we made it!

3/27 p: 5035S 08516W
confused seas, 2 different huge swells, hard to steer
and after wind went over 35 kts decided to lay ahull
again
3/28 p: 5125S 08347W
sailing a bit, but seas are crashing and we don't want
to take on too much green water. laying ahull again
for the rest of the afternoon and night
- what i hadn't mailed before to not worry anyone: we
actually have a leaky seam under water as well as
leaking through the deck, which is why we try to not
torture the boat too much. the pump is keeping up fine
3/29 p: 5125S 08331W
all hands on deck at daybreak to start sailing again,
but we discover that something in the steering broke:
both arms of the edson wormgear. so we're
disassembling it and attaching the emergency tiller.
set stormjib to assist steering. everyone is a bit
frustrated, we're only 250 mi from the straights and
once again it seems impossible to simlpy go east.
3/30 p: 5049S 08100W
sailing with stays'l, tiller works fine but requires
two people and block and tackle in the rough seas. Now
the SSB radio stopped transmitting, we can't order
weather info, nor e-mail. we need to run the generator
more often to keep the batteries charged for the pump.
3/31 p: 5057S 07900W
steady 30kts, every bunk is wet by now, the bilgewater
sloshes up between ceiling and skin on a heel and even
manages to get onto the upper bunks. we establish the
verb "to get bilged".i put my matress inside 2
trashbags, it works fine and i sleep well. others are
not as lucky. the wind dies down and we're becalmed in
fog. the closer we get, the slower we get
04/01 p: somewhere....
the fog is gone, the wind is picking up, squall, rain,
shiptraffic on radio. it's not a squall but getting
worse, we're taking the trys'l down. the generator
dies, we take down the stays'l to take stress off boat
so the pump lasts longer. wind force 10-11, the
strongest on the entire trip! we have to start the
main engine to pump. steering with 2 people, running
off under bare poles. there is dirty fuel, that's why
gen quit. back online now, we're hooking up addtl 110V
pump and sending out PAN PAN to advise about our
situation. several ships help relaying VHF to the
chilean navy/coast guard and offer other assistance
which we don't need. I am sleeping in my foulies, my
cabin is dripping everywhere. generator breaks down
again, engineroom bilgepump too. we're laying ahull,
april fools day
04/02 p:5154S 07549W
everybody got about 30 min of sleep, ira got "bilged
in his bunk" we need to fix generator and pumps. there
is concern tthat tthe water might destroy more
electronic equipment and render us unable to
communicate or worse: navigate in no visibility.
running off under bare pole, making 9 kts, then laying
ahull again to not get to close to land in the dark.
pumps work fine now.
04/03 p: 5237S 07454W
setting sails at daybreak to make entry.stormjib and
trys'l (the stays'l needs repair). 0707hrs: "Tierra!"
we can see cabo pilar. the closer we get the less
visibility we have, end up steering by radar and
compass. passed pointaround 1300 and fell off to surf
down the straights: 10kts and fun! visibility is back,
spectacular landscape! Navyship Leucoton comes to
check us out and invites us to tie alongside them for
the night at their anchorage. we accept and follow
them into Bahia Wodsworth. it's dark, 50kts gusts, it
takes 2 hrs to get tied up. they give us bread and dry
blankets.
04/04 bahia wodsworth 5300S 07401W
they wake us before daylight announcing bad weather
and that they have to leave. we untie and they take
off and we go into the east arm of the bay and anchor
there fairly protected. another smaller navyboat comes
to check on us later in the morning and gives us some
sugar that we had run out of. the bay is absolutely
beautiful, there is tons of little waterfalls that
keep growing or disappearing depending on the amount
of rain. there is little trees clinging to the cliffs,
clorfull lickhen and some snow on the peaks. the water
is deep and black with some kelp growing. it's windy
with rain, hail or both... we're working on drying out
the boat, the weather has us trapped. plus the
windlass switch is now broken too
04/05-08 same
the windlass is fixed, so we could leave if we wanted
to, but the weather is still not good, forecast is
35'40kts gusting 70kts. i wish we could at least
contact our family and friends to tall them we're o.k.
and have survived the southern ocean...
4/09 moved about 60 miles down the straights, yo a
place called caleta notch, beautiful took 9.5 hrs to
get there it was cool (both fguratively and literally)
nice downwind ride with snowpeaked mountains in the
back and glaciers, well, and hail and rain
4/10 sleeping in at anchorage, it's really a perfect
bay, but it seems like a mountain lake, not sea level
any time now grizzly adams or his grizzly could walk
around a pine tree. finally sunshine, so i can call my
brother on the satphone to say i´m o.k.

4/11 snow in the morning about an inch on deck,
luckily it clears and we're off to the next anchorage
just past cabo gallant 5341S 07200W

4/12 all the way to punta arenas, around cape froward,
the southernmost point of our trip 5355S get to anchor
at 2330

4/13 so close but yet so far.... the weather got bad
and we had to change anchorage, so still not a foot on
chilean soil. we´re near the shipyard and the fishing
fleet, about an hours walk from town, safe though,
beautiful foll moon

4/14 H&T got to go ashore to clear us in it is easter,
i hope not everything is closed...

4/15 YAY!!! i am off the boat and in town at a
computer, not bad....i don't know what to write now

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