Location 34° 29S, 57° 50W
Sunday 01.27.2008

At noon on January 27th, the Schooner Maggie B was at 34° 29S, 57° 50W, just clearing from Colonia. We are headed ESE at 7.5 knots, motorsailing, for Piriapolis, which is 131 NM away. We should be there a little after dawn tomorrow. It is warm and hazy, with a 10-12 knot ENE’erly.

Putting the main up was fun. It was the first time we hoisted it since it was taken off to be repaired in Buenos Aires, plus we replaced the topping lifts and lazy jacks. So it was a bit of a struggle, but we waited until we were a ways clear of Colonia so that the locals wouldn’t laugh too much at the Norde Americanos.

The weekend in Colonia was a delight. Old buildings, cobblestone streets, lots of great restaurants and bars and some very interesting stores, including a Musto store, our favorite for high-end sailing gear. And it even wasn’t too difficult to find some restaurants that served something besides beef! Our research on wines continues, and we found some lovely Uruguayan whites and roses.

Our route from Colonia to Piriapolis takes us along the north shore of the Rio de la Plata. There are dozens and dozens of shipwrecks and “deep water” means 20-30 feet. At least the charts seem accurate as to buoys and depths. We are trying to thread a path clear of the shipping lanes (lots of big boys moving in and out), but staying in water over 15 feet and not scrape any wrecks (the masts are often visible). It is quite twisty and turny, enhanced by occasional swarms of small Argentinean sailing boats rushing downwind to get back to Buenos Aires from some Uruguayan beach resort or another. We will pass Montevideo at about midnight, which hopefully will not be too interesting.

All is well.

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En route to Colonia, Uraguay
Friday 01.25.2008

The Schooner Maggie B left Buenos Aires at 1100 on January 25th. We motorsailed across the Rio de la Plata to Colonia, Uruguay, arriving at 1500. The estuary was as brown as ever, and quite littered with shipwrecks. The passage was made more interesting by high-speed ferries zipping past at 40 knots on their way to or from Buenos Aires and Colonia. On the 25 NM crossing, other than the two dredged channels, the deepest depth we saw was 18 feet.

Colonia del Sacramento in a small, old-fashioned town of about 20,000. It was founded by the Portuguese in 1680, to smuggle goods across the river to Spanish Buenos Aires. It changed hands many times over the years as the Spanish and Portuguese fought along their borders. It looks as if it will be great fun to explore its cobblestone streets. It is rather a relief after the size, dirtiness and bustle of Buenos Aires. We are anchored just off the Yacht Club. There are about 100 boats on moorings, many of the Argentinean, here for the holidays. The boats (almost all sailboats, veleros) are generally about 30 feet with shallow draft. We are at the outside of the pack, only partially protected by the breakwater in all of five feet of water under our keel.

The Maggie B is in pretty good shape. The main sail and G2 gennaker, The Bird, have been patched by North Sails Buenos Aires. The autopilot was overhauled by Furuno USA, and they gave us a new Rudder Reference Unit, all of which seems to be working well. We have lots of goodies from home that all together make the schooner more homey.

The generator is still deviling us, having some sort of fuel supply problems. Our chief suspect is that the electric fuel pump is just losing its pull after working so hard these two years. We are getting a new fuel pump shipped to us in Piriapolis, just down the line, where we plan to haul out next week. The Buenos Aires Onan distributor said that they knew the pump, they had it in inventory, but that it was out-of-stock, but would be in “in 10 days to two weeks,” which means “never” in South America.

The crew for this leg is Curtis Weinrich and Hannah Joudrey continuing (Hannah all the way from Cape Town!). New shipmates are Thomas Didier from Quebec and Janet Gibb from Wellington. Thomas is a former shipmate of Hannah’s from her time on the Eye of the Wind. He has been in Montevideo for a year’s apprenticeship at the Canadian Embassy. His fluent Spanish has been a huge help for us and his Portuguese will help as well in Brazil. Janet has been sailing and racing for many years (like every Kiwi!) and her “day job” as manager for a High End Wellington providor should help us nail the finest food and supplies as we coast along.

Our current plan is to spend this weekend in Colonia, leaving Sunday afternoon for Piriapolis, which is about 160 NM East of here. We hope to arrive Piriapolis on Monday and get hauled out either Monday or Tuesday. We will clean and scrape the hull, and repaint the bottom paint, which will hopefully only take 3 days, though it seems you always fine something new (and NOT nice) when you haul out. We also have to change one through-hull fitting, where the handle was broken off, fortunately in the open position (it is the Gen Set cooling water fixture, and, yes, I did check that the cooling water is still getting through).

