Harmon and Randall's Voyage…

Leg 5, Blog 4, April 8, 2024

Roughly 900 miles done with 600 or so to go….

Above: We spent Passover April 1 at Otter Pool. Randall’s first Seder went moderately well and he was a very good sport about it. Thank you to daughter Ulrika for forwarding me an abbreviated (ten minute!!) Haggadda that was perfect under the circumstances. It was nice to be able to have Passover while we were safely tied up in Otter Pool (even though the weather was poor). I am so glad that I did not have to conduct the Seder while at sea! I tried to make comparisons with the Jews 40 years wandering the desert to our 4 years of wandering at sea…

Above: My Matzo balls were a little golf ball-esque.

Above: Note-to-self: Do not put packaged matzah in your checked luggage and then carry it across three countries and two oceans and expect it to be ready for prime-time!

Above: It has been raining every day since I arrived back in Chile (more than two weeks), so rain was no surprise when we woke at first light to slip lines.

So happy (again!) to have my HH drysuit while I jumped in the dinghy, retraced the lines, untied my (in)famous knots, and got the boat ready to go.

Above: It is actually quite peaceful and calming to take a moment to look out at a secure Mōli, before I untie the lines. As I take in the moment, I hear Randall call me on the hand-held to inquire why nothing is happening!

Above: Just a typical day in the Patagonian Channels – cold and rainy. This time we seem to be going with weather so not such a bad ride.

It is actually fun to be out in such weather if you have the proper clothing!

Above: Just another view of our lovely morning!

Above: You can see here how it pays to be in the middle of the country, with the heavier weather out in the pacific, and the calmer weather (blue) on the inside.

Above: As we pass the mountains, they are filled with these wild waterfalls.

Night 19: Estero Dock: April 3

We had a lazy exit at Ottor Pool and left at 1030. We had a 53 mile motor in moderate winds and arrived at 1830.

Above and Below: Estero Dock is off the west coast of Canal Wide on Isla Wellington. Nothing like entering an anchorage for the first time with the knowledge that there are, let’s say, just a couple of rocks, and less than 10 feet of clearance on either side of you (by the rocks) and BTW, it is only 2.5 meters deep at the entrance.

Above: I just take the pics and watch the bottom of the inlet as it gets closer to the bottom of the boat! “What, me worry?”

Above: It was recommended that we anchor at the waterfall. Hmmmm…. there were several, but this one made the most sense relative to the depth and the beauty and the proximity of the waterfall. Good hiking I hear for those who can get off the boat.

Above: Ahhhhh… engine off, and we can now take in the quite solitude and beauty of this amazing spot.

Above: As we need a bit of sunlight before we start out, we woke at 0700 and departed at 0830. As soon as we made it to the channel, we spotted our “old friend” the ferry boat trudging along at 8 knots.

Happy to have an easy day as we literally have fair winds and following seas. We arrived in Puerto Eden at 1800 after 53 miles.

Puerto Eden: Nights 20 and 21: April 4 and 5

Puerto Edén (or Port of Eden) is an extremely remote, isolated fishing village located on Wellington Island in Chile’s Bernardo O’Higgins National Park. Known for its wet climate and indigenous Kawéskar community, it has no roads, using wooden walkways instead, and is accessible only by boat. 

Puerto Eden has beautiful natural resources and native indian vestiges – about 20 Kaweskar inhabitants left of a total of 160 people that live there. It was hard to discern who were the natives and who were the Kaweskar. Hand made crafts and fishing are the main activities, but the town now welcomes the occasional cruise ship.

Above: As we looked for a place to tie-up for the night, we pulled up alongside this Chilean family who was going glacier exploring on their family boat.

Above: Ok… the real importance of Puerto Eden to those transiting north is that this is the only stop for food and fuel between Puerto Williams and Puerto Montt. Even though Mōli can hold 200 gallons of diesel and as many Jerry Cans as we care to stuff aboard, making the entire four to six week up-wind journey of about 1,500 miles without this stop would be next to impossible.

You have to order your diesel in advance and it is delivered to your boat. Even though the town is super remote, they allocate fuel to us mariners. We underestimated the amount of fuel we needed by about 15% and we kindly asked to be topped off. No senior. You get what you get. In fact, we felt lucky to get diesel at all, this being in the middle of our Iran adventure. Randall did not bat an eye as he was informed that they would be charging us the “new” price.

Above: Desperate for a local home cooked meal, some groceries, and dare I say my first shower in three weeks, we somehow got in touch with Isabella, second from the left. She is what I call a “Pachamama” which translates from Quechua as “Mother Earth” or “Mother Cosmos” or how about Superwoman! As the highest deity in Andean indigenous culture, she represents a fertility goddess who embodies the mountains, nurtures life, and presides over planting and harvesting. She is revered as a living entity.

