Sailing Aboard Schooner Motu: 2017-01-01

Belated Merry Christmas from Pto. Aguirre
And Happy 2017!!

In Puerto Eden at S 49 08 W 074 25

The area south of the Gulf of Penas is the real start of the Southern Patagonia Channels if going from north to south. This is the area of the rugged scenery, bad weather and almost a total lack of people, In short, it's you, your boat and the wilderness. This special area is also where you can sail west around the world and your next landfall can be the same place you started from---Patagonia. Now that would be a challenge way too far for M and I.

We left Castro, the large city known for its houses on stilts and big wood church, as mentioned in last blog, to head south across the Gulf Corcovado. This area is nice cruising. You can stay on the west side of the Canal Moraleda and stop at delightful anchorages such as Isla Amita, Isla Jechica---which even has a small marina, and Puerto Aguirre to name just a few but ones we enjoyed.

Anchored in Pto Aguirre with snow-covered
Volcano in background

Further south we started aiming toward Bahia Anna Pink, which has anchorages on this very large bay and close to the jumping off to go through the Gulf of Penas.

Pto. Millabu, with many waterfalls, and "Rachas" (williwaws)
Bahia Anna Pink

Baking bread while waiting to go South!

Lines out to Shore in Caleta Suarez

Tied in at Caleta Suarez

There are three so-called "choke points", meaning areas of bad weather that need to be transversed, on the way to the end of Patagonia. The first is the Golfo de Penas, which is a big relatively shallow gulf that is wide open to thousands of miles of the Pacific. The distance for a yacht, depending upon which anchorage you leave from, is about 110 miles to 130 miles. This is also an area where you sit and wait for good conditions unless you tend to have a masochistic streak or are just plain crazy. (The other "chock points" are Magellan Strait and Canal Breaknock)

Whale Bones discovered in Estero Cono, Caleta Suarez

And wait we did for almost two weeks for a decent weather window allowing us to leave on the 28th of December, along with our Canadian friends, David and Margaret, on Heart and Soul. We left the protected anchorage of Caleta Suarez, which is used by fisherman. It is a lovely spot and appears to be free of "rachas" (williwaws) that rocked us in Caleta Cliff. As is typical in many anchorages, you drop a bow anchor in Suarez and then tie a couple of lines (or more) to shore. Very Secure.

This anchorage can get crowded with small but seaworthy fishing boats awaiting good weather but we only saw one Chilean fish boat, and this was over Christmas, with four young friendly guys onboard. Christmas dinner was aboard Heart and Soul, whom we have more or less been sailing with. Margaret made a fantastic traditional Christmas dinner with turkey and everything else. It made the four of us feel closer to families and friends far north.

Christmas in Caleta Suarez on Heart and Soul
with Dave and Margaret

After a wait of two weeks, we got a decent weather window and motor-sailed across the Gulf of Penas in lumpy but otherwise excellent conditions.

The photos will show some of the beautiful anchorages going down the Canal Messier Channel, including Seno Iceberg, and currently, the small village of Eden, with its colorful houses and boardwalks connecting inhabitants around the bay. A young German singlehander aptly described the town and area as the "end of the world."