s/v Nine of Cups Patagonia Puerto Montt to Puerto Williams, Chile

December 2005 - February 2006

Return to Home Page

We finally got a reasonable weather window to head south. Though we still motor-sailed, we made progress. We intended to spend New Year's Eve in Valdivia, but the weather held and instead made it to Puerto Montt in 5 days, arriving in time to spend New Year's Eve with Mike and Cath of the Canadian yacht, "Breila" at the home of a most hospitable Chilean couple, Cristian & Laura. The most spectacular sight on the trip was the traveling through Canal Chaco, the narrow waterway which separates the island of Chiloe from mainland Chile and provides access to Puerto Montt. We were escorted by innumerable Peale's dolphins who performed their fantastic tailwalks on the mirror smooth water. We remained in Puerto Montt until mid-January  which gave us the opportunity to get ready for the trip through the Chilean canals, do a little sightseeing and visit with cruising friends.

Puerto Montt

A view of colorful downtown Puerto Montt

"Arboles banderas"...literally "flag trees" line the shore and leave no doubt as to which way the wind usually blows.

Puerto Montt is the "gateway to Patagonia".  Though we spent some time sightseeing and celebrating, we were also concerned about making ready for the long cruise through the Chilean canals. We purchased lots of extra fuel jugs from another cruiser and filled up on diesel. We provisioned heavily...especially on smoked salmon, a specialty in the area. Two reels with 100 meters each of poly line were mounted on stern...a necessity for anchoring in the canals. The deck was never so full of "stuff".

The copper-topped Cathedral faced the main plaza.

Birds of the area

Southern lapwings were common at the marina.

The ubiquitous cormorant...they're everywhere.

Brown hooded gull

We purchased "Birds of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego" and immediately began identifying the local birds. We would find this book to be invaluable as we progressed through the canals.

Caracara

A little inland travel

Kelp gull

We met up with Jack and Jo Cooley from "Mystic Adventure" who happened to be land traveling in southern Chile. We rented a car and drove north to Puerto Varas and Valdivia one day. Left, a scenic view of Lago Llanquihue. Had the clouds lifted, Vulcan Osorno would have been visible in the background. Right, Igelsia del Sagrado Corazon demonstrates architecturally the strong German influence in the area. Left, the lighthouse at Fuerte Nieblo on Rio Valdivia overlooking Bahia Corral. The fort was built in 1645, the lighthouse was added in 1900. Right, a view of the pedestrian mall at the colorful Feria Fluvial in Valdivia.

The Chilean Canals - Patagonia

We left Puerto Montt early on 15 January, a cool, gray overcast morning and headed down the Seno Reloncavi. We had made the decision that we would fast track down the canals with the idea that we would have a more leisurely time on the return trip since our goal was still to head west to New Zealand in the late spring. With that in mind, we negotiated Golfo de Ancud the first day and crossed the wide, unencumbered Golfo Corcovado at night entering Canal Moraleda and our first anchorage, Estero Altracadera. Finding the tiny, narrow and well-camouflaged entrances to the published anchorages proved to be a challenge at times. We used the Guide to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego by Ardrizzi and referred to by cruisers as the Italian Guide,which proved to be the best cruising guide we've ever seen or used. Other resources were the Chilean Hydrographic charts and the Guide to Chile: Arica to Tierra del Fuego by Staples and Gooch.  Anchoring in tight quarters requires lines ashore to keep from swinging into rocks and land. It took us over an hour to get settled in the first time and we figured we'd have to improve drastically if we wanted to survive in the canals. The Chilean Armada requires a zarpe, authorized written permission, to navigate the canals. The route must be pre-approved and twice-daily contact with the Armada via email and/or radio is required. The night crossings of the wide open waters of Golfo Corcorvado and Golfo de Penas would be the only transits made at night. Otherwise, we took advantage of the long summer days and made way from 6am to 9pm, taking laydays only for weather.

Seeing  and identifying our first albatross was a momentous occasion, but then, of course, they became commonplace.

Golfo de Penas (Gulf of Sorrows or Pains) is considered a rough stretch of unprotected water and we waited at anchor for three days in anticipation of a reasonable weather window. Our crossing was storybook perfect with little wind and calm seas. We reached the entrance to Canal Messier in early morning, the sky ablaze with a glorious sunrise.

The narrow entrances to the canals were often hard to spot and sometimes required a leap of faith to negotiate. The GPS waypoints and directions in the "Italian guide" proved to be excellent.

Negotiating the Angostura Inglesas (the English Narrows) required waiting for the proper tide time and strict attention to channel markers. The views all around us were phenomenal.

Caleta Connor boasted an arbol famosa, a tree to which many cruisers had affixed a sign showing they had visited. David quickly carved and painted a signboard on a scrap of wood and midst a heavy downpour, we rowed ashore and added our name to the pack.

Puerto Eden is a tiny town tucked under the shadow of snow covered mountains. It provided one of the few places along the entire 1200 mile route to buy basic provisions and top off our diesel supply.

Dolphins were a common sight, but always welcome. We consider them good luck and enjoyed their company and the entertainment they provided. Above, they accompanied us during our transit of Canal Wide.

Our approved route: *Puerto Montt Seno Reloncavi Golfo de Ancud Golfo Corcovado Canal Moraleda *Estero Altracadera Canal Errazuriz Canal Chacabuco Canal Pulluche Canal Abandonados *Caleta Mariuccia Bahia Anna Pink Cabo Raper Golfo de Penas Canal Messier *Caleta Connor Angostura Inglesas *Puerto Eden

(* anchorages) Paso del Indio Canal Grappler Canal Wide *Estero Dock Canal Concepcion Canal Innocentes *Caleta los Hermanos Moglia Angostura Guia Canal Sarmiento *Caleta Damien Canal Collingwood *Caleta Bernard Paso Victoria Canal Smyth Paso Sumner Canal Mayne *Caleta Darde

Estrecho de Magellanes (Strait of Magellan) Paso del Mar Canal Toruoso *Bahia Mussel Paso Ingles *Caleta Beaubassin Canal Magdelena Canal Cockburn *Pto Niemann Canal Brecknock Canal Ballenero *Caleta Silva Canal O'Brien Brazo Noreste Canal Beagle *Caleta Sonia *Puerto Williams

Above, an ominous sky over Islote Fairway as we "turned the corner" from Canal Smyth and entered into the Strait of Magellan.

Some terns catch a ride on the bergy bits floating by.

Reflections on beautiful Brazo Noreste

Age old glaciers swirl gracefully from mountaintop to sea. And now we know where the color "ice blue" comes from.

We arrived in Puerto Williams, the southernmost "municipality" in the world, on February 8th, 23 days after leaving Puerto Montt.

Return to Home Page