After a quiet night alongside the dock, we awoke to powerful, gusty winds out of the west. The port city of Puerto Natales is technically on saltwater, but VERY far from the outer coast, and leaving today required passage through a dizzying maze of fjords and channels. But first we had to get away from the dock!
With strong winds pressing us against the pier, moving the ship safely away from shore took real skill. Captain Kruess’s ability was on full display this morning, as he employed a remarkable maneuver; keeping the bowline attached, the captain put the props in reverse to swing our stern out from the pier, actually pivoting on the corner of the dock, and pulling backwards out into open water. Masterful.
That same ship-handling skill was put to use again only a short while later as National Geographic Explorer headed towards White Narrows, a constricted passage between a cluster of small islands, all performed in 30-40 knot winds.
In the afternoon, we were introduced to Barbara Saavedra, the Chile country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society who has joined us for the rest of the trip. Barbara described the ambitious efforts to protect and “re-wild” the enormous Karukina Reserve on Tierra del Fuego that we will be visiting tomorrow.
We also heard again from Dr. Stuart Pimm, who highlighted several positive achievements in conservation around the world, uplifting antidotes to some of the hard truths he has shared with us over the past week.
This evening, we are passing through the snaking channels of the Chilean Fjords, looking forward to our first landing on Tierra del Fuego tomorrow.
