Finally Underway – Leaving Quellón and Chile Behind

It’s finally time for an update on our progress!

A quick recap of last week: we arrived in Quellón, a town on the southern end of Chiloé Island, on the 7th of June. We had one day to clean up and prepare before our new group arrived from Puerto Montt—transport arranged by our dear friend Jonathan! While waiting for the necessary paperwork (clearance for both ship and crew), we did our provisioning and got ready for departure.

In the meantime, our new first mate Lisa flew in—after some serious travel challenges with delayed flights and lost luggage. She arrived just in time, the evening before departure, and Gijs was able to fly home the next day.

With clearance in hand, we waited for the next favorable tide and left Quellón at 04:30 on Saturday morning. It turned out to be a beautiful day of sailing past Chiloé. Progress was steady, though a little slow. As we reached the northern end of the island and prepared to head offshore, we found ourselves battling a strong current—making only 2.5 knots. At the same time, sea fog began rolling in with the tide.

We decided to wait for high water and set off a few hours later. With the engine off, we drifted for three hours until we felt the tide change. At around 02:00, we got going again. The narrow channel was busy with traffic at first, and then—no one. Still foggy. Lisa was steering, and I navigated us through using radar, chart plotter, and AIS. Our speed climbed rapidly: 6 knots… 8… 10… and finally 12 knots—we were being pushed out with force.

We knew the exit would be rough. Ocean swell running into shallow water along the Chilean coast, plus the current behind us—it was bound to build. And build it did. The next hour felt like a cross between a wave simulator and white-water rafting. We dipped the bow into the swell with such force at times, we found ourselves holding our breath.

Eventually, conditions settled a bit. By the 04:00 watch handover, the swell was still present but manageable.

The next morning, we discovered just how hard the exit had been on the ship. While the galley and interior held up well, the jib boom had not—revealing a significant crack. Devastated but undeterred, we had to make a plan. With 4,500 miles ahead of us, there was no time to waste. I called the office, and we decided to do what we’d done back in 2019 when the boom snapped completely: saw off the damaged section and continue with a shortened boom.

The crew rallied with great enthusiasm. Within a few hours, the end was cut cleanly, and by the next morning we were chiseling to fit the metal brace. Today, with a light breeze building, we successfully hoisted the #3 jib. What a team effort!

We now proudly sport a beautiful new wooden bench on the portside bow, and a slightly shorter—but fully functional—jib boom.

This afternoon we managed to sail for about eight hours, but then the wind disappeared again. We’re now motoring north in the Humboldt Current, gaining an extra 0.5 knots. Sadly, we still need to make significant miles north before we can catch any winds that will blow us to the west, so we accept our engine hours and make the most of our watches.

Our crew now includes two new stars:

Lisa, our new first mate, is full of energy and always up for action—her good spirits are infectious.

Michael, our cook, not only serves up amazing meals but also joins us on watch simply because he wants to. His food is fantastic, his attitude sweet, and we couldn’t be happier to have him on board. Tomorrow he’s baking fresh sourdough from his own starter, and there’s ginger beer fermenting as we speak!

The weather during the first few days was gloomy—no wind and lots of rain. But today made up for it: sunshine, blue skies, and a gentle breeze, with plenty of seabirds to keep us company. A good day at sea.