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Puerto Williams, the Southern Ocean

24/02/07
After a hectic day of sorting out the last provisioning, tidying up the boat and saying our goodbyes to Ushuaia and our friends there, we slipped our lines and were off down the Beagle Canal. It took us 4 hours to get to Puerto Williams, Chile where we dropped anchor. Our plan was to visit and land on Cape Horn which is under the control of Chile. After a quick dinner the formalities of checking in were done by the skipper ashore. Once we were cleared in, all the crew went over to the pub. This is in a wreck of an old ship. The floor is at an angle and a wood burning stove in the corner keeps the room warm. The walls are covered in pendants and flags from boats that have visited here over the years. We brought our own, signed it and stuck it to the ceiling as there was no space left on the walls.

25/02/07
Celtic Spirit crew woke up in the most beautiful setting and went ashore for a walk around the sleepy town of Puerto Williams, which is mostly housing for the military base and a few shops. We could not find anywhere open for something to eat (it was Sunday) so took a taxi over to the only hotel here where we had a delicious meal of scallops, lamb and dessert. The weather forecast was most unsuitable for a visit to Cape Horn so it was decided to sail directly to our next destination, South Georgia some 1200 miles away. The skipper went and cleared out with the authorities. As soon as everyone was back on board and the dinghy up, we weighed anchor and were off down the Beagle once more. It took 4 hours to the mouth and then we were out into the ocean. The forecast was for strong winds from behind us. It was a bumpy night on board as the boat rolled from side to side, making sleep difficult.

26/02/07
This morning brought sun and winds below 20 knots. In preparation for the strong winds forecast we rigged the storm sail and set it to work. A dark cloud loomed on the horizon and slowly crept closer. It hit with the wind gently and steadily rising to 38 knots. It brought rain and cold and was over within a few hours. We poled out our genny and pondered whether the system had past before us or were we still to get strong winds. As the sun went down subtle tones of blues, pinks, mauves, purples, yellows and reds spread across the sky and darkened as sunset drew near. The sea rolled up and down in a swell that let us know who was boss as Albatross circled up and down next to the boat. Our winds finally arrived during the night and were gusting up to 48 knots. It was another bumpy night. Our Brazilian crew were feeling the cold and a little seasick however they did not realise that it was due to get colder when we would reach the Antarctic Convergence Zone!

27/02/07
This morning’s sunrise was beautiful, wind down to 20 knots. We put away the storm sail and poled out the genny. Later as the wind direction changed we took down the pole, tacked the genoa and raised the main. A couple of hour glass dolphins swam beside us for a while playing on the bow wave. The morning remained sunny but it clouded over in the afternoon. The evening sky was spread with squalls. We managed to avoid most of the squalls. Today we did 175 miles doing on average 7.25 knots in 24 hours. During the night the winds moved around to the North West and so our sails configuration changed once again.

28/02/07
Today was the day of the Albatross. The sea and sky were alive with them gliding up and down around the boat. Among them, Black-browed Albatross, a couple of juvenile Wandering Albatross as well as an old adult and a Southern Giant Petrel. At one point we passed a whole group of Albatross sitting on the water. Watching them as they skim the surface of the water at speed is quite exhilarating. The wind has been roughly around the 20 knot mark for most of the day but increased to 36/37 knots later. The winds stayed strong for a few hours. We have been storming along and our average today is 193 miles in 24 hours.

01/03/07
In the early hours of this morning the winds eventually died down to 25 then 20 knots and we brought out the full head sail. Our average over the last 24 hours is 150 miles. There are still loads of Albatross with us and a lovely ocean swell. It’s been a beautiful clear day. Winds remain 20 – 25 knots. The moon appeared from over the top of the cloud casting a path of light across the playful Southern Ocean waves to the boat. The hatch door slid open and the sounds of Sweden on guitar, Netherlands on mandolin and Brazil on saxophone spilled over the top. The crew were being treated to their renditions of ‘hit the road jack’, ‘no woman no cry’ and ‘house of the rising sun’ to name but a few.

02/03/07
Today brought winds between 30 – 40 knots from the North West. As the wind moves around more to the west it is decided to pole out the headsails and drop the main. Four of the crew go forward to change the big pole from Port to Starboard, changing the uphaul over from one side to the other, untie the small pole, fix it to the mast, and attach the uphaul and downhaul. While the skipper brings the boat into the wind one crew releases the halyard and it takes two crew to pull down the main. You need to be clipped on at all times up here as waves were occasionally reaching 6m in height and wave after wave washes over the deck. They are powerful enough to knock any person overboard. With just the genny poled out the boat was sailing well so we decided to leave the staysail until further notice. It is a beautiful day and exhilarating. Sun is shining, wind blowing, waves rolling, birds flying. The wind remains constant through out the day and the sea is big and beautiful. We are now well into the convergence zone again. The Antarctic Convergence Zone reaches up over and around South Georgia. It is much colder on the night watches and the water temp is down to 2.6 degrees. We have averaged 175 miles in the last 24 hours. The wind dies down after night fall.

03/03/07
Through the night the wind increased from time to time blowing through the 40’s and up to 50 knots. Early this morning it snowed briefly and the wind continued to blow over 35 knots. It began snowing again much to the delight of our Brazilian crew who had never seen snow. It is very cold now and the sea still heaves up and down, small mountains passing us by. Troughs and valleys streaked with white foam. One wave hit us side on, throwing water into the cockpit and right over the top of the boat. This evening we spot our first icebergs this far north, they are extremely big like a landmass. During the night the wind dies down and the sea state becomes calmer. We are approaching South Georgia and should be there tomorrow afternoon.

Antarctica
Ushuaia
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Ushuaia, Argentina
Salvador to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Cape Verde to Salvador, Brazil
Canaries to Cape Verde
Portugal to Canaries