Pos: here
Loc: Canal Chacao
Acc: tent
Dist: 41 km
Start: 8:50 End: 17:55

I felt I needed to sleep in a bit this Sunday morning. As usual in town stops, I didn’t get enough sleep. And the wind was blowing already all night with 15-20 knots, which was not an inviting start to the last leg. It was a southerly direction, with a tiny tendency to the south east, so chances were not that bad for the day.

But first I had to battle into the wind to get free of Isla Calbuco! Then it was crawling across to the southern point of Isla Quihua with that strong wind from the side and quite some seas, and about 9 km across to Isla Abtao in the same conditions. I need to get used again to balancing my breakfast oats on my spray deck… I decided to go inside Isla Abtao, hoping for a bit of wind shelter, but getting out of the channel again around a long point was fighting the same headwind, just with a little lesser sea. A lot of fishing boats and houses were in that sheltered area!

Soon I was crossing the ferry port to Isla Chiloe, and was looking quite carefully when the many ferries were going where…still one fast one suddenly was behind very close and fast crossing over…well…I quickly paddled further.

I was getting into Canal Chacao around slack tide with a bit of a push, but soon I noticed the tide going in again. Despite the wind now more behind than besides me, it was not really a fast ride. Overall, it was quite a slog today, but still made 41 km.

I saw dolphins as usual, but suddenly I saw three seal play dolphins! Quite unusual they were moving in the same speed and manner, jumping out and in again. In Argentine, I saw even a bunch of penguins doing the same! But dolphins do it best…

I had to change my rudder fin again, it was already a bit cracked since a few days from what ever move, now it broke fully and the main part was gone. I’m hoping I will not crack more fins! I have one more good one, and one with a broken locking notch which would do it case.

In the tent, it was time for filling breakfast bags – 1/3 of 500g oats, three tbs of milk powder, three tbs of sugar, two tbs of Nesquick cacao powder…and *always* a bits of powder, sugar and oats makes it not into the bags…mess!

Tomorrow I’m getting out of the sheltered island. Hope I’ll find a spot with not too much surf to land! The goal is the bay behind Punta Puga. We’ll see if it’s working out wind and wave wise!