Team Mowbray enjoys scenery and local hospitality

by Team Mowbray on 16 Mar 2007 'Wednesday 14/3/07 6.15pm LDT (15/3/07 9.15am AEDST)
Position 45deg 58mins S, 74deg 59mins W,

Well here we are anchored in another magnificent anchorage. We are deeply embedded within another incredible fjord about 4 miles from the entrance and surrounded by such natural beauty that neither words nor photos would do it justice.

Recently I spoke of being 'holed up' whilst the barometer was in freefall…the upshot of that day was that it rained ALL day and from where we were tied in to the trees it felt as if the wind didn’t get much above 40-50knots…in the end all of our preparation in mooring the boat the previous afternoon paid dividends and we enjoyed a nice day of rest. The day after the blow we headed for Puerto Eden…what an interesting place. Established in the late 1960’s by the Chilean government it has a tiny population and could be best described as an 'outpost'…fishing is a major occupation for the village. Bob, Alex and I were walking along the timber boardwalk (not a concrete footpath in sight) and we were greeted by out new friend 'Juan' who is a local fisherman…what a thrill to be invited in to his home for a hot drink and a chat. There was lots of smiling and pointing as he can’t speak English. I was going fairly well though as my Spanish has improved out of sight lately.... I can now count to four!!! ….

We sampled some of his wife’s home made cheese…as good as you will find in any deli!! Juan was extremely hospitable and in return we invited him to the boat that arvo for a visit…he arrived in his fishing boat and we enjoyed a wonderful couple of hours of his company…Mark McWhinney left some Aussie Flag stickers on board and I gave two to Juan which he very proudly attached to either side of his outboard motor. I have attached a photo of Juan complete with sticker on his motor! 'William Henry' will be back this way in November for more expedition work (if you’re interested in being aboard let me know) and I know Juan will be on the list of people to catch up with.

Yesterday morning as we departed 'Admiral Wally' (Bob) took a shot of a couple of fishing boats dragged up on the shore with some smoke wafting up from a nearby corrugated iron 'leanto' where within some locals were smoking some mussels...the photo speaks volumes for the state of play in Puerto Eden. You be the judge. Upon leaving we made our way toward and then across the open ocean waters of 'Golfo de Penas' (I am trying to keep a straight face for the young children’s benefit)….the Golf has to be crossed in order to access the northern section of the Patagonian canal system. Our run from Puerto Eden to where we are now moored has been non stop taking 36 hours so we are happy to put our feet up for tonight before the adventure continues tomorrow. Currently we have a huge High Pressure system that has settled upon us and provided us with a stunning star filled clear sky last night and a warm sun drenched day today. As I type I have a tee shirt and shorts on for the second time in the last 5 ½ months and I am having a beer…life is pretty good!!

I have asked Alex (you know the crazy Welshman with straw beach hat on in a snow storm!!) to pen some words relative to his time with us and those words follow. I hope you enjoy his thoughts….

'In December 2006 I was aboard the mighty yacht 'Zephyrus’ tied alongside the pontoon in Ushuaia, Argentina enjoying the serenity and relaxing in the intermittent sun. An Ocean 60 caught my eye as she sailed in and joined us alongside (along with about 6 other yachts). Before long Tony and the crew of 'Commitment' had become well acquainted with Andy and I (captain and crew of Zeph.) – it was clear from the outset that we would get along well.

Several months and a few e-mails later I jumped ship (Zephyrus was by this time preparing to over winter in Ushuaia). There was a considerable altitude gain climbing from the toe rail of 'Zephyrus' to the gunwale of 'Commitment', not that this has any bearing on seaworthiness. Moments after my kit bag landed on deck Tony, Bob, Paul, Alan and myself were slipping the mooring lines and waving farewells to friends left ashore, Zeph looked great, at last back in the water…another knowing glance from her skipper.

So, jumping 15 days forwards (have we really been away that long – time is flying by) and ‘Commitment' and her crew spent a day moored in Caleta Shinda (part of Seno Gage) avoiding strong winds, it rained (almost) all day but I took some time to explore regardless of the weather. The tender and I headed nor-west to the head of Seno Gage (a long, narrow inlet) about one and a half miles from the mooring site. I found nowhere to land on the way, the cliffs dropping right down to the waters edge with trees tenuously clinging to the cracks. At the head of the arm the wind disappeared (as did the rain although I don’t think the rest of the crew believes me). There were three huge ‘u’ shaped valleys, one ahead of me and one on either side each full of beech trees, the only noise was from a gigantic waterfall away to my right. A pod of sea lions (perhaps 8) were rolling in the water ahead of me, flippers waving. I spent several minutes considering where to land the tender in order to continue my exploration ashore but I dilly-dallied a moment too long, big raindrops (on a Patagonian scale) began falling. The sea lions dived, apparently like the crew of 'Commitment’ they are not fond of rain and in a moment I had the engine running and the tender pointing back down Seno Gage, this time with the wind behind me. With Ski goggles on and hood up I puttered along the coastline oblivious to the gale, absorbing the detail of the rainforest. Like the rain there
was plenty of forest detail to absorb.

Arriving back into Caleta Shinda, the shelter from the weather inspired me to get ashore for the walk I was still determined to have. Using one of 'Commitment’s' mooring lines for assistance I clambered up the mossy bank and slipped and stumbled up the hill in full wet weather gear (including holey sea boots with treadless soles). The ground covering (a mixture of moss and plants) was amazing, so colourful and so wet. I was investigated by a pair of Humming birds, one less than an arms length from my face, allowed me the time to study plumage and beak before darting off in the direction from which I had arrived. Up and over a small hill, down to a lake and then through a tiny valley made for a circular walk back to the tender, down the mooring line back into the tender before sculling less than 10 metres from shore to ship.

Aboard ‘Commitment' the kettle was on, I had arrived 'home' just in time for a cup of tea and a card game of 500. If an Australian can manage to teach a Brit to play 500 why can’t a Brit teach an Australian to make tea? (Water then milk)…answers on a postcard. During a short interlude in play our Skipper bruised our ears with obscenities as the head (toilet) door 'fell off in his hand'. This was immediately declared a taboo subject. Thankfully there are three heads aboard Commitment.

The next day saw a considerable improvement in the weather. So at first light we set about unweaving the spider’s web of mooring lines and headed back out to the canals. It was a very wet day.

Throughout this trip Tony’s glasses had spent a great deal of the trip choosing to blend into the scenery aboard Commitment and hiding where they couldn’t be seen. Finally, on this day they chose to make a run for it and 'plunged' over the port quarter into the Sarmiento Canal (around about 200 metres deep). Thankfully within the depths of the large chart table a spare pair of glasses was found (hiding?) and with the aid of some blue sticky tape the starboard lens was reattached to the frames. Tony spent the rest of the day asking Bob, Alan, Paul and I 'What’s so funny?' We are now used to his new look. In the evening we rafted up to the