Freedom

Caleta Victor Jarra

Land anchor

So, pulling into treeless Caleta Victor Jarra in a gale - that was about a six on the Scale of Unintended Drama.

Luckily, I can jam chain in rock cracks pretty well.  All those years of climbing finally came in handy.  I wonder when knowing how to sail will come in handy.

Well, I suppose that will always be useful...as long as we keep sailing.

Once we stop, it will be about as useful as that hard-won climbing knowledge of mine.

(I resist the interpretation of my life story as the pursuit of useless craft.)

Anyway, we sat in Victor Jarra for a couple days, listening to the wind blow.  Then the the weather broke this morning.  We smelled our freedom.  So we pulled the chains out of the cracks and unslung the cables from the boulders and made tracks for Puerto Williams.

By the time we were arriving in Puerto Williams, the weather had un-broke again.  Seven and a half knots running with the staysail rolled down to the little marks that are meant to denote two reefs.

We came around the big sand spit outside Puerto Williams and managed to flip Smooches, our inflatable, which we were unwisely towing behind the boat.

Call that another 6 on the Unintended Drama Scale.

When we pulled into the little Seno in Puerto Williams, it was still blowin', so we tied up in the easiest spot.  That turned out to be the wrong spot, and the management of the Micalvi asked us to move.

I kind of stuffed the "disengage in big winds" maneuver when we departed for the right spot.

That was a four on the Scale.  No blood, no foul, I maintain.

Ripper sail

So now we're here.  Won't be for long, I expect.  I can feel the summer energy, just like in Alaska.  This is the season for doin' stuff.  Which we're gonna.

With any luck I'll have a chance to upload some pics from the last month before we go.

You're not gonna believe 'em.