Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia

[Sea Otter]

Hi South Atlantic sailors,

Need all information on passaging from Cap Verde to the Magellan Strait and further to Patagonia. Anyone been there?

We are leaving the Azores next year for a cruise to Patagonia via Cap Verde, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentine. We have found very little in literature to satisfy our questions. Of course we have Jim Cornell's book on World Cruising, but we need more practical information from sailors who have been in the south before. What would be a good routing down there, what is the average weather situation during November to March, living expenses, places not to miss etc, etc.

[Force 10]

Originally Posted by Sea Otter

Hi South Atlantic sailors,

Need all information on passaging from Cap Verde to the Magellan Strait and further to Patagonia. Anyone been there?

We are leaving the Azores next year for a cruise to Patagonia via Cap Verde, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentine. We have found very little in literature to satisfy our questions. Of course we have Jim Cornell's book on World Cruising, but we need more practical information from sailors who have been in the south before. What would be a good routing down there, what is the average weather situation during November to March, living expenses, places not to miss etc, etc.

Hi there;
There is a very good Book about the Chilean coast down to the Hoorn available and very recently (like 3 years ago) published. I belive one of the co Authors is Solo Circumnavigator Tony Gooch (hope I spell his name right) from Victoria BC.
Tony sails on his beautifull Alumenum Yacht "Kinohi", but his home Adress is in Oak Bay/Victoria BC. You should be able to find him in the Phonebook.

I do have a Copy of this Book myself but I wont get home to Vctoria untill Chismas and this is not certain either. If you can wait til then just send me an email arround the 15. of December so I can get you the ISBN number when I get home.

Myself I hope to singlehand Cape Horn sometimes next year or in 2011.
Good Luck and By for now ------- Karl P.

[fishwife]

Hi,

As a starting point, you could do worse than read this blog ::Welcome to Nordhavn.com::

Yes I know it's a motor cruiser but lots of the problems of getting to the Southern Ocean are shared, whether you sail or motor. The hard part is going to be down the Argentinian coast, with wind on the bow for a lot of the time. When you get to Brazil, you may want to get the cruising guide mentioned in the blog. You may have to get it posted from the States, it's expensive but worth it's weight in gold. Patagonia and Tierra Del Fuego Nautical Gde 2nd Ed
To satisfy the Chilean Navy, you will need paper charts, not just a C Map cartridge or whatever. You also need a functional VHF at the least and a Sat phone such as an Iridium with the email software is very handy, to say the least. A functional radar is also very useful for when you are navigating in areas that have little of no information on the charts.

P

[GeoPowers]

Never been there by boat, but if you have any questions about Fitz Roy or Torres Del Paine just ask!

[fishwife]

When I replied I rather thought you were talking about leaving the Azores in the New Year, re-reading your post, now I'm not so sure If you are talking about October - November next year, then there is a lot more you can do. PM me if you like. I may be heading there myself at the same time.

P.

[GeoPowers]

Quick PS/fun fact to above- Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan passed through the strait which bears his name to the Pacific ocean on this day in 1520! (according to my "This Day in History" app, anyway!)

[Sea Otter]

Originally Posted by fishwife

When I replied I rather thought you were talking about leaving the Azores in the New Year, re-reading your post, now I'm not so sure If you are talking about October - November next year, then there is a lot more you can do. PM me if you like. I may be heading there myself at the same time.

P.

Hi Fishwife,
Yes you are correct, we shall leave next autumn 2010 from the Azores to the south. That is why we are gathering info now well ahead. So keep in contact, we might see each other some place.
Cheers,
Chris

[Euro Cruiser]

G'day, SEA OTTER...

IMO you are departing from the Azores a bit late. Leaving from the Canaries for the Verdes in the late Fall is of course commonplace...but the Azores sees some tough Fall weather sooner so - as you would, anyway - be sure to mind the wx picture closely before departing.

