Wed 15/02-2012 Day 170

P2150038.JPG
Camp "on the rocks"

Pos: here
Loc: Isla Manuel Rodriguet
Acc: tent
Dist: 57 km
Start: 6:55 End: 18:30

A great paddling day! But first of all I’m very sorry I didn’t stop at the Navy Station for the night – but conditions were too good today to finish already at noon! 30 km to the station were not enough paddling for such a great easy day after so many bad weather days…I have enough battery power and food until Puerto Eden in now about 380 km, and for a hot shower or fresh laundry I don’t need to waste half an easy paddling day! An occasionally cold shower does the job, and nobody sees and smells me anyway here 🙂

It was a bit drizzly and grey all morning, but it basically had no wind! I even felt I had a good current getting out of my channel and turning north, and for the first time in a long while my GPS showed again I’m paddling 6 km and more per hour! This is how it should be…I almost got a speed flash and simply couldn’t stop after 30 km already at the station. And it would have been 3 km detour…too much to say just “hello”.

A big school of 8-10 dolphins greeted me in the gray morning, and I was so eager to eventually turn north! I took it as a good omen again.

Leaving the big steep snow capped mountains behind in my “chicken way channel”, I eventually turned right into the channel turning north. Already the islands at the corner were all very low and tame, and generally the whole Fjordland looked much more friendly in the new area! Not that there were more possible campsites, but with a bit of imagination you find some!

P2150040.JPG
My rock had just about tent size...

I thought I’d pick one of those small rocky headlands tonight to camp on, as the night will be calm wind, and I won’t need to anchor my free standing Hilleberg Staika tent, once I’m in with my gear…thought and done, I just had to pad the bottom a bit at one end with my PFD and spray skirt to make it level. Dragging the boat up was easy, and it just sounds funny to hear the water lapping almost *underneath* me, not besides me, as I am camping right on a 2 meter steep rock edge. Hope there won’t be any unexpected 40-knots gusts or such 🙂

P2150036.JPG
My "pink island" in the distance

Only one big freighter was passing me today in the afternoon, yesterday there was no boat at all in my sneaky way. But on the other side of the channel, around Isla Shoal or such at km 50, I saw something very strange – a pink island! It was not the evening light, the intense pink colour stayed, as the island was shifting in perspective by behind a few other ones when I paddled along. I have no idea what it was. A huge wreck? An experimental station? An island sprayed pink by a creative artist? i was very sure it was an island, and no boat or whatever, but I haven’t seen any island or rocks of this color anywhere else! A miracle…I was close to call the captain of the freighter just passing by at that side to tell me what it is…

If I was worried yesterday not to be able to pass through that narrow 15 meter gap – today I was passing through another gap besides Isla Renouard which was clearly marked “free” on my GPS chart – maybe 3 meters wide, scattered with rocks and only 20-30 cm deep on low tide. Just about…I was not very keen on to turn around! I was just through as another two dolphins were playing in the shallows! Amazing…

Generally, the western coast of this north ward channel looked way more friendly today with many different sizes of islands and landscapes, and for sure it gives me the shelter of the west wind! No snow capped mountains any more (for now…), and no big gusts coming down from those lower mountains. It stayed all day friendly 10 to max 15 knots, first from NE, then even for a while SW, then W, with dead calm water every where. And it was sunny all afternoon! Only the crossing of the channel was a bit slower going than my 6 km/h, as in the middle I may have caught the current the other way round and maximum wind. Apart from that, I eventually was happy to make great progress again! I just have a sore tailbone from today’s long paddle  🙂

18 comments on “Wed 15/02-2012 Day 170

All absolutely free clipart is created by an identical designer. Nowadays you know the best place to locate totally free clipart, you can save a good deal of Googling! AAA Clipart is a superb site on account of the substantial selection of completely free clipart images available there.

I just wish to notify you that I am new to blogging and thoroughly admired your site. Quite possibly I am likely to bookmark your blog post . You absolutely have lovely article content. Get Pleasure From it for sharing with us your main internet site article

It is usually perfect occasion to put together some desires for the foreseeable future. I have browsed this blog posting and if I may possibly, I desire to recommend you few unique tip.

I really hope to tell you that I am new to posting and really adored your report. Most likely I am going to save your blog post . You absolutely have memorable article information. Love it for sharing with us the best web article

Hello! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with Search Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good success. If you know of any please share. Appreciate it!

I just want to say I’m very new to blogging and site-building and seriously savored your web-site. Almost certainly I’m going to bookmark your blog . You actually come with remarkable stories. Kudos for sharing your web page.

claudio c

Congratulations Freya. You’re doing a tremendous effort with all the time you’ve been paddling. Take your time to enjoy it !! It’s all part of the adventure. Wish you good weather..!

Jörg Hofferbert

Fine, you are in your element´s now. And i´m happy that you are leaving the magellan straigt finally. Now all the times hopefully be a little bit tame (Jetzt wird hoffentlich alles ein wenig zahmer). The chicken channel and the pink isle you get photography ?!

Clas & Friends in Finland

Congratulations on a good paddling day.
Happy to see you out of the “Grips of Cap Horn”.
And the forecast for days weather looks decent.

Chuck H.

Presuming that your “pink island” really is the wreck of S.S. Santa Leonor (as seems very likely), her stranding resulted in an interesting court case (see: http://openjurist.org/517/f2d/404/grace-v-grace ). In its judgement, the court provided this description of the area where you are right now: “The Santa Leonor stranded in the middle of the night in a remote and inaccessible area off the southern tip of South America.”
Before its long career as the merchantman P & T Forester, Mormacwave and Santa Leonor, this ship had U.S. Navy World War II service as attack transport Riverside (APA-102).

roberto

! Que Dia ! Huge progress Freya. No doubt as to the sore bum; y si Ken, wreck is visible on google earth. Vaya con dios amiga mio !

Frances Price

I hope you were able to get a photograph of that pink “island,” Freya, and can eventually find out what it actually is. How intriguing…
It is winter in my area, so there is no paddling for me on our local lake. I have some idea how frustrating it is to be stuck indoors, when one wants to get onto the water so badly. So I am glad for you, that you were able to make so much headway today, Freya! Sleep well, and have a great day tomorrow!

Ken

Likely the wreck of Santa Leonor … wrecked Paso Shoal Adelaide Rocks 1968. Several photos on Google Earth … Orange Red Pink depending on the light.

Comments are closed