[PUP] Ice Dancer II 02/14/07: Cape Horn on the beam

[Georgs Kolesnikovs]

Here's a report from Dick and Gail Barnes, aboard Ice Dancer II, a 
Nordhavn 57, that was misplaced when it was first received. Ice 
Dancer is the second U.S. trawler yacht to visit Cape Horn this year. 
Copy and paste the co-ordinates provided into 
<http://maps.google.com> to follow their progress.


Sunday 2/18/07
54 48.7S  68 18.1W

We are anchored at Ushuaia, Argentina and plan to stay here until at 
least Tuesday.  Tomorrow, we will arrange fueling, maybe for early 
Tuesday morning.  We bought most of our galley provisions on Saturday.

It has been quite windy, making trips to the yacht club's dinghy dock 
a little wet.  The weather map shows a passing front associated with 
a low to the south.  Perhaps things will improve.  Each morning we 
see new dustings of snow on the nearby mountains.  In Alaska, that's 
called termination dust, signaling the coming end of the construction 
season.

There are many cruising sailboats in the area, from all over the 
world.  New Zealand seems to have the most, followed by France, 
Belgium, Germany, Sweden and Great Britain.  Further north, most of 
the cruisers were Chileans.  The super yacht Octopus joined us this 
morning, as the other non-sailboat cruiser anchored here.  It has two 
helicopters and a substantial support boat among its equipment.  It 
is the sister ship of Tatoosh, which we saw last year in the Tuomotus 
Islands and at Moorea, French
Polynesia.  Both are owned by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft.

Wednesday 2/14/07
55 59.6S  067 17.0W

Ice Dancer II rounded Cape Horn at 8:50 this morning.  We rebelled 
against the typical photos taken with salty, foul-weather gear. 
Instead we walked from our toasty wheelhouse to the bow for photos, 
wearing Hawaiian shirts and shorts.  Idling downwind in the morning 
sunshine, it was quite pleasant.

Yesterday afternoon, we anchored in 35 to 40 knot winds at Caleta 
Martial, in Islas Wollaston (55 49.3S  067 17.6W).  Sailboats from 
Sweeden and Argentina joined us in the anchorage, our first sharing 
with cruisers in a remote cove, since Islas Galapagos.  We took 
advantage of early morning, mild conditions and made our run to Cape 
Horn, doubling its south side.  The Armada kept close track of us all 
the way from Puerto Williams, giving us good service for fees charged.

Today, we are heading for Caleta Lennox (55 17.8S  066 50.3W).

Tuesday 2/13/07
55 39.4S  067 06.6W

Yesterday, we left Puerto Navarino with the idea of heading on around 
Isla Navarino, and later out to the Cape.  The Armada contingent at 
Puerto Williams had another idea for us.  All traffic heading in or 
out of the area is required to stop and get a new Zarpe, in each 
direction.  Our plan was to bypass them, go to the Cape and then stop 
on the way back at Puerto Williams to check out of the country, to 
Ushuaia, Argentina.  When we return from the Cape, we will have to 
anchor, dinghy to shore and
get another Zarpe before going to Argentina.  Before we can head 
north, we must backtrack from Ushuaia to Puerto Williams to check 
back into Chile,  about 58 miles out of the way.  On the positive 
side, we were able to buy fresh fruit, vegetables and a few needed 
groceries.

Last night's anchorage was at Puerto Toro (55 04.9S  067 04.4W); 
another picturesque and quiet spot, with a few crab-fishing boats.

Today, we are crossing to Islas Wollaston and plan to anchor at 
Caleta Martial (55 49.3S 67 17.7W).

Monday 2/12/07
54 55.7S  068 20.4W
Caleta Lewaia, Canal Beagle, Cerca de Puerto Navarino

The front passed, as they do.  Today turned out to be spectacular. 
We passed tidal glacier after another, crashing off the close-by 
mountains and into the our canals.  We requested and were granted 
permission to anchor in an unauthorized anchorage (boy are they 
particular, here), just across from the city of Ushuaia.  Under sunny 
skies, we roasted hot dogs, finally.  There was lots of driftwood and 
it was dry, unlike the wood we found on the shores just north of 
here.  This is Canal Beagle, with
Argentina on one side, Tierra del Fuego, and Chile on the other, on 
Isla Navarino.  We just want to get by, thank you.  So, I talked to 
the Armada guys in Spanish, they try to respond in English, and I 
talk back in Spanish.  It is really funny.  It is like we are all 
practicing.

