Pos: here
Loc: Isla Hoste, Peninsula Dum
Acc: tent
Dist: 27,4 km
Start: 6:30 End: 14:00

There is no giving up on starting my old computer…the first tries, about 50 times, were unsuccessful, and I sent already my note via sat phone only, but I let it rest for a while, and tried again…and then after only seven tries it eventually started…unfortunately the expected parcel with my new laptop from Peter sent via Punta Arenas to Puerto Williams, was sent back by Miguel to Punta Arenas despite me leaving notes with several people in Puerto Williams to give it to the immigration officer I was meeting today…well…bad luck…

Waking at 5 am felt actually too late, but that’s what it was…Atilio drove me to the yacht club where I landed on Tuesday, thanks again to him and his family for hosting and helping me with my kayak!

A Prefectura boat was so nice to escort me out to the Argentine border! Not that I’d be getting into trouble the last few km in Argentine…thanks!

Today’s weather forecast was actually all the last days up to today as a very low wind day, but this morning it had changed on the forecast to breezing up in the afternoon quite a lot from the west. This was still wrong, as it was already about 15 knots on the crossing, and it was quite some work to paddle against wind *and* tide. I made only 3-4 km per hour the last stretch, getting a bit faster once in Chile and the Prefectura boat left me. Then around noon it was easily 20 knots and against it not fun anymore.

I had to paddle the 12 km across the Beagle Channel to Puerto Navarino, a tiny village with one family of the local Navy officer, plus three or four other houses I was not sure if they were inhabited. The immigration officer, plus a Navy officer, a Navy driver and a guy from the agriculture department to check if I was carrying dangerous raw meat or such into Chile were arriving only a few minutes after I arrived there at 9.30 am. Good timing!

It took a while to issue the necessary paperworkand to get my passport stamped, and at some point the Navy officer presented me a big white empty sheet and a chart to write down my navigation plan with all planned stops and estimated arrival times until Punta Arenas…I told him please, this was already perfectly written in my thick folder in Puerto Williams, not again…and with a few phone calls he got the informations he needed to issue my papers.

I was sorry to have to reject the invitation of the wife of the navy officer for coffee (I never drink coffee or tea) and a few pieces of home made cake, but I just had a large bowl of my breakfast oats on the water and I was still full from last night’s dinner with pizza and delicious crumbled apple pie…Eva fed me well in Ushuaia! Thanks!

I was quickly back on the water at 10.15 am, and continued fighting my way into the headwind across the gap between Isla Navarino and Isla Hoste. This was the other way to Cape Horn!

Eventually I reached a few Islands, but I found only marginal shelter from the strong westerly head wind. I refused to myself to already land in the first lurking green grass bays, but before I got out of those island and would be turning a bit south west with no protection at all any more, I found a nice bay to land and decided to call it a day. Tomorrow was even stronger west wind forecast, around 25-30 knots, so it would already be a rest day in this nice place!

Honestly, I always feel more tired after staying in a city, being out of my regular early bed – early up schedule, getting not enough quality sleep and eating too much…

It eventually was a sunny day after the drizzly morning, but after a short walk I rather laid down to nap a bit before the night…

My bow compartment still had about half a liter water inside 🙁   now the last possibility after repairing all visible cracks in Ushuaia is the rubber sealing with a tiny gap where the ends of the sealing meet…I’ll glue that tomorrow after it dried this night, as I can’t have water in my front compartment…this was always bone dry!!!