23-03-2025, 54°56’S 070°46’W
After a delay in getting diesel and water, we left Puerto Williams for the last time. Cocha managed to secure our permit to sail through the Chilean channels. Simon had stocked up the boat, so off we went. Our first stop was Puerto Navarino for some easy hiking.
During the night, the wind picked up while we slept soundly behind our two anchors. At 04:00, the first coffee went down as the anchor came up. Destination: Caleta Olle. We had to push through the still fresh winds funnelling down the Beagle Channel. Arriving in Olle feels like sailing into an oasis—no more strong winds, just pure tranquillity. Danny and Albert tied the boat to a tree and immediately set off for a hike to the snout of the Hollandia Glacier.
At first light, we navigated further up the northeast arm of the Beagle Channel. A terminal moraine guards the entrance to Seno Pia, making for some interesting RADAR navigation with our Chilean charts. Huge boulders signal the presence of an immense pile of debris. The depth sounder shot up to 7 meters before quickly dropping back to 100 meters—glacial navigation at its finest.
At the second moraine, a Chilean boat warned us about uncertain depths. Moving dead slow, we passed over it with just one meter under the keel. We ploughed through the ice to the head of the fjord, where the larger arm of the Romanche Glacier meets the sea. We witnessed active calving—this ice originates from the ice cap atop the Darwin Range. Prime alpine views stretched down the corridors, fading far into the distance.
We decided on a lunch ashore, followed by a hike to the other arm of the Romanche Glacier. A perfect, sunny, windless day made us forget the actual season… But autumn showed its true face later that day as we headed towards Canal Ballenero.
The 40-knot winds stopped us dead in our tracks as we tried to make progress through the canal. We found refuge in Bahía Engaño, where we remain for now. Horizontal rain keeps us inside. There’s no such thing as bad weather… only bad clothing—and ours is drying in the engine room.
So, let’s bake some brownies.
All is well. Gijs
PS: Our Yellow Brick did not survive the drake passage, we are very sorry for that!
Enjoy the warm ans cozy Tecla feel as we enjoyed it so much during Antarctica!