Day 39 – Have Departed Ushuaia
Hi Everyone,Welcome to day 39 of our voyage. Following a short but very enjoyable stay in Ushuaia we are back at sea again. We departed our berth just after 1400 today and have just spent the past seven hours conducting our pilotage through the very scenic Beagle Canal. As you can imagine it has been a long day for me and all of our bridge team so please excuse my short comments in tonight’s log. That said, the Crew have always got a tale to tell about their adventures so here is tonight’s Captains Log written by Greg and Henry and other Red Watch members.Until tomorrow, take care.Yours AyeCaptain GavAhoy friends, family, upcoming World Voyagees, grandparents and anyone else who is along for this third leg of our adventure aboard Young Endeavour!We’re back! Our 40 hr blitz shore leave in Ushuaia was well earnt and a great time for both staff and rabble/Horners/whatever we are. Here follows Red watches account.With all of tide, wind and bureaucracy against us, we proceeded ashore for leave at 2100 on January 26th after refuelling and changing out the jib sail for larger one more suited for the upcoming passage. This crew of newly-crowned Cape Horners were quick to claim our right to dine with one foot/elbow on the table, and so a course was quickly set for the local Irish bar.However this course was quickly amended when it was found to be not of adequate size, and a substitute bar was quickly found. Their offer to play a full live ACDC show on their TV was greatly appreciated by the horde of thirsty sailors, and the lure of free wifi sealed the deal, allowing us to re-connect with the world we had spent the last 30 days disconnected from. A well-earnt night was enjoyed by all as we celebrated the last 4 weeks at sea, contacted loved ones back home, and (for this crew member) frantically found a hostel room in Rio de Janeiro (thankfully this was a success). The following morning of the 27th saw a number of the Horners taking advantage of some fantastic tours organised by the Staffies to take in the scenic delights in and around Ushuaia. Other horners found internet cafes and Wi-Fi hotspots and sorted out various pressing issues or skyped/spoke with loved ones (I am happy guilty of this latter crime – Hi Liz and Swalwell clan!!). Still more went shopping, sight seeing and mountain climbing…However I think its safe to say that everyone on board enjoyed the sights and sounds of this charming and diverse city, and all but the most elite of us improved on our “crossing-language-barriers-by-making-crazy-hand-gestures†game. Everyone then enjoyed dinner together at a local restaurant, capping off a great day spent ashore.The morning of the 28th started at 0700 for the intrepid five who chose to head out and visit some of the surrounding ski areas around Ushuaia. Some amazing snow-capped mountains were sighted as we wound our way through the mountain roads. A sneaky visit to a glacier was also on the cards, however father time had other plans, and only some more crazy hand gestures saw that we returned from this expedition before our required time back at the ship of 1200.  With everyone back on board at 1200 we made ready to sail at 1400, when we cast off lines and sailed back the way we came to the open ocean. The sun made an appearance and for the remainder of the afternoon we enjoyed the scenery of this unique part of the world, where the sun warms our rejuvenated bodies, snow-capped mountains grace the horizon, and penguins play hide and seek with our resident bird expert Henry.And now! We are back at sea! Well sort of – we are ~7 hours out of Ushuaia retracing our course down the Beagle Channel to the sea. Once we are back amongst the blue yonder we shall turn our back on any dreams of swinging by Antarctica, change course to the North, and press on towards Buenos Aires where we should hopefully arrive by the 4th February.Oh and to cap us off tonight, here’s Paige with her daily dose of optimism..“Paige says there is no charge for awesomeness or attractiveness……. She should know because she is awesome!â€Until next time!Yours ayeGreg (Red Watch again! Yay!)~~~~~And now heres HenryOk a quick wildlife update by the resident ornithologist:Hello hello! Henry here, I just a quick shout out to my mate Matt, and to my fellow twitchers back home about the sights I’ve been seeing, so far over 25 birds on the Argentinean mainland (Haven’t had time to add them all up yet), and numerous pelagic species.A few of the highlights for me was a quick glimpse of the majestic Andean Condor, the cute Patagonian Sierra-Finch and Thorn-tailed Rayadito, Striated Caracara, Upland and Kelp Goose, Flightless Steamer Duck, Magellanic Oystercatcher, Black-crowned Night Heron, Austral Parakeet, and several more.Some of the pelagic species have been the huge Royal and Wandering Albatross, Cape and White-headed Petrel which flew really close to the ship and made for great viewing, White-faced Storm-Petrel, and close to Cape Horn a Wilson’s Storm-Petrel.That’s me for today,Chow!HenryÂ
Latitude/Longitude:
Conditions:
Current time is 2230 and we are located 68nm to the east of Ushuaia motor sailing in light and variable conditions with nil swell. Current temperature is 9 degrees with a wind chill of 5 degrees.Â
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Thank you Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt for your narrative of today's events. Intentions are to remain at anchor in Hunters Bay, just off HMAS Penguin, home of the RAN Diving School, a place close to my heart, having spent many a day there under training as a young Officer! The plan is to weigh anchor and proceed to HMAS Waterhen, in Waverton, to pick up our Community Day Sailors from the Windgap Foundation and take them for a sail around the harbour for 3 hours. The Youth Crew will help us host our visitors and give them an experience of Young Endeavour. We will drop them back to Waverton and then proceed to anchor in the harbour where we will have a good view of the Bridge and the Opera House for the Youth Crew's last night onboard. Until tomorrow. Yours Aye, Captain Mike