Tomorrow, we will zoom past Puerto Williams, the seat of Armada power 
on the Chilean side, and head for Puerto Toro, the southern-most 
settlement in the world.  From there, we will jump to the offshore 
islands and then for Cape Horn.  If the weather doesn't cooperate, we 
will sit.

Tonight's roast and bonfire were grand, and we are watching the 
lights of Ushuaia, right now.  This whole deal is beyond delight.

Saturday 2/10/07
Caleta Huajra, Canal Ballenero
54 53.9W  070 29.2W

The southern end of Chile is having a little weather, right now. 
There is a parade of low-pressure systems trotting by.  We anchored 
last night in a small cove, dropped anchor and tied two stern lines 
ashore.  It was just as well, there is a nasty front passing, today, 
and we have had sustained winds of 30 knots and gusts of 40.  With 
this system, you don't swing at all, but it takes about a half hour 
to rig it up and take it down. Today, we are hanging out in the cove 
and Gail is getting some chores
done, while we wait for the winds to die down.  It has been raining 
quite a bit, here at the very south.  We will be in Canal Beagle, 
tomorrow, which is the last one down here.

It must be interesting trying to find spots where we report down to a 
tenth of a mile or 600 feet.  My electronic Nobeltec charts for this 
region are off by 1.5 nm to the south and .6 nm to the east.  All of 
the land masses are screwed up, but further north they are mixed, 
with some right on and others terrible.  So, here I am running back 
and forth looking at small scale (poor detail) paper charts, drawings 
in guide books, the electronic version and what the radar shows is 
really going on.  In big
canals it doesn't matter, but some areas are choked with pinnacles 
and ridges.  I have the scanning sonar set at 400 feet out and 10 
degrees down or about 60 feet.  I just leave it on.  It has saved our 
bacon more than once.

Wednesday 2/7/07
53 11.4S  073 20.1W

Two hours after pulling anchor at Caleta Burgoyne this morning (52 
37.6S  073 38.9W),  we turned east from Canal Smyth into the historic 
Strait of Magellan.  The S-shaped, 310-mile waterway links the 
Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.  Four months after Fernao de Magallanes 
discovered the new route in 1520, he was killed by an Indian in the 
Philippines, who took offence to his zeal for Christianizing the 
population.  We passed three large ships by noon, that were using 
this short cut that avoids rounding
Cape Horn.  We will turn south from the Strait after 90 miles, at 
Canal Acwalisnan (53 55S  071 37W), and head toward Canal Beagle.

South polar fronts pass here every two to three days.  High winds, 
clouds and rain are the norm, not the exception.  There are no swells 
to contend with, except when near ocean entrances and long fetches. 
Our two cruising guides have detailed information on anchorages.  We 
have adopted the technique of anchoring in a protected spot, and then 
taking two heavy, stern lines to tie ashore.  It is very stable and 
easy to accomplish, with no swell-induced, shore break.  We keep our 
smaller Zodiac on the
swim step, where it is quick to launch and recover.

Sunday night, we anchored in a tiny pocket behind an island, named 
Bahia Hugh (50 24.1S  074 45.9W).  Monday's anchorage was another 
small basin, maybe 200 feet in diameter, with a very narrow and 
shallow entrance.  Without the cruising guides and scanning sonar, we 
would not attempt entry.  Both of these, and last night's Caleta 
Burgoyne showed us landscapes that looked like professional gardeners 
had planted and trimmed.  Among the mix were Bonsai-shaped trees, 
colorful, wild fuchsias, holly-like
bushes, plants with trumpet-shaped orange flowers, and beautiful 
covering plants.  What a nice surprise.

On Tuesday afternoon, we experienced sunshine with blue skies, rain, 
hail and gale-force winds.  The highest peaks have fresh snow, along 
with last winter's accumulation and glaciers.  Many hillsides are 
barren with only glacial-polished rock showing.  It is all very 
interesting.

