. Dessert was “After Eights.”

The generator isn’t working. It is a problem with the fuel supply which we think we have licked. Curtis is on the hunt. We suspect a physical break or kink in the supply hose. I guess that there always has to be something deviling us.

All is well.

Location 45° 43S, 74° 06W
Saturday 11.24.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 45° 43S, 074° 06W at noon on November 24th. We are motoring west towards our anchorage for tonight, Puerto Millabu, on Isla Clemente, at 45° 44.1S, 074° 36W. We should arrive early, at 1500-1600, in time for a shore expedition.

It is overcast, somewhat cold with occasional drizzle. The wind is light out of the west. We have come 336 NM since Puerto Montt and have 668 NM to go to the Horn.

Nautical twilight at dawn is now 0540 and twilight at sunset is 2158, or more than 16 hours of daylight. At the Horn, in a week, it will be about 18 hours.

Currently we are threading our way through the Islas Canquenes. We have seen two concrete markers in the 20 NM since setting out this morning. Otherwise, no boats, no houses, no nothing. It is wild and beautiful. The water is getting cold — 50F or 10C — there has been no more talk of morning dips.

Puerto Millabu is described as: “An inlet, around 2 miles long….surrounded by beautiful high mountains. The anchorage lies deep into the west side, facing a small beach with large round boulders, in 10 meters of water. The Rio Casma flows into the head of the inlet creating shoals and a nice white beach. The beautiful Cascada Salmon falls down the NW slope. Follow its course to the higher lakes for a great excursion. The highest hill is Monte Haddington, at 982 meters (3,222 ft.). The anchorage is subject to strong gusts in NW and SW winds.” (Rolfo & Ardrizzi, AKA “The Italians,” the authors of our best guide).

Last night we spotted several (or maybe just one fast one) dark weasels. One stunned us by diving into the water from a rock, and going underwater far enough so that we never saw it surface. We know that there are otters around, so perhaps we were mistaken as to the ID. Perhaps someone can advise us as to what a Chilean otter looks like. Those of us who have seen weasels/ferrets think that is what we saw.

Alden chose the perfect wake-up music this morning: The New World Symphony.

The weather still looks just right for a big sail south starting tomorrow morning. It looks like a three-four day NW’er, so we will have the possible chance to put some big miles in. The Armada wants us back inside at about 48 South, to go down the Messier Canal. We’ll see. Commanders has also been advising tucking back in around 48S as the SW swell is supposed to come up to perhaps 20 feet, which might be a handful if the wind is from the NW. The winds are supposed to start at 15 and crank up to 35 knots. We’ll reef early and be cautious. We plan to get lots of sleep tonight.

All is well.

Location 45° 10S, 73° 31W
Friday 11.23.2007

Happy Thanksgiving (yesterday). No Turkeys in Chile, but Curtis made us a lovely seafood stew with fresh salmon and abalone. At noon on November 23 we were just leaving the pier at Puerto Aguirre at 45° 10S, 073° 31W. The wind is calm and the sky is clear. It isn’t quite warm enough for shirtsleeves, but jackets are left hung up. A lovely early spring day…in the Roaring Forties.

We have come 287 NM from Puerto Montt and have 695 NM to go to the Horn.

We spent last night in a lovely cove just next to the town of Puerto Aguirre. We were totally comfortable with land all around us, and anchored in 10 meters of mud with a line ashore to a huge tree root. It was overkill for the calm conditions, but if we perfect the routine of anchoring and lines ashore now, we will be skilled when we need it.

We arrived at the pier at about 0900. Curtis had walked the 1/2 mile into town to aid our docking. It was a new cultural experience. No one had any English and our Spanish is only progressing slowly. A lieutenant from the Armada greeted us as we tied up and took me up to the Capitaneria. It was manned by the Lieutenant and a secretary. My zarpa (permission to navigate) covers us from Puerto Montt to the Horn, but the Lieutenant insisted on issuing another “updated” one. It was painful. First the secretary had to copy out by hand all the information on the Zarpa into a huge book. Then she typed out the same information into her computer, with some updates and minor clarifications of the route. Then she tried to print it, but it had to be on different paper stock than what was in her printer. She hand fed the special zarpa paper into the printer, one page at a time, having to restart the “print” on the computer between each page. Only then would the Lieutenant read it. Each mistake he found was marked and the zarpe had to be reprinted before he would read further. Then the next mistake would be found, reprinted, etc. You can imagine the incredible effort I put into being the cheerful American. Of course, once it was presented to me to sign, I found that they had laid out a geographically impossible route, and offered changes, back to what was on the original zarpa. Sigh. Three hours for what could have been done with a sixty second: “Let me look at your zarpa. Any changes? All OK? Have a nice trip!”

