Sailing Aboard Schooner Motu: The Long Way South

Nov. 3 2016
Valdivia, Chile

PART ONE --- Voyage South

Today it is rainy and a little chilly but view out pilothouse windows is of forested green hills, boats from the "summer station" of the Valdivia Yacht Club. This is all framed by the blue of the travel-lift legs in our elevated perch. Yes, we are still hauled out but delayed by a few days with weather---rainfall here is 2 to 3 meters per year.

We recently got involved in a discussion about the best way to go Patagonia from the States or Europe. Here are some of our thoughts:

The first decision is to decide whether you go down the east or west coast of South America. Either way is doable but neither way is extremely easy. When you go down the east coast, you need to have a lot of easting to be able to get initially south. This is not that much of a problem if coming from Europe but it is a problem if leaving from east coast of USA or Caribbean. Many European boats head to Brazil and make their way south along the coast but after Uruguay, the good harbors start getting few and far, however, often the winds will be on the beam for much of the way with coast of South America offering a lee until quite far south. There are some boats that go to the Falklands, which is windy but hospitable. The problem is the last 400 to 500 miles to Beagle Channel. Some boats going down east coast go via Magellan Straits but that can and probably will be very challenging. The same for boats going from Falklands or continuing south to Beagle.

The other alternative is the west coast. Here the decisions are basically to go along the coast, sail out to the so-called "clipper route" or go via Easter Island with perhaps a first stop in the Galapagos. This is assuming your destination departure is from say Panama or Ecuador. Boats heading east from say New Zealand need to stay south where it blows westerly and hopefully not too strongly.

We decided to go along the west coast for several reasons but mainly so we could stop and see things. Also, many of our Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) friends had luck going this way. This route is beset by contrary winds on the nose and, of course, the Humbolt Current (aka Peru Current), and perhaps, worst of all, way too many small fish boats off Ecuador and Peru.

We left Virginia in the beginning of Nov. 2014. We made our way south via the East Coast, sometimes and some times out of the ICW but more in than we prefer due to weather. We then headed over to the Bahamas February 2015, and made our way south via Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Isla Providencia, and Panama. We spent much of the summer and fall in Bocas Del Toro before going through The Panama Canal on Dec. 4th, 2015. This entire portion of the trip was made in company with OCC members and very good friends, Steve and Vicki Austin on Tango and Michael and Anne Hartshorn on Nimue. After the canal, both boats turned right and we went left.

City Transport --- Cuba

Windward Passage on way to Cuba

Rural Transport---Cuba

Entering Santiago de Cuba

You know you're in Cuba (Cienfuegos)

Vicki, Steve, Michael, Anne, Stephen & Marja Grand Cayman

Motu anchored at Providencia, Colombia

The beauty of Providencia

Entering Bocas del Toro in the rain

Found one!!

Motu At Red Frog Marina in Bocas

Taking it Easy

The Toucans of Shelter Bay

Heading into the Gatun Locks

San Blas Sailors

Our first stop after the Las Perlas Islands in the Gulf of Panama was Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador. This is a river anchorage after a rather intimidating entrance into Rio Chone where we highly recommend you use one of the pilots from the Puerto Amistad Yacht Club. (Note: the city was a victim of the strong earthquake on April 16, this year. We were lucky to be sailing south then, and we understand our fellow cruisers made it through fine. The Yacht Club is up and running again under new ownership.) The voyage south along Ecuador, Peru and Chile will follow in another blog.