Back Alongside

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Thu 21 Jan 2010 21:14
Position: Alongside Puerto Deseado
Wind: West, F4 moderate breeze
Weather: sunny, warm.

The container ship left late yesterday and today we have moved back alongside. It was a very pleasant social couple of days alongside Jenny; the skipper, owners and crew were very gracious even when a pampero came through yesterday evening and had Sylph dancing boisterously creating havoc with lines and fenders. Spray flew over the decks of both boats, exacerbated by the venturi effect between the hulls. Jan's engine was temporarily out of commission which decidedly added to his stress level. I ran Sylph's engine for the worst of the blow (in between trying to make my dinner) to relieve the strain on the lines and reduce the hobby horsing. Fortunately the blow was short lived and after about forty minutes the worst of it had passed, I shut down the engine and we enjoyed the remainder of what turned out to be a very peaceful night.

Today I topped up our stores and water and have started preparing for departure. The barometer is high (for this part of the world) and the forecast looks relatively good for the next couple of days. I shall check the forecast again tomorrow morning and if we still have a green light we shall sail with the tide and try to make San Julian, the port where both Magellan and Drake wintered over before tackling the Magellan Strait. In San Julian both also had to put down mutinies and had their respective leaders executed. In all a rather grim sounding place. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

All is well.



Bob Cat:

Mutinies, hmmm! Now there's a thought. Hope we're not planning on wintering over in this part of the world. I've had my fill of ice and cold.

Captain Bob Cat - has a certain ring to it don't you think? Captain Bob Cat, feline felon of the seven seas. Ha ha! - Blackbeard was a pussy cat! Maybe we could get some better food with me in charge. And more sleep. But for now we bide our time, we don't want to make the same mistakes as Senor Cartagena and Mister Doughty. Weighty matters indeed to sleep on . . . Zzzzzzz.