We left at noon from the dock, which was 20 meters from the Capitaneria. At 1300 we got a call on the radio asking for our ETD from Puerto Aguirre. We were told to report to them when and where we anchor tonight. I think that part of the problem was that we have been making our morning and evening reports of our position and intentions by email to the Armada Headquarters, but I did not radio the base at Puerto Aguirre that we were anchored in one of their coves (caletas).

We bought some minor supplies at the store in Puerto Aguirre, but were mostly interested in filling up on diesel. No diesel in town. There was a service station just 10 meters from the dock, but they had no diesel, only gasoline and kero. We were incredulous because there are many boats around that clearly had diesel engines. After a bit, a fisherman sidled up to us and said that he had diesel that he would sell at 500 pesos a liter (mainland prices!). We immediately emptied all our new jerry cans into our fuel tank and hopped in his truck with a fistful of dollars and pesos and got an additional 150 liters (enough for 150 miles) of lovely clean fuel.

According to the Armada Lieutenant in Puerto Aguirre, there is no reliable diesel between here and Puerto Willams. We’ll see. Puerto Eden supposedly has some, though generally at high prices and infrequent availability (delivery every four months). I suspect that if we are friendly with fishermen, we’ll find lots at reasonable prices. Reasonable given the situation, the compensation possibly assisted by cigarettes (we bought some Marlboros for this reason in Puerto Montt) or rum bottles. Curtis and Alden are very entrepreneurial in this way.

Tonight we will be in a tight little caleta called Jacqueline, named by a French yacht called Maris Stella. It is on Isla Humos at 45deg43.8S/073deg57.4W. Speaking of names, the Royal Cruising Club guide has the following engaging advice: “Many of the names used in this guide have been coined by yachtsmen and have no official status whatsoever. Hopefully some of the more historical ones will become recognized, as appears to be the tradition in Chile (Mischief Narrows and Tilman Island are excellent examples). The present editor has bestowed many names on anchorages: usually they have been called after vessels or people who provided information. Any users who are aware of a local name or official name for such anchorages are urged to report these for inclusion in future editions.” Perhaps we’ll discover a Caleta Maggie B?

All is well.

Location 44° 37S, 72° 44W
Thursday 11.22.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 44° 37S, 72° 44W at noon on November 22nd. The wind is light and variable, the sky overcast with occasional drizzle and rain. We are headed down Canal Puyuguapi under motor.

We have come 236 NM and have 713 NM to go to the Horn (if we could fly).

Yesterday was marvelous with the views of the snow capped mountains. Today we can’t always see the sides of the channel, but somehow it is more personal. Motorboats, large and small bustle about, tending the endless salmon farms or fishing. One boat came alongside to offer us a conger eel, but we passed on it.

Our current plan is to anchor tonight on Islas Las Huichas in Caleta Poza, near to Puerto Aguirre, at about 45° 09.5S, 073° 31W. We should arrive at about 1800. Then tomorrow morning we will tie up at the pier in the village (population 1200) and fill up on diesel and buy a little fresh food.

The weather reports still look good for a big NW’erly on Sunday and Monday to blow us south out of Bahia Anna Pink, across Golfo Penas and well down towards the Straits. The Armada wants us to go “inside” after Golfo Penas, but if we get a few days of good NW’erly, we may stay outside and put a big piece of our southing under our belts.

In yesterday’s noon report I mentioned light winds from every direction. We did get a nice fresh 35 knots at one point during the afternoon, needless to say just when we were threading our way through a very tight spot.

Last night we arrived at Bahia Dorita and picked up a mooring right off the marvelous Puyuhuapi Lodge and Spa. Check their web site at
. I’m afraid that anyone who looks at photos of the lodge will feel no sympathy for us poor sailors. It is a well run five star hotel and restaurant, sited right next to a series of hot springs. So before dinner, we floated around in lovely thermal pools, temperature 38 degrees C (100 F), or in the spa, where there were five different temperature pools, including ocean water. The sauna was broken, dang! Then Pisco Sours and a world-class dinner with Chilean wines. It was just lovely.