Isabel runs one of the three local grocery stores (one tiny room), will cook you dinner (in the home behind the store), and offer you a shower. Her home is not big, with just one or two bedrooms. But there are kids (her children and then some) friends and locals who constantly drop by, and yes, stragglers like Randall and myself. We instantly felt at home.

Above: Our first course was the local crab they call Centolla, otherwise known as Chilean King Crab (somewhat smaller then their Aleutian/Bering cousins) but actually more flavorful and delicious.

Above: While we ate dinner, we could not help but notice her husband weave the local reeds into a basket. It was still Passover, so I thought to myself, “Hmmmmm this is Eden, and he is weaving a basket that will be sized appropriately for a baby Moses, and we are on the water …. Naaa!!!”

The crab was incredible, but it was then followed by a local white fish with all of the avocado, cucumber, corn and potato we could eat. What ever we wanted to drink, came right from her store!

Above: This is Puerto Eden at dawn. It is actually 7:30 in the morning and the town is still very much asleep. I woke early as Isabel’s husband said that if I wanted to buy a woven basket, I would have to the cruise ship dock the next morning at 8:00 as all the locals would be out selling their wares to the passengers arriving for a one day visit. I took him at his word, woke up early. Way too early! But I did get to see Eden in the best morning light.

Above: I love a good old fishing boat that is colorful and has lot’s of character.

Above: Not sure what this boat was up to, but it was fun to watch it get to work.

Above: At last! At 9:30 the cruise ship arrives!

Above: The passengers disembarked, and the town soon went from feeling remote and lonely to lunch-time in midtown Manhattan. Randall did his best NOT to fit in.

Above: We began to notice that most beaches were filled with muscle shells. This was a surprise to us, as we had been warned not to eat the local shellfish due to a red-tide problem. Clearly, that was behind us now.

Above: What are the odds? Also heading up north, and also doing a ring around the Americas is Randall’s old acquaintance Mark Schrader (first American to sail around the world singlehanded non-stop by the Capes), his sailing companion and Project Director Jen Dalton and Coordinator Tess Shornak. They are also sailing around the America’s, but doing it in one strait shot of 14 months and combining it with ocean research and education. Yikes. Hard enough for me to get out of my bunk, take my watch, cook a meal or two and have any energy left at the end of the day. I salute you guys! Check them out at https://oneislandoneocean.com/

Randall last met Mark in Washington in 2015 as he was looking at the possibility of purchasing Mark’s then boat Oceanwatch – 60 foot Bruce Roberts – for use on Randall’s upcoming Figure 8. Alas, it was not to be, but it was nice to run into Mark and crew in Puerto Eden!

Above: Anybody who knows Randall knows how much he misses his dog Bodie, and that for the life of him, Randall cannot pass up a dog without showering him or her with affection.

Above: All well and good, until tonight! As Randall was walking back to join me and the One Ocean crew, one of the local dogs was not in a friendly mood and bit Randall on the ankle!

The two pieces of good news is that canine rabies is no longer a local problem, and that while the dog’s bite broke the skin, it did not pierce Randall’s pants. We think he will live.

Above: After getting the bite under control, we all sat down to another fabulous dinner.

Above: Isabel’s husband went out that morning and caught the crab!

Above: I was not about to be left out of the fun…

Above: Sampling the delicacies..

Above: Along with the crab, Randall was able to try some local muscles and clams.

Above: We went back to the boat, and Randall pointed out the Southern Cross in the horizon above.

Above: We awoke early to make our way to Wager Island, as we were going to have to transit some narrows with fast currents, so they needed to be timed accordingly.

Above: on our way, we saw some crazy ships like this one fully loaded!

Above: Yikes! This is the cargo ship MV Capitán that ran aground on a shoal April 7, 1968 while carrying a cargo of sugar from Santos to Valparaiso. Launched in 1937, it was mistaken by some for the SS Cotopaxi which vanished in the Bermuda Triangle.

Above: Anyone who has spent time on the open water has had a similar experience, but sometimes the sunlight hits the water at just the perfect angle.

Caleta Hale: Night 22: April 6

OK folks, they are not all winners. We had tried to make our way to Wager Island, but after 13 hours we were hitting headwinds and decided to call it quits for the night. Caleta Hale is known as a decent spot to overnight if you cannot find shelter elsewhere and want to be out of the williwaws.

Above: We spent Easter in Caleta Hale. Sorry to report no Easter egg hunt…

Above: But as we had fresh vegetables and eggs I made a Salad Nicoise for dinner.

Above: Not a great night. It certainly was a pretty spot, but Randall tried three times to find a proper anchorage spot that would hold. After moving several times, he found the best spot he could. Even though the wind was moderate through the night (max of 25 knots) the anchor continued to drag and our anchor alarm went off more than once. We ended up doing fine, but not a great night of sleep.

Special surprise ahead: Wager Island!!

Happy Birthday Stephanie W and Bill L!!

Thank you all for coming along for the ride….