Departure from Ushuaia

8th February 2018 DEPARTURE FROM USHUAIA, BEAGLE CHANNEL AND ENTERINGTHE DRAKE PASSAGE.The day started full of expectation for our imminent departuresouthwards to Antarctica. And it was around breakfast time when boardedthe mandatory pilot assigned to all vessels sailing in the inner watersof Southern Argentina and Chile.Soon we hear the roaring of the engines while the mooring ropes are castoff to move a short distance to the neighbour bunker pier.While the Europa fills up her fuel tanks before starting our adventure,we make use of this time to conduct a mandatory briefing regardingSafety on board.The quiet waters of the beautiful Beagle Channel are ideal for the firstsailing hours, first to start getting used to our sailing ship, theroutines on board and to get acquainted with our duties while we are onwatch. Most of the day is used for these purposes.Argentinean bureaucracy delays our departure for a while, but in themeantime we gather in the deckhouse for our first meeting with thephotographer team that will be with us for this special trip, morefocused on photography and video than the previous ones. Frits, Daniel,Valery and Josiah expose their ideas on how to manage the photographicpart of the trip. Besides general guidelines Frits also presented hisproject to create a final product after the trip where all of us canparticipate. After a brainstorm of ideas several Antarctic and Sailingaspects are agreed to be considered. Like this we started gestatingsomething interesting with the joint effort of all under the supervisionand guidance of out multidisciplinary photo team, with Frits backgroundbeing more related with storytelling using his amazing pictures toillustrate his storylines; Daniel as a more focused on nature andlandscape aspects, Valery specialized on maritime photography and Josiahdocumenting all our activities on video.As soon as we finished with this first photography meeting and we leftthe bunker pier, all gathered on deck to start the sail training. Firstof all with climbing instructions, mandatory if at some point during thetrip we feel like climbing the rig to help the crew with thesailhandling, to take pictures or to enjoy a moment on the quiet heightsof the ship’s masts.Shortly afterwards Puerto Williams start showing up on ourStarboardside. On the Chilean side of the Beagle, this settlement holdsthe title of Southernmost town in the world, and in comparison with theteeming streets of Ushuaia, it’s a much smaller and calmer location.Some canvas is set, but the typically variable winds of the BeagleChannel call for the use of the engines, eventhough lower staysails arehoisted together with the Inner Jib, and Top sails unfurled. It won’t beuntil reaching more open waters during the evening that we can set morecanvas and actually sail.While doing all those activities time went by pretty quickly and soon wewere called for lunch. Afterwards the afternoon program was filled witha proper watch responsibilities familiarization. Later on the threewatch system will start, and will run until reaching the shores of theAntarctic Islands of South Shetland. Under permanent crew supervision,we have to be able to steer the ship, help with sailhandling and conducta good lookout. Once those explanations were finished, Valery used theend of the afternoon to give a talk about maritime photography, loadedwith countless tips to keep ourselves and our cameras safe in the shipand ways of taking interesting pictures while on board. He did thisthrough a visual collection of his work on tall ships pictures. Valeryhas been dedicated for 17 years to highlight the beauty of sailing andthe ocean. For that, he joined the most relevant international Tall Shipraces crossing the oceans and collecting pictures all around the world.Making our way along the Beagle Channel, Port and Starboard are framedby green meadows and heavily forested mountains, sort of waving usfarewell before entering the oceanic kingdom of the Drake Passage, andin a few more days the icy world of Antarctica. These Evergreentemperate rain-forests of the Magellanic Region are dominated by threeendemic species of Nothofagus and maintain the fragile and complexsub-Antarctic ecosystem.Reaching the East mouth of the Beagle Channel an embarkation comesalongside and collect the pilot that has been with us from the morning.Meaning that we start facing the oceanic waters of the Eastern part ofCape Horn Archipelago and the infamous Drake Passage.Evening fair Westerly winds offer the chance to stop our engines and setmore sail. Now Top Gallants join the Top Sails that were set during theafternoon, together with the Spanker and Middle Staysails, while InnerJib and Fore Top Mast Staysail take the wind on the Jib boom. Coursesare also unfurled, but the gusting winds of 35kn made us re-think aboutit and at the end stayed hanging on their gear waiting for a bettermoment. During the night actually the gusts increase and the TopGallants have to be furled once more.The feared seasickness didn’t wait long to strike, and many of usstruggled during the evening and night to keep up with the differentactivities offered and the beginning of the watch system. Watch leadershad to fiddle around scheduling and re-scheduling duties during thewatches as gradually more and more components of the puzzle disappearedafter feeding the fishes overboard.The journey along the Beagle Channel also provided us with several goodPatagonian wildlife sightings as Magellanic penguins surround us lookingsurprised by the meeting with our beautiful ship, and South Americanterns, Kelp gulls, Skuas, Giant petrels and groups of Black-browedalbatrosses fly around. Rock and Imperial shags whoosh in groups comingand going from their nesting sites on the rocky shores.During the afternoon several Peale’s dolphins join us for a while,amused by the bow wave that Europa creates as she sails.This species is small and robust, widespread along the coastal waters ofthe Patagonian Channels, thus having a restricted distribution aroundthe Southernmost tip of South America.