Embarkation day
The beginning of our Chilean Patagonia and Fjords voyage. On our way to Puerto Williams to spend the night at anchor there.
It is at 14:00h when the Europa is ready to welcome us.
She lays moored alongside Ushuaia harbour, right at the beginning of it. Along the pier are to be found other vessels as well, belonging either to the fishing fleet that operates on those waters or to the expedition motor vessels which work in Antarctica. Amongst all of them, Europa stands out as quite a unique one.
In the afternoon, with all Voyage Crew aboard, we all wait alongside until we embark the mandatory pilots to sail the inner waters of the area. And it is not until the evening when she lets go her lines and sets course towards Puerto Williams at Navarino Island. Until then, the afternoon and evening hours are spent getting used to the ship and the fellow travellers, to introduce the crew and have talks and first familiarisations with safety procedures, life on board and a general idea of our trip.
And while the light dims at dawn, engines are on, gangway is packed away, mooring ropes cast off and the Europa gets off the harbour. As a farewell to the city, a Sei whale surfaces close to her hull and dives off into the dark waters of the Beagle Channel.
From then on, it takes just a few hours at sea to reach her first destination and drop anchor to spend the rest of the night.
A cold wind blows, the mountains all around are lightly blanketed by yesterday’s snowfall, while on the lower areas it rained all day. Today is drier, but the weather is just as we could expect in this part of the world. Chilly, windy, now overcast and then sunny.
Surely the same pattern to expect during the following weeks of our voyage. A journey with a general northwards heading, integrating bits of sailing when possible with visits, hikes and cruises along a large area indented by countless fjords and fjord-like channels.
A network of waterways surrounded by steep coastline that slopes up to high peaks, glaciers, cliffs and rocky headlands. A one-of-a-kind dramatic and rugged scenery, always under unpredictable and ever-changing weather, winds and sea states.
The spectacular geography that characterizes the latitudes from Cape Horn to Puerto Montt then changes to a straightforward coastline. It may be possible to set sail all the way to Valparaiso following more offshore waters.