South to Gerlache Straits.

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All well here. A bit of a mess yesterday at Punta Arenas as the weather was poor in King George island so a lot of waiting at the Hotel in Punta Arenas for the guests and then…Then a Rush to get to the plane for a weather window.  Then they asked us to Move Rosehearty out off the anchorage 1/2 a mile more just before the plane landed to allow the plane a very low approach..There was not much Vis.

However it all got sorted and we are tonight on the way South. The Weather was again indifferent today with Snow, 29f, and East winds at 15kts or more and water temp of 29f. But it has cleared now and the sun is setting here at 2300 and due back up at 0300. There is ice around but we have good Vis right now.

We passed this guy. a huge ice Island… on the way past Deception. 11nm long and 5 miles Wide it is named A57A and moving SW at about 12-15nm a Day! We chose not to get too close this time.


Photo by richard Smith

Photo by richard Smith

Carlini base to Fildes Bay

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We moved on the 2nd of January over to Fildes Bay in preparation for meeting our guests on the 4th at the Airport here.

The flights down here are 3 hours long from Punta Arenas and in our case flown on a BAE146 4 engine jet. Everything comes down on the plane, guests, luggage, food , spare parts etc. Because of this There are more boats here picking up and dropping off than we hope to see elsewhere. There are 3 bases here, the Chileans (Fildes) who handle the commercial airport. The Russians ( Bellinghausen) and a Chinese base all here in this bay. Across the bay are the Argentinians at Carlini and the Koreans!! However the special thing here is this Church the Russian Orthodox.. built in Russia and sent down here to be reconstructed. Small but Exquisite..

Photo by Raya Hutchison

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The Drake.. 60.00S and 64.00W

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Well with 2 reefs in and the staysail out we have made good time. Constant Barometer watching is now the entertainment of the day. We have been fortunate so far with this weather window. The winds on departure were in the 20kts range but from a bit more SSW than we wanted and there was an award East Swell setting against a SW swell making it pretty uncomfortable for a while. The Easterly Swell shows we do not want to travel too fast here and end up on the wrong side of a low (it is 978mb right now here..). So a sedate 10kts is the speed for now.. We soon got into deeper water and the old Easterly swell diminished (it is still present) So the sea is predominantly from the WNW to West at 5m or 18’ Winds are steady at 28-32kts and we even have some sunshine as you can see, between the rain showers and the threat of Fog.

Water temps are now 34f or 1.5c

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Puerto Williams to King George Island, Antarctica

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We refueled alongside a Tanker in the morning and packed as much fuel in to the boat as she could safely hold. A little last minute shopping for fresh Veg (not much there in Williams). and then loading Tenders on board, double checking lashings etc. scanning forecasts, obsessively. We decided to leave at 0300 and be in MacKinley Pass by 0400. This pass is the Eastern exit from the Beagle and has Argentina and Chile less than 1nm apart. Then SE to to pass Woolaston and Cape Horn to Starboard about 30 miles to windward.. And We are off across the Drake Channel.

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Natales to Williams

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Marcelo Sanchez, our Chilean Pilot boarded rosehearty at 1400 and we departed for White Narrows. On South we went at 14 knots. Out in to the Pacific for 10 miles. It certainly was a bit rough.. Then inside to Magellan Straits, soon it calmed and the wind was behind us. All the way down to Magdalena passage and through Brecknock pass to the Beagle Chanel. Winds came and went from 15kts up to 30 kts and boy can it rain here!

The views when We could see them were terrific.

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It's THE WIND!

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We have been anchored out for a few days now. First it was in the 30’s and they closed the port. Then yesterday it got to the 40’s and we could not get off the boat.. Today it is in the 40’s with gusts in to the 50’s. Really not nice. We have 140m of chain out and are sailing around at anchor. All on a moments notice in case we drag. When the wind is blowing it is like sailing on board. We heel over about 12 degrees…the chain straightens. We tack and heel over the other way…Repeat every minute or so.. but at least the sun finally came out..

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White Narrows..

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After several hours of naviagting our way through the channels of Patagonia, we approached the White Pass. A tight wiggled pass peppered with little Islands, rocks and all sorts of hazards. With every season of the year compressed into a few hours, the conditions were very variable. We were seeing 43Knots of wind funneling down the mountains but it felt like more on the water. All crew gathered in silence on the flybridge as 100% concentration was needed by Captain Hutch and our local pilot guide Marcello.

The video is on ourRosehearty Facebook page

Sleeping...

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talking about sleeping..We came in after our White Narrows transfer..(that is called White due to the color of your knuckles) To anchor. by now it was blowing 25kts + again and we found a lee just South in between the 2 narrows, the other being Kirke.. It was choppy and gusts were up in the high 30's but the anchor held. Next morning, Monday..We headed over to an island called Focus where the conditions were more sheltered for us.. finally, Yesterday, Tuesday we came on the dock. We refueled, Re-provisioned and did a few required jobs on board. Some of the crew got a stroll and dinner ashore..

Photo by Raya Hutchison

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Eden down to Puerto Natales

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Timing they say.. Well after extensive discussions and checking We decided to leave Eden for Natales. a 220nm Run. We departed 2100 before it was dark to allow us out through the Harbour entrance and in to the Narrows. Down 1 Canal after another. Finally to Union and up to White Narrows Past amazing waterfalls, incredible topography, tight passages. It was a very long night for the watch keepers and our Pilot Marcello Sanchez. The weather was as good as it could be. We were trying to get in before the next weather system so had to leave before the last one cleared out..

Photo by Hugo Thomas

Photo by Hugo Thomas