Before 06:00h local authorities were already on board to sign us off Argentina before starting our trip. Soon all was ready for our departure and with many of us already on deck we cast off the mooring lines and farewell Ushuaia to start our trip to Antarctica.

Before 06:00h local authorities were already on board to sign us off Argentina before starting our trip. Soon all was ready for our departure and with many of us already on deck we cast off the mooring lines and farewell Ushuaia to start our trip to Antarctica.

The plan for the day is to sail to Puerto Williams on Navarino Island, check into Chile and spend the afternoon in town. A big Low Pressure system is just passing through the Drake Passage moving fast Eastwards, and we plan to wait for a while until the weather and sea conditions conditions in the Drake Passage improve before starting our crossing.

As we make our way, the wind picks up to around 30 knots from the West, and we set our Top Sails, stopping the engine at 08:30h and sail along the beagle Channel at 5 to 6 knots. Like this we sail until reaching Puerto Williams.

We took advantage of the morning in the Beagle Channel to do the mandatory briefings and talks regarding Safety on board, and the Watches familiarisation with the ship and the duties we are supposed to have on board, like helming, lookout and first notions about the sails and rope handling. We also got time for having climbing instructions, essential if we pretend to climb the rigging during the trip.

After a nice lunch at anchor it was time to goa shore. To walk around the settlement, where their few shops and interesting Museum were open. An interesting monument to visit in town is the Yelcho bow, the ship that commanded by Piloto Pardo, brought Shackleton to Elephant Islands to rescue his party after two years of the most famous survival struggling adventure in Antarctica. Pretty close to Ushuaia, big and touristic city located just at the Northern shores of the Beagle Channel, Navarino Island get much less attention from tourists and visitors, remaining as the hidden pearl of Southern Patagonia.

Before dinner we were all on board and we spent the rest of the evening and night at anchor, getting ready for departure in the early morning. After dinner we got our first eight o’clockie, the daily meeting with the Captain and Guides to recap the activities that we conducted during the day, show us our position and plans in the nautical charts, weather report and talk about the plans for the next day.