Yachting

Equator

Salinas Puerto Lucia YC

Gulf of Guayaquil

START

FINISH

Valparaiso

Santiago

Puerto Velero

Callao

Punta Aguja

Yacht Club de Peru

Arica

Antofagasta

Salaverry

Crash tackto avoid bulk Chimbote

carrier in fog

Isla San Lorenzo

Mejillones

Peninsula

Bahia Quintero YC

Arica

Yacht Club

Bahia Nuestra

Señora

Punta

Lengua

de Vaca

Huasco

La Serena

0 200nm

MAY 2016 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 45

ADVENTURE

I feared I was being

approached by

pirates, until they

asked for a GPS fix

Arica I was pursued by a Peruvian fishing
boat. I altered course, they followed. I
increased my speed and so did they until
gradually I was overhauled. I feared the
five men on board were pirates. I slowed
and they came alongside and I asked
apprehensively, ‘Que quieres?’ (What do
you want?) I asked. They replied, ‘Estamos
perdidos’ (We are lost). It was true, all
they wanted was a GPS position and I was
happy to oblige and see them on their way.
As Sand and Foam entered Chilean
waters a Chilean Naval vessel called us
on the VHF. They were courteous, spoke
excellent English and informed Arica
Harbour Control of our intention to enter
the port, but the port authority instructed
us to proceed to the adjacent yacht club.
There, I dropped anchor, attached the
stern to two buoys and, after 588 miles as
the crow flies from Callao, Sand and Foam
had arrived in Chile’s northernmost port.
Arica is a lively and bustling town.
After refuelling and re-provisioning, Sand
and Foam was ready to set sail again:
destination the Bahia Quintero Yacht
Club and then Valparaiso. Claudio had
eventually arrived in Red Raven. As they
had only averaged around 2.5 to our 3.5
knots, we had lost VHF contact with them
soon after departure from Callao.
At dusk we put to sea sailing comfortably
under staysail and main. In the next days
there were many spinner dolphins, curious
sea lions and seals and many types of sea
birds. It was sunny and the nearby shore
was beautiful but steep with high, sandy
cliffs – not the place to be shipwrecked.
We saw many ships and fishing vessels
travelling parallel to us further offshore.
I saw my first albatross and sunrise over
the Atacama Desert behind the mountains
of the Mejillones Peninsula was as
spectacular as sunset over the Pacific.
Taking an offshore route around the
peninsula an array of flashing lights at
dusk indicated a large fishing fleet. To
clear it I travelled a long way offshore and
motorsailed back to the shore all night
and the next day into a strong SW wind.
I soon realised that I was not going to
make the Quintero Yacht Club with the
current fuel supply. I decided to turn back

to Antofagasta and after four days of hard

beating it was a pleasure to be off the wind.

I had thought of terminating the voyage

at Antofagasta but it was not possible

to stay as the yacht harbour had been

severely damaged by winter storms

and there was no room to haul out

ashore. The people at the yacht club

were very friendly and helped refuel

Sand and Foam with containers

from the local garage. Nearby shops

made provisioning easy.

After a day we were off again,

sailing about four miles off the

coast to avoid fishing vessels and

ships. After crossing to the south

side of the Bahia Neustra Señora

I saw a beautiful cone-shaped series

of sandy mountains and at dusk

I was surprised to see on this lonely

shore the bright lights of a small

desert town. That night there was

an incredible electrical storm over land

and sea. Lightning criss-crossed the night

sky in neon sheets and sizzled into the sea.

It rained for the first time in over a month.

I learned later that the storm had caused

much damage ashore.

We were coming out of the

wilderness, past the port of Huasco,

ECUADOR

PERU

CHILE

BRAZIL

ARGENTINA

Cape Horn

Panama

Salinas

Valparaiso

Chart: maxine heath

Arica proved to be a good stopover, if a short one, as I was keen to keep moving south