Day2 PATAGONIA Channel Southern Chile Heading South Part 3
Sowell Family's Travels on Gijima
Skipper: Tim Sowell Admiral Tracy Crew Sean & Alex
Sun 9 May 2010 16:37
It's 12 am on Sunday Mothers day, we are crossing the Golf de Penas coming
in from rounding a major headland that forced us out to sea for 100+ miles.
Late last night after the movie putting it after 10 pm, we headed out, and
we just coming in, the seas are 6 feet with a big period but last night we
all slept well. This morning at breakfast we were broadside to waves which
made it roll, and Tracy felt sea sick the boys and I had breakfast while
Tracy stayed in bed. This gave the boys a chance to build 2 Mother's day
cards with me, and then take them down to Tracy, which nice and I picked up
dome "After Eight Mints" in Pt Montt which are Tracy's favorite.
Last night from 8 to 10 pm we navigating through very narrow gorges I went
to the bridge and could not believe looking out how dark it was, I could not
make the difference between water and land, knowing it is 20 m away and
rocks a head I was happy not to be in charge. But they had a set of
waypoints they working through, and were manually steering the boat, taking
it off auto pilot. But one person is also on radar with a 6 Mile and 12 mile
radar running next to each other. It is a bit strange that the guy steering
can't see these but he goes to a direction and heading. But it was very
eerie the darkness as we some stars but they vanished behind the towering
hills on each side as we past through the Gorges, apparently today and
tomorrow we will pass through some which 40 m wide and the boat is 25 M
wide and there will be a good current.
The navigators use Maxsea for charts, and then they have on the chart table
a paper chart, that use for logging, and they have position it every hour,
as well as logging the hourly position, on speaking with the captain this is
just in case they loose the electronics and they have a position of where
they are, this is something I will adopt on the next legs just in case I get
hit by lightening, and we need to do paper navigation, up to now I have kept
everything logged electronically, so I will investigate paper back up.
This morning it has been clear skies and we have seen whales and dolphins
along side the boat as well as Albatrosses skimming the water, and waves.
Now to each side we can see on each side islands to the port nice a green
and rising up high, the seas breaking in white around the rock base. To Port
we have massive mountains snow capped and very jiggered rising up to
heavens, and with the blue ski it is spectacular.
The seas have dropped as we get in the protection of the mountains, and
islands in the next hour we will be in the channel and back to calm sailing.
We have not seen any boats or human settlements since last night, where we
had the salmon farms.
To be sitting here in the sun, cool breeze but we are going at wind speed so
not bad and look over the sea to the mountains on the port highlighted in
sunlight it is superb and breath taking the dark blue mountains rising out
of sea and the white capped mountains rising behind.
Stay tuned.