After hauling and painting in Piriapolis, we plan to reward ourselves by several days in Punte del Este, a very chic Uruguayan summer resort. While we are the biggest boat in Colonia, we will probably be the smallest one in Punte del Este. After Punte del Este, we plan to make for Florianopolis in Brazil, another summer resort for those fleeing Rio and San Paulo.

It is good to be underway again, and heading North.

All is well.

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Location 35° 12S, 56° 59W
Saturday 12.15.2007

At noon on December 15th, The Schooner Maggie B was at 35°12S, 56°59W. We are at the corner of Canal Punte Indio and Canal Intermedio, in the Rio Plata estuary, about 75 NM from Buenos Aires. The wind is from due south at 15 knots, and we are sailing with one reef in the main and our G2 Gennaker, “The Bird” up.

We have come 1540 NM from Puerto Williams.

The bay or estuary here has us all astounded. We have been sailing for a day, mostly outside of sight of land, in water between 20 and 50 feet. This is after being in the Chilean canals, where you can be in 500 feet of water 200 feet from land. There is a main ship channel that is dredged for the big boats all the way to….27 feet. The chart shows dozens and dozens of ship wrecks, most all with the name of the sunk ship. We go by the Astarso, Carumbe, Roco, Pingo, Calipso, Hierro Belgiano, Rio Santiago, Barcozo, and many, many more.

We are running later than I was hoping. We may not get into Buenos Aires until 11 PM or midnight. We are late for two reasons. One is I underestimated the current of the Rio Plata. Right now we have full flood with us, and the tide about balances the outgoing dark brown river current. When the tide was ebbing, we had about a knot and a half against us.

The more serious reason for being late is that we are now down to our fuel reserves, the 10 gallons in jerry cans. We are saving that until we get close, perhaps the last 30 NM (10 gallons = 40 liters = 60 NM at 6 knots). While we are sailing well, and we are sailors, after all, I had counted on motor sailing to hit the timing. I made the mistake of forgetting to write down the engine time when we refueled in Puerto Williams. I underestimated the distance we would end up covering from Puerto Williams, which will end up being 1600 NM. Then we used the engine a lot coming up the coast, more than we needed to, to help keep warm and to speed our arrival in BA. Finally, I didn’t take into account the use of diesel by the heater, which was low flow, but used 24 hours/day for a week. All in all, we ran the main tanks dry 125 NM from our destination. Thanks goodness we are a sailboat. Why don’t you have fuel gauges, you ask? We do, “Acu-gage Ultra-8″ - it says both fuel tanks are full.
I’m sure that my loving, faithful crew (especially Alden) will never, ever, let me forget this.

We are hoping that Buenos Aires is a “late” town.

All is well (really!).

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Location 37° 45S, 56° 31W
Friday 12.14.2007

At noon on December 14th, the Schooner Maggie B was at 37° 45S, 56° 31W. We were under full sail, making 8.9 knots in a nice 20 knot southerly breeze. Buenos Aires is 187 NM away and we have come 1394 NM from Puerto Williams. The sky is a high overcast, but no rain as yet. We should arrive in Buenos Aires tomorrow afternoon. The computer says we will be at the Antipuerto Norte (northerly outer harbor) at 1423 on Saturday. We’ll see.

Last night when we were 25 NM off shore, we had thousands of dragonflies come aboard, perching everywhere. And lots of other bugs. Must have been a mating dance as all are gone or dead today. A flycatcher has been hanging out on our shrouds, probably having heard about our abundance.

We are now on a broad reach running up the Rio Plata estuary. Our entrance into this historic body of water was immeasurably improved by the accompaniment of a pod of False Killer Whales (Pseudorca crassidens). They average about 18 feet long and were a bit of a shock after much smaller dolphin. They played in our bow wave, wake and right alongside. Only the appearance of cameras on deck made them leave us….

As sailors making landfall after a long, successful voyage, we are getting ready in traditional ways: braiding hair - Curtis; shaving (?) - Alden; reading the history of the place - Freddie; studying the charts of the complicated channel - the Captain; and airing out the Little Black Dress - the Bosun.

All is well.

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Location 39° 55S, 59° 25W
Thursday 12.13.2007

At noon on December 13th, the Schooner Maggie B was at 39° 55S, 59° 25W. We were motoring at 6 knots NE into a 15 knot NE’erly. A clear day, but with short chop that slows us down. We are all in “Delivery Boat” mode rather than “Perfect the trim of the jib to squeeze the last 1/100 of a knot out of the sails” mode.”

“We have come 1184 from Puerto Williams, we have 321 NM to go to Buenos Aires, as the crow flies, but we still have to get around the headland that makes the south shore of the Rio Plata estuary. We are as sheltered as we can reasonably be from the Northerly, but there aren’t a lot of tactics you can do when your course is 035 and the wind is from 035. Once past Mar del Playa we will gradually turn north, then northwest up the historic estuary.

