13112011 Leaving Comodoro Rivadavia
Early in the morning Thomas returns from his musical
interlude ashore and finds the same problem with the
gangplank,
but he’s having none of and eventually attracts the
attention of the nightwatch guard and get him to pull it
onboard.
At 0930 after and extreemly trying night of banging boats
and warps shrieking in protest as they were stretched to the limit we cast
off
and head out into the main harbour to hoist the main and
set out for Puerto Deseado.
The wind is extremely fluky every time we turn into it,
it changes direction so that in the end we are chasing our.
Its also very gusty and as we head out of the shelter of
the harbour it shots up from 13kts to 50 putting us over on our beam ends until
it moderates and we regain control.
And so it was for the rest of the trip. One minute we’re
screaming down 3metre surfs at 12 knots under a reefed main and a half out
number 2 jib
then we have the engine on as we’re barely making 2kts as
the wind dies.
14112011 Puerto Deseado
We arrive off the river entrance just as the tide is
changing but their’s a 30kt headwind blasting down the
entrance.
All of sudden we are in the company of two black and
white “Commerson’s” dolphin and surrounded by penguins as well as a flock of
Tern we have disturbed of a little island nearby.
Commersons
dolphins
Brittannia-Piedra
Torro
It’s a busy fishing port with a massive dock and nowhere
suitable for us to tie up to and mooring buoys are too close to shore for a
yacht our size
in the end we are invited to tie up alongside a harbour
service boat. This great except we know have another precarious climb up the
wheelhouse of this boat, jump across onto a large dock fender then up a rope
ladder. Who said sailing wasn’t fun!
A leap of
faith(2)
Alongside
Fishing for
Calamares
luring
lights
The Perfectura who had followed us in have by now advised
their shoreside colleagues of our arrival and they meet us after our clamber and
invite us up to the office for more paperwork.
Peter and I head for the tour boat office and restaurant
to meet up with with his contact Dani. He’s not there but as we walk back we
bump into him looking for and get invited back.
Watched over by the Prefectura
The Wi-fi is on but the bar is closed as they haven’t
official opened for the season yet but never mind he takes Peter into town and
problem solved as he returns with
an armful of coldies.
By this time there is quite a gathering Lar and Thomas
have arrived and a group of locals. One wants to meet me in particular as he
tells me his surname
is Evans (Marcos Olivia Day) and his great grandfather
came from Cardiff and his grandmother is buried their. It turns out he is a
retired Judge and a really nice guy as are Dani, Peters contact and
Xavier.
New friends from Darwin expeditions
We are taken on a tour first to his house to meet some of
the kids on his rehab programme called “Respect” where they are taught sailing
and
all about the history fauna and flora of their home town
so that they can have pride in their neighbourhood and its natural beauty etc.
He is a font of knowledge and we learn that this was the
stop off point for Charles Darwin and the “Beagle” expedition amongst
others who like
us
were fascinated by a peculiar rock formation he named
“Britania” on the opposite shore.
Our tour continues and includes the railway station and
museum, the service having closed in 1979, and trip up to the highest point over
looking the town.
Railway
Museum
Station house
That evening we invite Dani and his German girlfriend,
Yvonne to join us for dinner but its not that simple as the Coast Guards won’t
let them into the port.
So the trot of to the Perfectura office and the problem
is passed up the chain of command and still come back no.
But there is a chink in the chain ! they can come aboard
by boat if they are picked up from the shore line.
Danny and
Yvonne
Chicken Curry
Eventually they arrive and Thomas’s chicken curry and our
wine cellars best rewards their patience, needless to say a good time was had by
all.
Church tower and Lighthouse
combo
Lost carriage
Bob the
blog.