In the morning we had a test, which we’ll share with all of you. The engine wouldn’t start. Nothing, nada. Just crank and no fire. I immediately suspected sabotage, as there certainly are worse places on the planet to be stuck, and not many better. But all the crew claimed innocence. Here are the clues: 1) we had had extensive fuel problems in Puerto Montt, with new injectors and lots of fuel drained and polished, taking out more than a liter of water and gunk. 2) But we had motored successfully for 38 hours after the engine work. 3) On inspection there was another cup of dirty water in the primary filter, but none in the secondary. 4) The oil level was down a fair ways. 5) We suspected a blocked secondary fuel filter and changed it. Still wouldn’t start. 6) When the fuel supply lines to the injectors were opened, proper amounts of fuel came out. 7) The engine had been working perfectly coming in to the anchorage, but was totally dead. Hmmmmm. Answer at bottom.

Alden, Curtis and Freddie want credit recorded for their dips in the cold ocean the day before yesterday when we were anchored in Bahia Anihue. So be it. Hannah and I watched and photographed.

With help from my brother Ed, and his dolphin and porpoise contacts, we have ID’ed the dolphins we saw two days ago as Cephalorhynchus eutropia, the Chilean dolphin, a “relatively rare species.”

Engine Quiz Answer is: “The ‘Off button’ corroded and was stuck in. Once WD-40′ed, all was fine.”

All is well.

Location 44° 07S, 73° 17W
Wednesday 11.21.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 44° 07S, 073° 17W at noon on November 21st. We were navigating out of the incredibly beautiful Canal Refugio, where a ship called the Anna (she was properly called a “pink,” hence Bahia Anna Pink) took refuge in 1741 after having been dismasted off the Horn. The wind has been from the north, west, south and east, and calm. The sun is bright and the sky is clear. The barometer has fallen 15 millibars since setting out on Monday.

We spent last night in a lovely spot called Bahia Anihue or Bahia Islas, in an unnamed harbor. Our anchor was out ahead in 8-9 meters of water and astern we tied to a tree with about 100 meters of dock line. We had no swinging room to our starboard and a small island was about 10 meters in front of our anchor. Despite some current (3-4 meters tide) through the harbor, we spent a perfect night. A small pod of active dolphin met us and played close around the boat. They were small in size, like a US harbor porpoise, but had a quite different dorsal fin, quite rounded and relatively soft.

We are briefly out in the big Canal Moraleda, in a maze of fishing bouys, and then we are tucking into the narrow Canal Jacaf. Canal Jacaf will take us to Canal Puguguapi, then Seno Ventisquero and finally Bahia Dorita (44° 24.9S, 072° 38.6W). In Bahia Dorta there is a five star hotel with a series of thermal pools. We have a reservation for dinner at 2030 tonight.

Our new Spanish dictionary includes: Seno=sound; Canal=channel; bahia=bay; cabo=cape; boca=mouth; caleta=cove; goleta=schooner; punta=point or cape; faro=lighthouse; racha=williwaw; velero=sailing yacht; zarpe=permit to navigate.

It is hard to describe how beautiful it is here with the almost deserted green shore with the snow capped Andes as backdrop. Those of us who know and love Maine, Tasmania, Newfoundland and New Zealand are still searching for new superlatives.

Hannah and Alden are both knitters. We bought some lovely yarn in Puerto Montt. Alden can only knit hats and Hannah can only knit scarves. The rest of us are looking forward to hat and scarves and we are also wondering if they get together, perhaps there’ll be a sweater in it somewhere.

This area is a bit of a nightmare for the Navigator. While it is exciting to discover, the charts are sketchy, if marked at all. Every bay, channel, sound, or cove has a different name on every chart, if it is named at all. Depths are infrequently recorded, and will have 45 feet right next to 774. The general rule is to look out for kelp, which marks 30 feet, or maybe zero. On top of all this, the Armada (the Chilean Navy) has changed the position of things, presumably to make invading Argentineans run aground. Sigh.

Hot baths and great food tonight!

All is well.

Location 43° 10S, 73° 05W
Tuesday 11.20.2007

At noon on November 20th, the Schooner Maggie B was at 43° 10S, 073° 05W. We were powering at 6.8 knots, headed south. The wind is from the south at 18 knots. We are crossing the Golfo Corcovado, en route to the Canal Moraleda. We plan to spend tonight at anchor in the Bahia Anihue, main anchor out and a line to a tree on shore.

We have come 105 miles since leaving Puerto Montt at 1715 yesterday, and have 796 NM (as the condor flies) to the Horn.

