Navimag Day 2 - Rocky Seas

We wake from a good nights sleep in our little cabin to another smorgasbord of food (its almost like being on site.. minus the high vis). A jam packed day of excitement was promised today, first docking at the small portside town of Puerto Eden (town size 94 people!), then passing an abandoned half sunken ship, the Cotopaxi, navigating through the "English Channels" before hitting the open waters, where conditions were set to get a bit rough!

The stopover at Puerto Eden was really interesting. The ferry anchored some distance away from the town and was met by a group of smaller boats coming to collect passengers and cargo. All the locals and crew kicked into gear, unloading all the supplies for the town, from metal sheeting to fuel barrels to a pet poodle. We were even allowed to go down to level 1 of the ship to spectate (whilst trying not to get in the way).

Then off we set again and we were in for a real treat.. we were allowed onto the "Bridge" to visit the captain and watch him navigate the ship! Very interesting stuff... The ship is 30years old (same age as Trav!) and some of the radar equipment is the same age. Some of the water we are travelling through is over 1000m deep!

We were told that we were entering open waters that evening and that conditions were set to be rough so be prepared... Waves up to 10m high have been experienced in the past and tonight was expected to be a bad night.. every was acting tough and excited.

Around 6pm that evening the rocking started and a few people started to feel a bit queasy. By dinner time people had to hold onto their plates and cutlery to stop them from flying. Everyone is stumbling around like they are drunk! By midnight all the drinks in the fridge had toppled over, plates are rattling and chairs are toppling over. We went out to the back of the ferry to assess the situation... WOW. Even in the pitch black we can make out that the swell is HUGE. Easily the height of the ferry, at least 6-8m. 4 cows died :-(Leggi altro