Leaving Puerto Williams: Tuesday – Feb 13, 2007
The engines were fired up about 8:30AM this morning and I think we are all ready to leave Puerto Williams and go past Ushuaia and head out to see new things. We head west on the Beagle Channel past Ushuaia and after several hours of wonderful cruising, we had lunch. This was a special white lunch to celebrate our entry into the glacier areas as we head toward Punta Arenas (Sandy Point). We planned to have this luncheon in Antarctica but since the weather is still too bad to even try it, we decided that glaciers were good enough. All the food was white and that was interesting in itself.
About 3PM, we anchored in Caleta Olla, a small bay or inlet just off the northern branch of the Beagle Channel. It is a well-protected area and there are already two sailboats anchored here and lashed together. This wonderful place is next to Ventisquero Holanda, a good-sized glacier, the first one we have seen during this trip. In addition to dropping the anchor, we tied off to shore with two huge lines, one bought just for this purpose because it floats and thus no danger of getting caught in the props as it is being let out. This is the first time we have tied to the shore and the crew accomplished it with no problem.
Captain Toby took Phil and me to shore where we tried to hike through marsh and up hills to the glacier but it was too far away. Later Kyle and Kyle also went ashore so we’ll see how they do. We had a nice quiet dinner on board in this beautiful quiet place. It’s 10PM and Kyle and Kyle are not back yet so Toby is going to go out looking for them. More on that tomorrow.