CHILEN0 100nmPuerto
EdénPuerto MonttUshuaiaStrait of Magellan
Tierra
del FuegoCape HornPunta ArenasCanal MessierCaleta Yvonnede PenasGolfo Caleta IdealPeninsula Tres MontesBahía Anna PinkPuerto AguirrePuerto CisnesPuerto MelinkaQuellónARGENTINAPuerto EdénPERUCHILEBRAZILARGENTINACape HornPanamaSantiago
Puerto Montt0 1,000nm Ushuaia‘T
he first two-and-a-half weeks were
fraught with tremendous storms,
horizontal rain and sleet, funnelled
winds and ‘bergy bits’, which were
translucent lumps of ice, largely
resembling at a distance, the crest of a wave,
which made every breaking wave suspect.
I had to be constantly looking out for hazards.’
It was a steep learning curve for 18-year-old
Scottish skipper Loris Pattinson, who was sailing
Aisling, a 50-year-old 31ft Rustler, solo through
the maze of Chile’s fjords and channels.
It had not started out that way. Pattinson had
answered an advert placed by Dan Stroud, who
was looking for unpaid crew to help him sail the
three-month voyage from the Argentinian resort
of Ushuaia to Puerto Montt in southern Chile during
the southern hemisphere summer. Having double-
handed through the Tierra Del Fuego and Strait
of Magellan to Puerto Edén, a family emergency
meant Stroud had to fly home, leaving Pattinson solo.
‘He said to me, ‘You can either stay here in Puerto
Edén for a month polishing brass or you can sail
the remaining 600 miles to Puerto Montt.’ I opted for
the latter. As an 18-year-old it isn’t often you get an
opportunity to sail solo, especially not in a region so
remote and unspoiled. Needless to say, my parents
weren’t thrilled by the prospect of their son, fresh out
of school, being battered by the elements in the South
Pacific Ocean at the mercy of the gods,’ explained
Pattinson, who has been sailing since he was seven.Most first solo voyages are in familiar waters, but Loris Pattinson
chose the difficult passage through the twisting channels of Chile
Peter^ Wilson
Words Katy Stickland18 AND
ALONE IN THE
CHILEAN FJORDS
ADVENTURE