Jan 19

We were up early this morning, hoping to leave by 9am. The skies were overcast and the the winds were constant at 20 knots with 35 knot gusts.

The weather was changing as the clouds rolled in. We would have a little protection from the Melchior islands, but eventually we would be out in the Drake Passage.

The lines were neatly rolled as we pulled up the anchors.

The dinghy is used for the last time to collect the lines that we had place on shores around boulders.

And then brought on board to be dismantled.

It is calm in our protected bay, but that is soon to change.

As we head out to open seas Don crouches low and uses his jack line to move from the bow to the cockpit. Time to get our sea legs back. It has been nice to be in protected waters for the last couple of weeks. Last night we talked about our feelings of going back to Ushuaia. We have a better understanding of what to expect in the Drake, but most of us are not excited about the upcoming journey. The wind for the next couple of days is going to be against us.
I have the first watch but it is very short as the schedule is already determined and when the clock says 11, I hand over the wheel to Don. Steering is difficult as there is a lot of ice in the water. It necessitates for two of us to be on both sides of the boat looking for the best passage thru the chunks of ice. Eventually the passage is clear and we are able to raise a sail. Both Julia and Ryan have taken to their bunks. It is likely that we won’t see them up on deck for a couple of days. With Ryan and Julia out of the rotation watches, we have decided to go on two hour solo watches. I have drawn the watches between 6:30-8:30 am and 6:30-8:30pm. I like those hours and can fulfill my responsibilities. Before we started out on the sail to Ushuaia we have all put patches on our ears hoping to lessen sea sickness. Don and Ryan have also added an anti nausea med. It makes them even more sleepy. I was feeling okay till I went below to my bunk. I ended up throwing up, but since I hadn’t eaten anything there wasn’t much to get rid of. Happy to report that was the only time on the return trip to experience that. We slowly make progress as we head to the west, knowing that the wind is going to force us more North and East later. We are hoping to round Cape Horn, but won’t know for several days if we will be able due to the weather systems. With the wind and waves hitting the boat, the only comfortable place to be in the boat when not on watch is mostly to be in your bunk.

We spend a lot of time in this position.

This is where we can find Julia. She was only seen when going to the bathroom.

And then there was Ryan and Beth. Beth is up for her watches but Ryan not so. Photo is blurry but you get the idea.

Jan 20

The wind is 20-25 knots from the west and the seas are between 6 to 8 foot swells with 2 -4 feet waves on the top. The ride is quite rolly as the waves come over the bow of the boat and then we rock back and forth. We have enough wind to sail for a bit without the motor. Our boat speed is between 5 and 7 knots. We have some problems with the lines on the Genoa sail as it snaps and it is necessary to bring it down. Overnight it is very cloudy and foggy with little visibility. We turn on the radar to see if there are any other ships in the area.

Jan 21 Northbound Crossing Day 3

The winds have died from yesterday. They average between 15-17 knots alls day. We set a course at 10 degrees. We have the main sail up at first reef and the small jib. We try to keep the sails full as possible. The day started with 200 foot visibility, but cleared by afternoon.

Getting my sea legs back and feeling so much better than the first time we sailed the Drake Passage.

The radar is on tonight and we can see ships rounding Cape Horn. We have been enroute for 62. 5 hours and have traveled 430 nautical miles. The autopilot is set for 001 ,we are heading north! There is a strong wind event to the west of us which we hope to avoid by staying on the edge of it.

Jan. 22 Northbound Crossing Day #4

The day started out with winds in the early morning around 20 gusting to 30. the wind shifts as much as 30 degrees making for harder sailing. The seas have swells around 6 feet. We turn the motor off around 3 am and just use the sails. As the wind shifted we drop one of the sails and turn on the engine. It starts overheating. Fortunately it was a simple fix. Voy cleared the strainer and the cool water returned to circulating and cooling the engine. We realize once again that we rely on each other to get safely back to land. By evening the sea is much calmer and the winds have dropped to around 15 knots from the North. There is a beautiful sunset as the seas calm even more.

Beth begins her watch at 10:30 pm and notes when she finishes 2 hours later, it is dark on cloudy nights but on a clear night there is still a little light on the horizon.

Jan. 23 Northbound Crossing Day 5

It was very calm this morning and there were no complaints from the crew. The winds were 10 knots or less and there was only a 2 to 3 foot swell. The period between the waves was very long so the waves were almost unnoticeable. Everyone was on deck when we rounded Cape Horn at 7:30am. Although there was a debate which point was Cape Horn.

As we round the point, it is tradition to toast Neptune by pouring some whiskey into the sea. Jamie and Jim then drink some of it. The rest of the crew, drinks some bubbly hard cider.

For the rest of the day we work our way East to the mouth of the Beagle Channel. We plan to be in Ushuaia early to mid day tomorrow.

Jan. 24 - Day 6 of the return trip.

we make it to Beagle channel and were looking forward to a calmer ride back to Ushuaia, but that was not to be. Right after midnight the winds picked up to gusts around 35 knots. The waves were as big as the ones we had crossing the Drake. During one of my last watches I noticed a crab pot. During our sailing course we had been taught to avoid them! I alerted Voy who was surprised to see it as the season was over. He figured that it had been lost and was drifting. It would have been bad to get tangled in the rope. One more thing to watch out for. As the wind picked up and the waves increased, we were told by Voy and Ewa to stay in our bunks and they would take the boat back to the port. At one point seal grass got caught in the propeller. It was necessary to stop the boat to remove it. Once the motor stopped the boat started rolling heavily and anything that wasn’t secured went flying. By 6 am it had calmed some and the winds were down to the low 20’s. We were all awake and headed up to the cockpit where Voy was waiting to do our Covid Tests. If there was anyone who tested positive(highly unlikely) we would need to quarantine until we were all negative.

Don thought that he could avoid the Q tip, but alas the Kleenex over the nose didn’t work

Finally all the tests were done and the results all negative.

The call was made to the port captain who welcomed us back to Ushuaia where there was a space for us to dock. As we motored for the last time we approached the dock where we had left 25 days ago. As we looked out in the harbor we noticed 5 large cruise ships anchored. We later learned that some of the clients had a positive covid test and the entire ship was quarantined. Once again we were so thankful that we had all made it to the start of our journey to Antarctica without a positive covid test.

Ewa, our first mate checks out our landing spot.

I imagine that she is feeling a sense of relief to get all of us safely back to shore.

Ryan is definitely ready to land and put his feet on ground that isn’t moving.

Voy takes the helm and soon we are at the dock.

Voy gives us tasks to do to secure the boat. After that is showers that don’t move at the boat house.

Our boat is the one with the yellow kayaks.

As the clouds lift, we see a new layer of snow on the mountains.

Ryan, Beth, Jamie and Julie decide to book a room at a hotel where Ryan and Julia who have been the sickest hope to recover more easily. Don, Jim and I opt to spend one more night on the boat. We all meet up for an evening meal together where we are still in a process of realizing what we have just done. This is going to take some time!

We meet up with Ryan and Beth on the 25th to spend the day with them and to eat at a very nice Restaurant called the Kalma Resto. It is quite reasonable with the exchange rate. After having to cook all our meals, it is so nice to be served and not have to do dishes. We re organize our gear and send most of it back with Ryan and Beth who are heading back to the states to go to work. Don and I are heading off for a couple of month to do some exploring in Argentina and Chile.