We are waiting for the next system to go through, which won’t be until about dawn tomorrow. It will bring in the SW’erly, which will power us along. As of this writing (2000), our target speed to make Buenos Aires by 6 PM on Saturday is 7.6 knots. Certainly that is something the Maggie B can do. But currently with full cruising RPM, we are making 5.7 knots into the wind and waves.

During the afternoon, we were about 100 NM off the coastline. To my annoyance, a serious number of house flies somehow made it out to the boat, presumably helped by the wind. Then a very special visitor arrived! A lovely yellow/green parakeet with blue cheek patches flew into the Crew Mess, reported for duty and promptly fell asleep, perched on the Watch schedule. After a nap, it indulged in a snack (sesame seeds), some water, sat on Hannah and Curtis’s fingers, checked out its assigned bunk (a straw basket with paper towel strips for bedding), and promptly deserted for a more stabile perch. It must be mating season. We hope it brings back a mate.

More news tomorrow on our race to make Buenos Aires Saturday Night!

All is well.

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Location 42° 35S, 61° 01W
Wednesday 12.12.2007

At noon on December 12th, the Schooner Maggie B was at 42° 35S, 61° 01W. We were motorsailing at seven knots more or less due north, still making for the coast of Argentina between Bahia Blanca and Mar del Playa. The weather is clear and sunny and the sea is mostly calm, at least calm for Blue Water. We are now in the lee of the Argentinean coast, which is only 150 NM away to our West, so rollers don’t have a chance to make up.

We have come 996 NM from Puerto Williams and have 495 to go to Buenos Aires.

We are expecting a fresh northerly to start about midnight tonight and our course should both give us some protection from the build up of the seas as well as having “banked” a lot of Westing that we can give up as we run along the coast towards Mar del Playa (38S/57deg30W). If we time it right, about when we get to Mar del Playa (the “corner”), at dawn on the 14th, the wind will shift to a strong SW’erly which will blow us up the Plata to Buenos Aires. We’ll see.

The waters here must be very rich. Where before we would generally see only a few albatross, here there hundreds. The fishing boats are out (draggers) and we have seen two pods of Southern Right Whales. We had a line out to catch fish for dinner, but had to pull it in as it was attracting albatross.

All is well.

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Location 45° 22S, 62° 20W
Tuesday 12.11.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 45° 22S, 62° 20W at noon on December 11th. We were making nine knots headed about due north, with one reef in the main, full fore and jib. After a night of a 20 knot NW’erly, we are basking (literally) in a 20 knot sunny Westerly.

We have come 813 NM from Puerto Williams and have 672 NM to go to Buenos Aires. We are angling in to close the Argentinean coast where it runs East and West between Bahia Blanca and Mar del Playa because we are expecting a stiff North to NW’erly on the 13th, so we will have some protection and some “westing” to give up.

Our beloved Jorge, the Furuno autopilot that has guided us most all the way for the last 28,000 NM, has given up the ghost and gone senile, or at least it is now refusing to talk to the rudder motor. Furuno advises it most probably a blown circuit board in their control unit and will have us a new one directly, though obviously not before we make Buenos Aires. So we have to hand steer, not a hardship with five skilled helmsmen (helmspersons) on board. We are doing two hour shifts during the day and one hour at night. Last night Freddie was able to find the “sweet spot” when we were close hauled and the Maggie B sailed herself. I didn’t have to touch the wheel for all of my two hour shift, as she balanced between jib and main. The main was left just a little free and the jib a little tight: if she pointed up, pressure would come off the main, and the jib would press down; if she went off, the force of the main would increase and push the stern back up. With the helm set just right, she would slowly hunt up and down five degrees, always finding her way back.

The weather is startlingly different from just a few days ago. Today was the first time I’ve stood a watch without full foul weather gear in a month. We are searching to find our suntan lotion. Wool hats are exchanged for ball caps. But the Wandering Albatrosses are still with us as are the fun show of Peales Dolphins.

We still anticipate making Buenos Aires sometime on Saturday, 15 December, depending on how we get treated by this next system.

All is well.

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Location 48° 38S, 63° 18W
Monday 12.10.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 48° 38S, 63° 18W at noon on December 10th. We are headed about due North true, reaching up along 63 degrees West Longitude. Right now we are making 10.5 knots, including a knot of favorable current (the Falklands current). In the last 24 hours we did 204 NM. The wind is a nice 25 knot SW’er and the seas are only 2-3 meters. The Maggie B loves this kind of weather - we are often going hull speed (10.2 knots) and below decks it is comfortable for me typing at the keyboard, Curtis watching a movie on the other computer and Alden and Hannah napping. We have the main up with one reef, full fore and full jib. The centerboard gives off a happy hum when we are going more than nine knots, and we are hearing it almost constantly.