Here are several sources of info I'd recommend you use:
-- buy the CD (or download, individually) the last few years' of SSCA Bulletins. Just this past year, there have been a number of Letters posted by members who've been on both sides of S America and seeing/hearing about this area from a mix of folks (with a mix of boats and expectations) can be very instructive. Yes, you'll need to be a member to get access to the Bulletins...but there are many years of Bulletins available for only a single year's membership and its cost is about that of one guidebook ($50 USD). The add'l cost of the CD is worth it IMO because you can then use your reader's 'Search' function and immediately zoom in on all Letters that address a specific topic, whether it's "Laundry Puerto Montt" or "Chilean Channels Anchoring".
-- If a member, you can then also use the Member Locator function and directly contact members who are, right now, in the areas you are researching. I find this an especially useful benefit because the info is 'real time' and it filters out the dated, inaccurate guide info and the internet experts (no offense, everyone...). I notice there are members located down there right now, both in the area of the Horn and on both the Atlantic & Pacific coasts below 35S...and of course, this will only increase over the next few months.
-- If you haven't already, definitely visit Dave & Marcie's website at Sailing with Nine of Cups They've nicely documented multiple visits down there, on both sides, and on multiple occasions. They sail two-handed on a pretty typical cutter, are level headed and have built many successful relationships with the folks ashore...so both good role models and super-informed. Don't think you can do better from a single source.

Jack

[jjt]

Hi, Sea Otter:

You are welcome to our yacht club in Buenos Aires (there is already a courtesy marina berth waiting for you).

Going south from here, your last confortable port (all services, and provisioning facilities) are Mar del Plata and port of Quequén.
Southern from there, there are a few shelter spots along the Patagonia.
These are about 200 or 300 miles apart each other.
Sometimes we have a North wind in a weather window of 3 or 4 days during spring and summer. The trick is to be ready when this window arrives. It would be a very big help to have somebody monitoring the wheather and warning you by SSB or HAM radio a couple of times every day.
60/70 knots soth (southeast and southwest) winds are very common there (after the north). So allways have a near shelter spot to the north from where you are or wait to the next weather window.

I invite you the beer when you arrive here.

JuanJo

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by Sea Otter

Hi South Atlantic sailors,

Need all information on passaging from Cap Verde to the Magellan Strait and further to Patagonia. Anyone been there?

Sea otter, we have been there twice (a bit over a year each time). The first time we took the route you are thinking of: Cape Verde to Uruguay to Argentina to Chile

There is a ton of information on our website. Perhaps you might start with:
1. Argentina
2. Chile
3. http://www.bethandevans.com/pdf/Chile.pdf
4. http://www.bethandevans.com/pdf/Chile2007.pdf
5. http://www.bethandevans.com/2001.htm
6. http://www.bethandevans.com/2002.htm
7. http://www.bethandevans.com/2007.htm
8. http://www.bethandevans.com/2008.htm

That should give you something to chew on and perhaps you can come back with specific questions.

The one book you need is Patagonia and Tierra Del Fuego Nautical Gde 2nd Ed by Mariolina Rolfo & Giorgio Ardrizzi. Its expensive but is the bible.

[Sea Otter]

To all of you folks, A GREAT BIG THANK YOU for the wealth of useful information so soon after my request. No doubt there will be more coming. This forum looks as one of the best I have read so far. Helpful people everywhere, it is heart warming.

Please help us to stay in contact by giving us a few lines in our guest book on our web page, so we can make a contact list.

Thanks again,

Chris and Béa

[barnakiel]

Not been but have friends who have a charter boat there in the season and then sail her back to Europe every 2 years or so.

They sail from CV to Recife then just follow the coast. They say beyond Rio de Janeiro it is often bad weather - cold, misty, etc.. But they do not see any special weather features there - what the Pilots say is correct and normal weather awareness and preparedness are the norm. They sail a 14m steel Bruce Roberts ketch.

They don't like Brazil, but say further South it is much nicer than up North. And Argentina and Chile are OK.

b.

[harpoon71]

Hi Sea Otter

If your plans are still on then give me a shout. I now live in Chile and would love to meet fellow sailors.

Any help with the language or anything just ask

Brian

[CalebD]

Have you seen this?
Patagonia Photo Journal (1)

[harpoon71]

That is a stunning website! Photos, layout, info, etc.

I can't believe I'm stuck up in Santiago and all that is just down the road!

I've been to all those marinas in Puerto Montt (on foot unfortunately) and said 'hello', they seem very accommodating.