Sailing Aboard Schooner Motu

The wonderful people of Alwoplast - Lorena
our lifesaver and her friend Samantha!

Bariloche, Argentina

Nov. 21
Valdivia (39 50S and 73 19W)

Marja and I woke up this morning and felt like the boy or girl all dressed up for the prom but without a date.

It's sunny and warm here today and we are still tied to the dock at Alwoplast boatyard about nine miles down the river from Valdivia. We love it here but as local lore goes, when it is sunny and warm in Valdivia, it is windy outside in the ocean. Windy outside today and for past two weeks means 15 to 30 knots on the nose. O yes, a sailor must not forget about the Humboldt current that is running about .6 kt average from south. Things get really interesting when wind shifts to the north and the seas build.

There is a level of hope, however, and we plan to leave dock today and go anchor at a small island, Isla Mancera, near the river exit for the 130 mile dash down the coast to Channel Chacao and into the Gulf of Ancud, which leaves you only about 200 to 250 miles south to the next ocean crossing, called the Gulf of Penas.

Our Canadian friends, David and Margaret, on Heart and Soul, and our Brazilian friends Kiko, his sister, and friend, Martine (who won an Olympic Gold medal in sailing in the Rio Olympics this past summer) are also a bee-hive of activity for final jobs you always forget about on a boat until you are ready to untie lines.

On Motu, we have 1150 liters of fuel, 500 liters of water and enough food to feed India for a month, and most importantly the GFS and EURO weather models in agreement.

Today in cruising, it is just as important to be alert to a possible bureaucratic storm as it is to watch the weather. The officials dealing with yachts in Chile, with the Armada being foremost in these dealings, are fantastic, extremely helpful and friendly, and totally honest. However, this is really a good thing because there is a lot of paperwork for yacht crews in Chile.

With this in mind, we recently climbed on a bus (paid more for the luxury seats---worth it) and headed to Bariloche, Argentina, to get new 90-day visas. We were worried about getting half-way to Puerto Williams, the far south, to discover our visas had run out.

Bariloche is an upscale ski resort set up in the Andes next to a big lake. The scenery is breathtaking but it can get quite chilly at night in the spring and does the wind blow across the lake. Everything went according to plan so we should avoid the paperwork worries for a time.

Hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving and if your not an American, a nice lovely meal with wine on that date wherever you are.