Alongside Puerto Williams
Weather: Overcast, calm, cool

I got to see the yacht club bar last night. It didn’t open until 9 p.m. so that was a long wait for a beer. There were a few yachties there, including a very nice French family which has just finished coming south through the Chilean channels. We are heading in opposite directions so were keen to exchange information. And we didn’t take long to get onto the subject of engine woes. Few boats it seems are without such a story to tell.

Today’s mission was to top up with fuel. This involved a short walk to the very small fuel station with jerry cans slung over shoulder. Once full I enquired of the service station attendant about transport. There are of course no taxis in Pto Williams as it is too small and is a Navy town. Despite once again sharing no common language he quickly understood my problem and held up his hands, “Diez minutos”, Within three minutes a van arrived and my fuel and I were delivered back to the yacht club. So that is one small problem solved for now.

This afternoon I started work on preparing my Zarpe. This is the navigation plan that the Armada require before they will give you permission to sail their waters. It is a long way to Puerto Montt. Having a break from the chart work I helped some young ladies out starting the engine of a boat they are supposed to be delivering to Spain. The batteries were completely flat but my portable genset and smart charger soon had sufficient charge into the batteries to get the brand new Yanmar running. It had been sitting in storage for 12 months.

I have been considering whether I should pay my respects to Cape Horn but have pretty much decided not to make this detour. We have a long way to go to get through the channels and I am keen to get moving in the right direction. Cape Horn may have to wait for another adventure.

All is well.

Bob Cat:

A quiet day, perfect for a ….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.