The Chonos Archipelago protects this area from the ocean. Hundreds and hundreds of islands run from about 44S to 46S. Canal Moraleda is a deep channel separating the Chonos from the mainland. Our general plan is to explore and play in this area until Sunday morning (November 25th), when we will emerge “outside,” hopefully into a nice NW’erly, which will blow us south efficiently. Between now and Sunday, the wind is forecast to be from the South, at speeds up to 40 knots. A good time to hunker down.

Tonight we hope to visit with the Szydlowski family in Bahia Anihue. The family is Chilean/American and are great supporters of the yachting fraternity. They have extensive holdings in the area where we will be anchoring ( 43° 52.3S, 73° 02.4W). We hope to show anyone interested around the Maggie B and hopefully get a visit ashore.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we plan to deviate (by necessity?) from our Zarpa a bit to east to the Canal Puyaguapi, to visit a five star hotel and hot springs called Bahia Dorada or Dorita. Thursday? We’ll see what we learn.

Today is lovely and clear, even with the unfavorable wind. The excitement after lunch was a new and not nice sound from the rear of the engine compartment. On inspection, it turned out that the stuffing box had lost its lubrication and was almost ready to ignite. We stopped the engine, tightened bolts, blew out the water supply line (it is a “dripless” system), and, after a while to cool, all is well.

East of us is a series of National Parks. There is just one stunning snow-capped mountain after another. This morning the perfectly-shaped pyramid of Mt. Nevado in Parque Nacional Corcovado emerged first out of the low morning fog like a Japanese dream of Mt. Fuji. It looks as if tonight we will be anchored under Mt. Melimoyo.

All is well.

South through the Chilean Channels

The Schooner Maggie B got underway from Puerto Montt at about 1715 on November 19th, headed south through the Chilean Channels for the Horn. It is clear and lovely, with the snow capped Andes as backdrop to our East. The wind is light from the South and we are motoring at seven knots. The tide is playing with us and sometimes our GPS speed is eight knots and sometimes five.

Monday was….Monday. We had the diesel mechanic come back one more time to help us change the impellers. He was a few hours late but then worked very hard. It was fortunate we changed them as the Onan generator impeller had already lost one of its vanes. Now both engines are running very smoothly and all our fuel is perfectly clean. The mechanics took US dollars, the marina insisted on piles of pesos and the gas dock loved my Visa card.

We are full of fuel, water, food and good cheer.

We have doubled the watches, with Hannah and Alden on one and Freddie and Curtis on the other. I have taken myself out of the rotation and will be up with both watches, especially Freddie and Curtis on their first few, to do the necessary training in our systems. The channels are full of boats — we probably passed or were passed by 40 in the first two hours out of Puerto Montt, including little wooden fishing boats and ocean-going tugs towing big barges.

We have an open stretch in front of us, about 250 NM across the Gulf of Corcovado and down the Canal Moraleja, which we hope to do in a day and a half. This will give us some time to play in the Canal Errazuriz (where they make a great Sauvignon Blanc), before we pick up, hopefully, a nice NW’erly to make a big run down the coast. We’ll see. The latest report from Commanders should be up on the web site soon.

All is well.

Ready to Round the Horn

The Schooner Maggie B is still at the Marina del Sur in Puerto Montt, Chile at 41° 29.38S, 72° 58.95W. We are mostly ready for the trip South to the Horn.

It has been a hard working week to fix things. We have re-varnished the cockpit table; renewed the protections on the mast where the boom jaws rub; rebuilt blocks; changed the engines’ oil, fuel and oil filters; cleaned out both fuel tanks; rebuilt the toilet (again!); restocked food, water and fuel; and replaced the injectors on the Yanmar. We are “re-” tired.

We have two fuel tanks, a smaller one at 120 gallons and a bigger one at 200 gallons. I, probably mistakenly, mostly used the small one and I suspect that the 200 gallon one built up water, biological fouling and sediment from non-use. Our engine problems coming in were from the bigger tank getting stirred up, bringing sediment and water into the engine in amounts that overwhelmed the two filters. We purchased the last four appropriate Yanmar injectors in Chile. The new injectors, together with new filters and burnished fuel and clean tanks, seem to have solved our problems.

We have also purchased six more jerry cans, to give us a little extra margin and also make it easier to resupply in the towns to the south, where you have to fill up at a service station and tote the fuel to the boat.

