52:04.8S 73:05.1W

Franco returned from the ‘heads’ in the tiny hours. “What was that noise?” “Probably the anchor chain” I replied as I turned over. “Oh no it wasn’t. I must investigate.” I left him to it and dosed off.

He returned some time later. “It’s ice, ice scraping against the hull.”  After that I dreamed of shark infested tropical beaches.

The night had been still but the sky had clouded over and when we got up, there was no ice to be seen. We breathed a sigh of relief. We didn’t fancy being stuck for days up a dead-end.

The mountains at the end of Estero Las Montañas

There wasn’t a puff of wind as we motored back down Estero Las Montañas. It sleeted, rained and then the sun came out. Dolphins joined Caramor for a while as we passed near Caleta Mist. The water is so clear, we could see every detail of them swimming below the surface.

We turned into Paso Morla Vicuna, a main water highway and the route to Puerto Natales. Suddenly we were no longer alone, fishing boats seemed to be everywhere. Franco waived and they took photos. I suppose sailing boats are a bit of a rarity.

Looking back towards Paso Moria Vicuna

The tide was ebbing, just as our calculations had predicted. This was good news indeed as tomorrow we will be passing through Angostura Kirke, a narrow gap where the tide can race as fast as 10 knots. In the calm weather we are enjoying it wouldn’t matter if our timing was out but with strong winds against tide, Kirke would be a very bad place to be.

We left the entrance to Canal White to port and entered Canal Kirke. Caleta Cascada was one mile further, on the left, easily identified by a large, partially frozen waterfall on the mountain above. I went to fetch water while Franco did some whale watching as three minke whales cruised by.

Kath off to fetch water in Caleta Cascada