Sunday 2/4/07
49 43.3S  074 21.9W

Friday night was spent in Caleta Vittorio (49 06.9S  074 24.7W), a 
completely sheltered cove, albeit a little deeper than preferred, at 
65 feet.  Saturday morning, we planned our departure to make slack 
tide at Angostura Inglesa, a fairly narrow and twisting route that 
can have eight knot current at mid tide.  To prevent collisions, 
boats traversing the section are required to radio Puerto Eden when 
entering and again midway through.  We didn't see another boat in a 
day and a half.

By 11 a.m., we were at Puerto Eden (59 06.9S  074 24.7W), a beautiful 
spot where we spent the day.  Through early afternoon, the weather 
was blustery, with intermittent sunshine and rain squalls.  Then it 
turned into a lovely day.  We obtained a new Zarpe from the Armada. 
Afterward, we hiked hillsides and the boardwalks of the village. 
Approximately 100 people live there, not including the Army and Navy 
contingents.  Over half are Indians, from the region and further 
north.  Gathering and smoking
oysters exported to Puerto Montt is the primary source of cash.  The 
government subsidizes the outpost to keep a presence in this remote 
area, including a small hydroelectric facility to provide power.

Today, we are heading south through the channels.  Hillsides look 
much like Southeast Alaska, with steep faces and snow and glaciers 
topping many.  We are 50 miles inland from the sea.  As a result, 
marine and avian life is less than seen on the coast.  We have wind 
waves, but no swell.

Friday 2/2/07
48 04.4S  074 38.1W

Wednesday night we shared a large anchorage with three fishing boats, 
in the rain at Caleta Cliff.  The foggy entrance was challenging with 
Nobeltec's electronic charts off by 1.5 nautical miles.  The charts 
vary in accuracy depending on whether recent hydrology has occurred 
and whether they cover channels used by large ships.  Paper charts, 
radar and scanning sonar gave us a safe route into the cove.

Yesterday, we crossed the 100 nm segment from Caleta Cliff to Canal 
Messier that includes the Golfo de Penas.  Seas were reasonable for 
our crossing of this notorious gulf, and we were treated with 
sightings of a pod of orcas, and our first sperm and southern right 
whales.

We checked in with the lighthouse at Faro San Pedro, at the mouth of 
Canal Messier and anchored at Caleta Ideal (47 45.5S 74 53.5w).  The 
lighthouse has an AIS transpoder, so the Armada personnel knew our 
boat information.

Our stop tonight will be just short of Angostura Inglesa, a section 
of tidal rapids.  Saturday, we will time our crossing for slack water 
and stop at the village of Puerto Eden around noon.

Wednesday 1/31/07
45 50.5S   075 06.6W

The Armada de Chile gave us personal attention yesterday, as we 
cruised through Canal Chcabuco.  Two navy ships hailed us within an 
hour; one that approached from behind, then dropped off, and another 
that passed from ahead.  They wanted to know all about us, where we 
were coming from and our next port.  These were not your U.S. 
Homeland Security boats, but ships in the destroyer to cruiser size. 
Well, they do have to keep the rascals from Peru and Argentina from 
invading, perhaps.

Last night, we anchored in a completely sheltered cove called Caleta 
Mariuccia (45 48.1S  74 23.2W).  Gail wanted to hike, so we took our 
smaller Zodiac to shore.  Two problems slowed us down.  The rain 
forest is very dense and there are no medium to large animals 
trotting around to make trails, as they do in Alaska.  The good news 
is there was nothing trotting around to eat us, although Pumas 
reportedly exist in small numbers.  The shore trip was worthwhile, 
for the chance to see new trees and shrubs,
up close.  Also, we burned our paper trash on rocks in the inter-tidal zone.

This morning, we left protection of the interior canals and are 
working our way around a headland, called Skyring Peninsula.  Large 
swells produced by storms further south are here, but winds seem to 
be cooperating at about 15 kts. NW.  Tonight, we will probably anchor 
at Caleta Cliff (46 26.9S  75 18.3W).  From Caleta Cliff, we should 
be able to cross the Gulfo de Penas in a day, and be back to inside 
waters by Thursday night.

Contact with Winlink e-mail servers is limited to about three or four 
hours each day, fewer (or none like last night) if we are anchored 
near mountains.  Signal strength and contact periods drop as we 
travel south.  It will be interesting to see how it holds up as we 
traverse Patagonia.

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