s/v Nine of Cups Up the Argentine Coast February - April 2006

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We arrived in Ushuaia, Argentina at the end of February, a 25 mile motor sail up the Beagle Channel from from Puerto Williams. Ushuaia, touted as the most southern "city" on the planet, is a beautiful little city surrounded by mountains. We arrived in summer and enjoyed cool, but mainly sunny weather and long days. After a month in the canals and Puerto Williams, it was a pleasure to shop at a grocery store, buy an ice cream cone, eat at a restaurant, visit a museum and generally enjoy the advantages of civilization again.

Ushuaia, southernmost city in the world

The picturesque Lighthouse L'Eclaireur is postcard perfect.

From the top of the hill, a good view of Nine of Cups at anchor in the harbor. She's center to the right of the red steeple.

The pier at the municipal yacht club is in disrepair,but the views are terrific.

Winter approached quickly. We woke one morning to find snow on the mountains and frost on our noses. It was time to head north. We made last minute preparations and provisioned and off we sailed (ugh...motor-sailed).

We were sailing in "loose company" with Noel Marshal, a single handler, aboard "Sadko".The day was lovely as we headed east out the Beagle Channel to our first anchorage in Bahia Relegada.

Estancia Harberton

From our anchorage in Relegada, a short, very pleasant walk brought us to Estancia Harberton, the first estancia (ranch) in Tierra del Fuego and a lovely place to explore. The estancia was established by a missionary Rev. Thomas Bridges in 1886. He is well known for his work with the indigenous Yamana people and developing an English-Yamana dictionary. His son, Lucas, wrote "The Uttermost Part of the Earth", an amazing boyhood memoir of growing up with the Yamana. The estancia is still run by the family, Tommy and Natalie Goodall. Natalie is responsible for the development of the museum there and for identifying and documenting much of the flora and fauna of the area. We spent a wonderful day touring the property and learning more about the Yamana and the early settlers in the region. We took tea in the afternoon at the tiny tea room and wandered the property till early evening.

The Museum Acashutun at the estancia offers a unique collection of marine animal bones.

A local inhabitant of the estancia, a gray fox, poses for this photo.

Heading North up the Argentine Coast

Our day in Bahia Relegada was sunny and warm...obviously one of the last warm days. As we progressed along the Beagle, the weather changed drastically. We encountered high winds and a reasonable blizzard in Bahia Aguirre and waited out the snowstorm before heading into the Atlantic, through the Strait of Lemaire and then turning north towards Mar del Plata, Argentina and some warmer temperatures.

The entire trip took from Ushuaia to Mar del Plata took 19 days. We had a mix of blizzards, gales, big seas  and perfect sailing weather, but at last we headed into Mar del Plata and some warmth..

Mar del Plata

Heading into Mar del Plata harbor, we were greeted by an enormous Jesus statue erected on the breakwater. Marcie  referred to him ever after as the "Big Jesus".

Mar del Plata, primarily a resort city, is fairly large and an odd mixture of old and new. Here an ornate church steeple mingles with one story homes and skyscrapers.

The local water tower blended well with the local architecture.

A large sea lion colony lives near the breakwater. You can hear them and smell them long before you see them.

The Mar del Plata coast is long and sweeping...great for surfing as well as sunbathing.

From Mar del Plata, we headed to Uruguay for boat maintenance, but we plan to return to Argentina  in July to do more inland travel. To continue with us to Uruguay, click here.

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