Sadly, we are going to leave ashore Strika, our South African surf kayak. In the last storm, the jib sheet got tangled around the very tip of the bow. When the sail filled, the sheet bent the fore 1/3 of the boat up almost 90 degrees, cracking the fiberglass all around. She is repairable with time, skill and plenty of space. Not available on the Maggie B. She should make a fine project for someone in Puerto Montt.

The crew for the trip south is Hannah Joudrey, Alden Blair, Freddie Kellogg Curtis Weinrich and Frank Blair. Full bios and photos will be up on the web soon. Hannah has been with us since Cape Town and is Bosun. She should whip the new recruits into knowing their ropes soon! Alden is my 25 year old son, back fresh from Africa, Freddie is an experienced sailor who I have known for fifty years and Curtis is the fit-it man from my brother-in-law’s farm and a Alaska commercial fisherman. We will probably start off with two watches of two, watch on and watch off. I’ll take myself out of the rotation and use my time getting the new guys up to steam and doing the relatively complex navigation.

The Chilean Navy, the Armada, have issued our Zarpa. The Zarpa is a formal itinerary with specific places and times that we are generally expected to conform to all the way to Puerto Williams. You are expected to check in twice a day as to your position, direction, speed and ETA next point. In practice is supposedly isn’t that big a deal, at least in the north. In the South, closer to “differences” with the Argentineans and more extreme climate, the Armada keeps you closely monitored. One must also check in with every “reporting” lighthouse (the major ones) and any Armada boat one passes. Reports used to be over SSB, which was apparently very difficult, now one can do them by email. Progress?

Chile has been fascinating. We have had some time to explore Puerto Varas to the north (a beautiful lakeside town) and Chiloe Island to the south. Economically things seem pretty good, streets clean, people well dressed and active shoppers. People work hard, six days a week not being unusual. Our repaired sail was finished and returned today (Sunday). The Armada issued the Zarpa at 1700 on Saturday. But Puerto Montt is a hard-working fishing port, and not necessarily a fun place. Perhaps it is more lively in the summer season. Everybody has been kind and helpful, though there ae not as many English speakers as I would have expected.

All is well.

Location 41° 29.38S, 72° 58.95W
Saturday 11.10.2007

The Schooner Maggie B is safely tied up at Marina del Sur, Puerto Montt, Chile at 41° 29.38S, 72° 58.95W. We made landfall last night at about 0100, sighting the Faro Corona through the mist and squalls. We didn’t have enough power to make it past the light into the quiet of Puerto Ingles to anchor, so we ran back out to sea for two hours, and hit the flood perfectly a bit after dawn. We had up to five knots to help us up the channel to dock at Puerto Montt at 1630. Every lighthouse, which are run by the Armada, quizzed us as we came in. Fortunately their English was good as our Spanish is lacking.

We covered a total of 5036 NM from Rangiroa, or 4252 from Papeete. From Papeete to Puerto Montt took us 25 days, or an average of 170 NM per day.

One of the amazing experiences of arriving here is the bird life. We went from Wandering Albatross to Pelicans in five miles. We had the good fortune to set a new record for clearing Immigration and the Armada. We arrived at 1630 and were cleared by 1900. Another boat took four days. Apparently we still have Health and Customs, but we need to call on them at their offices on Monday, so that hardly counts.

More soon.

All is well.

Location 41° 30S 76° 30W
Friday 11.09.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 41° 30S, 76° 30W at noon on November 9th. We are still taking a bit of a beating. The wind is from the South at 25-30, which puts us on a broad reach, but the Southerly waves and swell make up for a short sea that is putting a lot of water on board, and giving the boat an occasional abrupt motion. We still have the main up with one reef and the jib rolled up to a bit less than 50%.

We have 117 NM to go to the mouth of the Channel into Puerto Montt. We seem to be right on time to arrive at about daybreak tomorrow. If we need to wait for the start of the flood, there is a protected bay where we can hang out.

We have 15-20 Pintado Petrels doing their aerial ballet in our wake. Hannah saw them doing a “walking on water” technique to attract food. It is behavior that I only associate with Stormy Petrels.

As with most boats that get themselves in a churn, our fuel tanks produced a big load of water and junk for the engine fuel filters. Fortunately the filters are instrumented and warned of the junk, which was removed before any trouble. What a great way to start the day — getting coated in diesel fuel before breakfast!

One more day! It seems impossible.

All is well.

