10/03/08  14:00

We had a lie in this morning as today’s hop is only 25 miles.  It’s a good thing we didn’t try to move the boat again last night as it took nearly  45 minutes to retrieve the shore  lines and chop the kelp from the  anchor chain, both anchors and the tripping line, and that was  in 15/20 knots of wind, not the  35 knots we had the previous evening  It was only raining lightly this morning but as soon as we got underway so did the rain.  We left at 12:15 and by 13:00 the wind on the nose was up to 30 knots.  By 14:00 it was a solid NNW Force 7 Gusting Force 8.

We have now turned the corner and have entered the last 80 miles of the Magellan Strait.  This section is completely open to the NW so there is nothing to stop the sea from coming at us full force.  Boat speed at the moment is down to 5 knots.

The fuel system on this boat has a large day tank and two wing tanks; each wing tank has its own transfer pump.  One of the pumps sounds like the impellor is not engaged so it won’t transfer fuel.  We have a spare pump and maybe Steve can fix the original or change it when we get to Puerto Natales next weekend.

!5:30

As we start the last 5 miles of the day the sun actually comes out.  It’s still 30 odd knots on the nose and we’re making 5.8 knots.

17:30

The sun didn’t last long but at least we moored without any rain.  The pilot suggests dropping the anchor in 20 metres of depth but it doesn’t exist where they say it does,

It was more like 37 meters which it too deep. We eventually found another solution and are tucked up in a little cove with stern lines and one long bow line to a small island as a back-up to the anchors. It actually seems very sheltered in here.  The pilot says: “This magnificent cove, another classic stop in the strait, provides very good shelter, even if subject to williwaws in bad weather, like so many other coves close by.” It is indeed very beautiful even in this awful light.

Todays pictures include shots along the way and of our mooring in  Caleta Notch.