We have come 612 NM from Puerto Williams and we have 872 to go to Buenos Aires. A betting pool has formed on our arrival time in Buenos Aires. Current guessing is between noon on the 14th and end-of-day on the 15th. The unpredictable part is there is a small northerly promised around the 13th, which may slow us. We are holding a bit more towards the Coast of Argentina than direct to give the seas less room to develop and to “bank” some westing that we could give up if faced with the NW’erly.

Our port diesel fuel tank has been giving us fits, acting like it is out of fuel when plenty is left. We had blown out the fuel vent, but discovered yesterday that the one-way valve that was just supposed to stop water coming in, also was stopping air from coming in. After an hour or so of running, a sufficient vacuum developed to reduce the fuel flow. Always new riddles!

All is well.

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Location 51° 50S, 63° 15W
Sunday 12.09.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 51° 50S, 63° 15W at noon on December 9th. We were running north at 8-12 knots before a Southerly gale. The skies are clearing up and the rain has mostly stopped. It is a little warmer, which isn’t very warm. We have the main up with three reefs, the fore up full and the jib about half reefed. The wind waves are developing into small swells that we surf from time to time. Jorge, the Furuno autopilot, is doing a great job.

At noon the wind was only 15 knots and some might have been tempted to break out our three-reefed main, but the barometer was down at 984 millibars and we knew to be ready for the next blow. Rather than heading straight for Buenos Aires, we are edging somewhat in towards the Argentinean coast to reduce somewhat the height of the waves and to hopefully avoid a northerly that may come in the next few days with the next front. The new Commanders Weather should be posted soon so all can see the trade-offs we are making.

We have come 408 NM since Puerto Williams and have 1056 to go to the Buenos Aires.

We are all looking forward to leaving the Furious Fifties behind for the relative calm of the Roaring Forties.

All is well.

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Location 54° 21S, 64° 18W
Saturday 12.08.2007

On December 8th, the Schooner Maggie B was at 54° 21S, 064° 18W. We were headed north at 8 knots! Clouds behind us, clear ahead. The forecast from Commanders and the GRIB files make things look pretty good. Mostly 15-25 knot westerlies for the next five days.

We have come 244 NM from Puerto Williams and have 1212 NM to go to Buenos Aires. At this speed, we should make Buenos Aires on December 15th, which assumes an extra day to go upriver.

Last night was quite blowy in Puerto Hoppner. We were very, very glad not to be at sea. We had our anchor out with 120 feet of chain in 20 feet of water, a line from our bow to shore and two lines from our stern to each shore. Thanks goodness, because the night was full of williwaw/rachas. Gusts of 40 knots or more would hit from all directions, including vertically. One line to shore would be as tight as to sing, then instants later it would be completely slack and the line on the other side would tighten up. We have a rough door made of a 2 by 4 as a cross piece and strips of heavy plastic hanging down to help keep the warmth in. A gust pulled it out from being jammed into the top of the hatch and flew it ashore.

We are now sailing with three reefs in the main and one in the fore. I would have preferred two reefs in the main, but our tear with Hannah’s patch is near the second reef cringle, and I don’t want to stress it. Hannah’s patch is in blue material and makes it look as if we have a #1 on the white sail. Why not?

It is so great to be back in “our” ocean again after a year of the Indian and the Pacific! No more barriers between us and home, though surely there will be more adventures in this last 7600 NM.

All is well.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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We hoist the Blue Peter to head for Nelson, NZ

The Schooner Maggie B has finally hoisted the Blue Peter. The Blue Peter is Code Flag “Papa” which is white in the center and blue outside. It means “outward bound” and was a warning to crew that a ship was ready to sail. We are off for Nelson, New Zealand after clearing Customs and finishing all the last minute errands.

Those with a meteorologic interest should check the Commanders forecast which is posted somewhere on the web site. There is a “deep gale” out in front of us in the Tasman Sea. This is good news as it will throw off southerlies behind it, which we should pick up tonight. More interesting is a “monster late fall gale” with pressure to 960mb south of Tasmania, but coming this way. We should be timed just right that we will have the help of this first one, then a day of motoring and then pick up the Northerlies of the next one, and tuck ourselves into Nelson well before it gets too big. Our usual rule is to motor when the wind gets light enough so we slow to four knots. This trip it will be six knots. I don’t want to hang out in the Tasman Sea and get the full brunt of this second low.

All is well.

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