Location 41° 30S 79° 10W
Thursday 11.08.2007

At noon on November 8th, the Schooner Maggie B was at 41° 30S 79° 10W. We are thrashing along more or less close hauled in 25-30 knots of wind from the Southeast. A nice Roaring Forties Spring Event. Occasional sleet in the rain showers. Waves making up into a nice chop, but not too serious yet. Supposed to blow through pretty fast, which would be nice. We are under one reef in the main and the jib rolled up about half way. She is handling well, but we’ll take the main in to the second reef if things don’t abate some by sunset.

We have come 4668 NM from Rangiroa and have 281 NM to go to the channel entrance to Puerto Montt.

We are about on schedule to arrive at the mouth of the channel at sunrise Saturday, which is two hours before low water or one hour before the flood starts. If we get there really early, we will anchor nearby at Puerto Ingles, if we get there as late as Noon, we would catch the end of the flood. We should be in Marina del Sur by noon on Saturday.

The storm seems to bring out the Pintado petrels. There is at least a dozen working close in our wake and they fly within arms length of the stern. Big albatross are around also, and a 5-6 foot juvenile Wandering came almost close enough to touch the boat with his/her wing.

Hannah made a delicious soup/stew for lunch that was gulped down in coffee mugs — no soup plates today! Baked potatoes are cooking in the over for later warm-up.

All is well.

Location 40° 58S 82° 58W
Wednesday 11.07.2007

At noon on November 7th, the Schooner Maggie B was at 40° 58S 82° 58W. We are still motorsailing with about ten knots of wind directly behind us. We have 428 NM to go to Canal Chacao and have come 4513 NM from Rangiroa. The sky is partly cloudy but visibility is good. It is nice on deck in the sun, but the cabin is chill with the hatches open to air everything out. We are seeing lots of birds again — albatross and petrels — but we are still skunked on fish.

We are expecting a wind shift to a nice fresh Southerly.

Probably more wind than we need now because our target speed is 6.5 knots to get us to the mouth of the channel at about daybreak on Saturday, a hour or two before tide change.

Looking at charts, one way to grasp our position is that we are exactly on the longitude of Columbus, Ohio. The 4513 NM that we have come from Rangiroa is just about the distance from where we are to Atlanta, Georgia, or by plane from San Francisco to London.

Work on board is now all about landfall.

Checking brightness of riding lights (we haven’t seen a boat, even on radar, since Tahiti), cleaning, printing out crew lists, cleaning, reorganizing stores, cleaning, preparing Spanish standard phrases, cleaning, studying charts. We are trying not to go crazy this last step.

All is well.

Lewmar again…

This morning brought a new surprise. On his watch, Robert collected about a dozen inch long pea green round tubes, and asked me what they might be. My first thought was some strange sort of chewing gum pieces. On inspection they proved to be the inner rollers of one of our Lewmar main sheet blocks, which was spitting them out. We rigged a replacement block and were able to replace all the rollers in the original. Situation solved? Nope. Two other similar Lewmar blocks proved to have far less than their full compliment of rollers. Hopefully Lewmar will sell us some replacements and we can get them to Chile with our crew change at Puerto Montt. #@$%!!& Lewmar.

You can read the rest of this post here…

Location 40° 41S 86° 42W
Tuesday11.06.2007

The Schooner Maggie B’s noon position on November 6th was 40° 41S 86° 42W. We are motorsailing downwind towards Puerto Montt at 6.5 knots. The wind is from the West at 10-12 knots. The Maggie B doesn’t do well going directly downwind, and, after about 4000 miles, we are more in “delivery mode” for the last little bit, rather than extracting every last knot out of whatever wind we have.

We have come 4359 NM from Rangiroa and have 597 NM to go to Canal Chacao, the channel entrance to Puerto Montt.

We are focusing on arriving at Canal Chacao at the start of the flood, which is one hour before low tide. Low tide on November 10th is at 0830 local (GMT -3), so we are shooting to be there at 0630 local — better early than late. The math is Fourth or Fifth Grade, but still so often done wrong: at noon today we had 597 NM to go. Ship’s noon now is GMT 1800 (we are now -6). We want to arrive at 1130 GMT in @3 1/2 days, or 90.5 hours. 597 divide by 90.5 equals 6.6 knots average speed. Could we arrive by the end of the Friday flood? It starts at 0940 GMT, it would end at @1530 GMT or 69.5 hours equals 8.6 knots. Hmmm. Could do it, but not with 10 knots of wind on our stern and tight on diesel (we have fuel for 6 knots for 600 NM, but not 8.5 knots - which would require approximately twice the fuel flow for the 40% more speed). So Saturday morning it is.

