26/1/08  14:00

45 minutes after I wrote we’d probably be motoring most of the rest of the way, the wind obliged  by turning SSE at about 20 knots and we’re doing  9.4 knots  over the ground as we approach The Beagle Channel.

27/1/08

Sorry there haven’t been any entries as I been battling with the Permit Paperwork.  About 7:30 last night, Mr Raymarine started playing up again and it got worse and worse, so much so that we had to hand steer most of the time although occasionally the pilot would work but you had to be very careful as it would suddenly  with no warming switch to standby.  I decided to do a double watch and stay up with Nik, which led to all of us doing a 4 on 5 off pattern with 2 people always on watch.    As we entered The Beagle Channel Steve remarked it looked just like the Gulf of Corinth which in the beginning it did but rapidly became much more dramatic.  At one point there was a williwaw with 45 knot gusts of wind. We arrived Ushuaia around 8AM and by 9AM were moored up and checked in.  The Port police come to the boat and do all the entry procedure, very polite, very fast, very efficient with a 50 peso (about $16) charge for coming out on a Sunday Morning.

It’s about a kilometre to walk to the centre of town from here but we are alongside and have water and electricity, and it’s all very reasonable; plus free internet at the head of the dock. This is a welcome surprise as from the pilot guides I expected we’d be either at anchor or on a mooring buoy. The next few hours will be spent finishing the permit applications and catching some ZZZZZZZZZs.