Location 52° 45S, 73° 52W
Saturday 12.01.2007

Happy December! The Schooner Maggie B was at Happy December! The Schooner Maggie B was at 52° 45S, 073° 52W at noon on December First. At noon we were rounding Isla Falgate where Canal Smyth meets the Straits of Magellan. We have come 930 NM from Puerto Montt and have 294 NM to go to the Horn.

The weather continues to be poor. Outside, in the Pacific, the wind has shifted to the North at 40-45. Inside that means steady 35 knots with gusts to 45. It hailed on Curtis’s watch, rather coating the cockpit with pea-sized pellets. Rain showers come and go, though we get occasional glimpses of sun.

Yesterday’s trip down Canal Smyth was fairly uneventful. Alden won first prize for spotting interesting sights, first detecting the wreck of the Santa Leono (USA), a huge rusting hulk of a 300 foot steamer, which had missed the turn at Paso Shoal. The steamer Hazel Branch was also wrecked in almost the same spot in 1904, but only a few ribs were left of her. Alden also spotted a school of Peal’s Dolphins which included two mother/baby pairs.

Our anchorage last night was lovely, tucked up in a little narrow caleta calledTeokita. It was so narrow coming in, we wouldn’t have fitted if we had been towing Reep alongside. We had fenders ready though we carried at least 20 feet the half mile in. Because of the wind direction, we set shore lines first, and then slid out to set the anchor. That probably was a mistake as we didn’t dig in the anchor with 50% throttle astern, as we usually do. We set three shore lines in trees, including attaching one to a line thoughtfully left by another boat ona perfectly positioned tree that was relatively inaccessible due to a steep bank. The night was quiet and mostly snug.

In the morning the wind was working its way right down the narrow caleta, blowing 35 knots in the anchorage. The anchor was slipping us back towards shore bit by bit, despite having 120 feet of chain in 20 feet of water. We had faintly been thinking of a “layover day” but the prospect of getting blown ashore quickly dismissed that. Going out was quite wild. We had to keep a fair bit of speed as the wind was throwing the boat around and there was no room to spare. All hands had either fenders or poles to fend off. A two meter swell was breaking across the mouth of the cove. Curtis on the bow made the steering calls and the Maggie B responded to every turn and twist, fair jumping out of the mouth like a champagne cork.

Now we are scudding down the Straits of Magellan under bare poles in a fresh gale with two-three knots of current with us. Thank God we are not trying to get West! We have come through Paso Roughwater and Bahia Corkscrew — ah, these English with their subtle sense of humor!

We hope to make Bahia Borja tonight, which is on Isla Riesco, just before Paso Tortuoso, where the Straits tighten up a bit. The position is
53° 31.8S, 72° 36W. This is a well-known historic cove because it has an arbol con tableros (trees with boards bearing ship’s names). This tradition is very old and was mentioned by Slocum over a hundred years ago. We will add a Maggie B one if we make it safely.

All is well.

Location 51° 46S, 73° 52W
Friday 11.30.2007

At noon on November 30th, the Schooner Maggie B was at 51° 46S, 73° 52W. We were motorsailing with just the fore up, in a 15-20 knot Northerly, which is right on our stern as we continue south. We have come 851 NM from Puerto Montt and have 344 to go to the Horn. The day is overcast with occasional light rain. While the wind baffles back and forth down the channels, there have not been any significant gusts. The barometer is up a bit to 997. According to the weather maps, it is continuing to blow 40 knots from the NW offshore.

Happily, the day has been peaceful.

Last night we were in a totally lovely spot up the end of a two mile reach. We carried 50 feet of water almost the whole way in, with the width sometimes being barely 60 feet. There were many wild ducks and geese, with some of the ducks in molt so they couldn’t fly, and they would splash away from us in a tizzy. Our anchorage was about 50 feet wide and 100 feet long — lines from the stern to shore and the anchor outside the notch in 30 feet of water, dug into thick mud. Nothing could have moved us.

Tonight we hope to be down near the end of Canal Smyth, just before it opens up into the Boca Ocidental of the Estrecho de Magallanes. It will be very exciting to see the straits. We may get as far as Caleta Teokita at 52° 41.2S, 073° 45.2W. Still no sign of the SW’erly shift.

It has been wonderful to see lots of Arctic Terns in the channels. We see - literally_ - the same birds in Maine in the Northern Summer. They travel 10,000 NM from the Bay of Fundy to Patagonia, an astonishing distance for what seems to be a very delicate bird.

In making the watch lists, Alden is using new nicknames like “blushiest” and “lawyeriest.” I wonder why he calls me “Dear Leader?”

All is well.