It was lovely at noontime today. We had lunch at the table in the cockpit. It is so strange to go from snow flurries two nights ago to lunch on deck.

No one on board speaks Spanish, but we are all trying to learn. The Armada, the Chilean Navy keeps tight track on shipping. One must report to each lighthouse or Naval Station one passes. But what to say? Probably not buenas dias or Mas cervezas, por favor, the Spanish we are learning. So catchy phrases like “A que hora es el corriente de creciente nel canal Chacao?” are the order of the day (”When does the flood start in the Chacao Channel?”). But will we understand the answer? We’ll know Saturday. I wish my daughter Alexandra were on board with her fluent Spanish!

I am pleased to report that we seem to have shopped successfully for this leg. It appears that we will have sufficient supplies of good coffee, garlic and chocolate.

All is well.

Location 41° 21S 89° 45W
Monday 11.05.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 41° 21S 89° 45W at noon on November 5th. We are making good time, 8.1 knots more or less directly for Puerto Montt. The wind is from the NW at 13-16. It is overcast with fog. Visibility is up and down from 100 meters to 1/2 mile.

We have come 4207 NM from Rangiroa and have 727 to go to Puerto Montt.

This has been a fairly mixed period, with the wind going up and down in strength and all around in direction. I wish that I could say that we are following a clever strategy with carefully defined tactics for dealing with this little high sliding out (the barometer is falling) and the strength of the low coming to bear, but we aren’t. We are just taking the wind and waves as they come and doing our best to keep the boat going as much towards Puerto Montt as we can. In the last three weeks we have been almost completely on the port tack with the sheets almost nailed down. In the last day have jibed three times and even now Hannah (The Watch) is eager to go back to starboard. It “should” steady in from the south, but the wind hasn’t gotten the message as yet.

All is well.

Location 41° 05S, 093° 05W
Sunday 11.04.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 41° 05S, 093° 05W at noon on November 4th. We are motorsailing on the Great Circle route to Puerto Montt at 7.8 knots. The wind has backed around to the south at 7-9 knots. We are on the starboard tack for the first time in three weeks!

We have come 4054 NM from Rangiroa and have 882 NM to go to Puerto Montt (or, to be more exact, to landfall at the mouth of Canal Chacao, the entrance to Gulfo de Ancud, or 30 NM more to go to Puerto Montt). Arrival at Puerto Montt on November 9th seems doable, subject to wind, waves and weather. Canal Chacao is about ten miles long and has current speeds of up to 10 knots, with breaking 5-8 meter waves if there is wind against tide. We will be very attentive.

There is essentially no wind. Fog and a low overcast has come in with a moderate drizzle. Cold. The water temperature is down to 54 deg F (12 deg C). The watch is largely kept in the “Winter Porch,” fueled by cups of tea, coffee and cocoa with Hannah’s molasses cookies.

This morning brought a new surprise. On his watch, Robert collected about a dozen inch long pea green round tubes, and asked me what they might be. My first thought was some strange sort of chewing gum pieces. On inspection they proved to be the inner rollers of one of our Lewmar main sheet blocks, which was spitting them out. We rigged a replacement block and were able to replace all the rollers in the original. Situation solved? Nope. Two other similar Lewmar blocks proved to have far less than their full compliment of rollers. Hopefully Lewmar will sell us some replacements and we can get them to Chile with our crew change at Puerto Montt. #@$%!!& Lewmar.

All is well.

Location 40° 55S, 96° 41W
Saturday 11.03.2007

At noon on November 3rd the Schooner Maggie B was at 40° 55S, 96° 41W. We are still making good time: 7.0 knots on a heading of 075 degrees magnetic, holding only a little north of the Great Circle route as we sharpen up to follow the wind as it backs around to the West.

We have come 3885 NM from Rangiroa and have 1043 to go to Puerto Montt. We were disappointed that with the lightening, backing winds, we were only able to go 166 NM in the last 24 hours, so our five day run was 990 NM. So close to the darling 1000!

We are expecting the winds to fall off further and back around to the SW, and do at least one full 360 in the next 36 hours. A little high is coming through and we expect tomorrow to be motorsailing, washing and cleaning. Following the high should be a nice breeze from the SSW, starting at 25-30 and then tapering off to a fine 15-20 knot southerly to blow us all the way in.

As mentioned previously, we have gone through our starboard, smaller diesel fuel tank and are on the port, larger one. We estimate that we have 150 gallons left, which is about 150 hours steaming at efficiency cruise, which gives us about 6 knots in a calm. Thus we have about 800-900 NM steaming range if the wind fails us. We also carry 10 gallons (60 NM) in jerry cans. We thing that we will buy and fill additional jerry cans in Puerto Montt, as fuel between Puerto Montt and the Horn is chancy at best, and only available from a filling station ashore, if available. The Maggie B may end up looking a bit like a pack horse, but that beats running out.

I smell Hannah’s tea biscuits coming out of the oven…

All is well.

Location 40° 41S, 100° 20W
Friday 11.02.2007

The Schooner Maggie B Noon Position on November 2nd was 40° 41S, 100° 20W. We are making great time, going 7.9 knots in a wind from the NW at 13-17. The sky just has a thin high overcast and there is a long SW’erly swell of perhaps four meters. The air is definitely chill and we all are living in our thermal underwear, under our other gear.

We have come 208 NM in the last 24 hours and 823 NM in the last four days. We have come 3719 from Rangiroa and have 1208 to go to Puerto Montt.

It looks as if this lovely sailing weather will continue for most of the way into Puerto Montt, with just a slight intermission for maybe 1/2 day on the 3-4 November when a small high will go over us. We may need to motor for a bit but then pick up a nice SW’erly. We could chase either south to 45S or north to 39S to keep the wind, but either way would take at least 1/2 day and we have plenty of fuel to motor through the calm winds straight for Puerto Montt. Anyway, that way we would make enough hot water for hot showers for all!

We’re now doing our homework on the arrival in Chile. The channel into Golfo de Ancud, Canal Chacao, between the mainland and Isla Chiloe 41° 47, 073° 40W, runs at up to 10 knots of tidal current. The channel is about 30 NM from Puerto Montt which is at the top of the Gulfo de Ancud, or four hours steaming/sailing from the channel. Since we will want to do it all in daylight, we’ll have to be very attentive to the timing of the flood.

We are all on crash courses to try to learn Spanish. We are accustomed to “Island Time” from French Polynesia, but it was still a surprise to get introduced to “Manana Time” from the Spanish course, where it is advertised as “Speak Spanish in a Week,” but it has four weeks of CD’s and workbooks.

Insurance is always an interesting issue. Our “Jackline” policy seems well suited to what we are doing and is carefully sculpted to fit the known dangers. We paid extra to be allowed to sail south of 50S, but it is limited to after November 30th. On inquiry, the insurance company will allow us to head south a week earlier, for an additional $450. Why $450? Because.

We have switched to GMT-7 time. This is particularly exciting to me because it is the same time zone as Chicago, my home (give or take DST). If we were coming east from Denver in a prairie schooner, we would be coming up on the longitude of Kearney, Nebraska.

All is well.

Location 40° 03S, 104° 27W
Thursday 11.01.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 40° 03S, 104° 27W at noon on November 1st. We were making 9.1 knots with 20 knots of wind on our port beam. The seas have settled down a bit and the skies are clearing. We are catching up to the High — the barometer is up to 1027 Mb — so we may not have this marvelous sailing much longer. In the Roaring 40’s, this is as good as it gets. But for the chill in the air, all is perfect.

We have covered 410 NM in the last two days. We have come 3529 from Rangiroa and have 1401 NM to go to Puerto Montt. We are about 800 NM SSE of Easter Island.

We got the fore back up at 0900 this morning. The tear along the leech line is not structural in any way. We are still keeping one eef in the main.

It looks as if we are south of the main high, but that another one will form behind us, about on the same latitude, towards the weekend. The two highs will eventually join. We may be able to stay in front of the new one, or we may have to head a bit south of the Great Circle track to keep a good westerly into Puerto Montt. We should be able to figure it out in the next day or so. Once past the highs, we should have a good Southerly to blow us in the last bit.

I’ve previously mentioned how international the Maggie B is: Japanese radar, French navigation software, English blocks, Danish riding lights, American Watermaker, New Zealand anchor, etc. I’ve also been noticing how international our food is: Thai rice, Guatemalan molasses, New Zealand beef, Argentinean chicken, French cheeses, Australian anchovies, American mayonnaise, Danish bacon, Canadian maple syrup, Brazilian sardines, Dutch salt, Mexican hot sauce, Swiss beef stock, South African chutney, Laotian mango slices, Chinese sesame oil, Japanese teriyaki sauce, Scotch whiskey, Barbados rum and French Polynesian beer!

All is well.