The holidays are now over and we are making preparations for our next task. We used the days in Puerto Williams to thoroughly overhaul the ship. The Dagmar Aaen had travelled 9,500 sea miles and there had not been much opportunity for maintenance work. The weather remained good and gave us the chance to complete some paint jobs, while I went down to the machine room to check and do maintenance work on the technical equipment. Apart from working, however, there still remained enough time to explore Navarino Island. I was especially impressed by the crooked trees (photo) which grow everywhere and are proof of just who is the significant creative force here. The wind or better still the storm.
Alongside the Micalvi we lie in complete safety (photo). We have nice neighbors moored around us, especially Greg and Keri with their yacht Northhanger whom we have known since the nineties. They now have a second boat which they use to carry out projects in cooperation with scientists.
Gabi, Matthias and Nick have now left us and Peter Sandmeyer, Harald Schmitt and Volker Wenzel have returned on board. Tomorrow we are going to cast off and head once again to Cape Horn. The weather forecast is, however, anything but favourable: wind force 8, with gusts of 9-10 Beaufort with wave heights of 4 meters. A landing will be out of the question. It is supposed to remain windy until Friday – yes, Cape Horn weather – and then conditions should improve. Arved Fuchs
Mauro is a dedicated young man. The Argentine from Buenos Aires spent three months on Norderney and learned to love sailing. Now he is the favourite among the children here in Puerto Williams. He has established the most important free-time activity for the young people here – a sailing school. Eight jolly boats are available. The small kids from Puerto Williams are out on the water with Mauro every day. They are either directly in the side arm of Beagle Canal or – the wind permitting – are out on the stormy waters. “Whoever learns to sail here, can sail”, says Arved and pays respect to this dedicated sailing instructor. Besides this, the captain of the “Dagmar Aaen” gives the children a very special Christmas gift.
The kids are allowed to visit us on board. In a matter of seconds twelve young talents have climbed on the ship. First there is a guided tour of every corner of the “Dagmar Aaen”. Mauro, who translates, is in constant stress. In the mess there is then a power point presentation on Dagmar’s history, on the expedition and on the Arctic. Arved took the opportunity of giving the presentation himself. The kids are greatly interested. The 8-12 year-olds want to know everything. How many people are necessary to set sail, where do the crew members sleep? Arved answers calmly every question. From now on the “Dagmar Aaen” is a central topic in Puerto Williams. The days are busy for the crew as well. Using meters of sand papers the traces on the oak wood after the 9,000 sea- mile journey to the south tip of the earth are removed (photo). In the afternoons there is painting work to be done.
In addition the shrouds are re-stressed and the rigging overhauled. Arved thoroughly enjoys the maintenance on the beloved three-cylinder Callesen-diesel motor. But there still remains enough time to be out in nature. We hike through the jungle and different vegetation zones on the 590-meter-high mountain in Puerto Williams (photo) or experience the unsoiled nature on the banks of Beagle Canal. One evening there is a spontaneous jam session in the mess on board the “Dagmar Aaen”. Keri from Canada called together the international sailor’s orchestra: she herself plays the ukulele, Nick sits at the djembe, Greg (photo) from New Zealand has brought along an electric cello, Gabi sets the rhythm with a shaker, Jacqui from Corsica is perfect at the accordion and Micha plays the guitar. Communication through listening leads to a musical international understanding that could not be experienced in a better way.
Prominent visitors are also in the area. The “Wawa 2” has anchored by the southern-most city in the world. The yacht which is nearly 100 meters long, belongs to Ernesto Bertarelli, a young billionaire, who won the America’s Cup for Switzerland for the first time with his sailing yacht Alinghi in 2003. Befitting to one’s social status one leaves the ship by helicopter to go on land to complete the necessary entrance procedures. Even when we shake our heads in disbelief, it is interesting to see close-up the extremes between the way we travel and the way the jet set does. In town the preparations for New Year’s Eve are well underway. A naval formation (photo) is practicing a ceremony for the turning of the year in dress uniform and with rifles shouldered. We are looking forward to this. Matze Steiner
The sun is shining this morning in Puerto Williams. We have 10,5°C. The mountains in the background have a light snow on their peaks. It snowed in the higher altitudes during the night. A total of 26 ships have gathered at the Micalvi Yacht Club or are lying at anchor in the bay by the sunken Rhine steamer which serves as the club house. Then suddenly an alarm sounds – flashing blue lights and sirens. In a cloud of dust the modern fire engine from Puerto Williams comes to a stop in front of the Micalvi. When the doors open, we on board are quite surprised to see Santa Claus jump out. Encircled by his laughing firemen he shouts “Feliz Navidad” - he and his men jump in again and are off in the dust.
Directly alongside the “Dagmar Aaen” lies the “Outer Rim”. There is Christmas music coming from the luxury yacht from Hamburg. The crew from Munich has four small children with them who are looking forward to Christmas Eve. The family has been at sea for the past one and a half years. Here on board, our Christmas feast is being prepared. Legs of lamb are being marinated and Michael is baking special vanilla Christmas cookies. At 5 pm there is a surprise awaiting the crew. Gabi brought small gifts with her from Germany. We all sit around with glühwein and the distribution of the gifts begins in the form of a game. By throwing certain numbers on the dice it is possible to get one or more of these funny presents. Following a last exchange round the gifts are then unpacked. Unerringly, Arved gets a beautiful tie with a “Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer” motive. A push of the button and it even plays the Christmas melody. He keeps the tie on all evening. Matze gets a fragrance spray for the toilet and Michael is happy with a card quiz game whose questions are guaranteed pointless. The mess is really full in the evening. Jacques and his guests from Switzerland from the Yacht “Moana” come over and join us. Our Christmas feast begins with a pumpkin soup – a delight! The main course is leg of lamb with mashed sweet potatoes. For dessert there is an Argentine sweet dish. Far into the night we sit and talk together in the cozy mess. The children on the “Outer Rim” got an Artic camp out of lego bricks and are happily putting all the pieces together. Otherwise things remain peaceful in the harbor. In most countries Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. For our Christmas walk we have planned a hike in the mountains. Together with Kreg and Keri from New Zealand and Canada we are going to enjoy a barbeque by a campfire later. Matze Steiner
55 degrees and 59 minutes south, 67 degrees and 16 minutes west: That is the magical position. That is Cape Horn - the southern tip of South America. This is the spot where the south Pacific and south Atlantic meet one another - where around 10.000 seamen lost their lives in the deep-sea. This is the Cape of tragic tales of the fate of many seamen. Years ago, it took up to three months for the big cargo sailing ships to fight against the prevailing westerly wind from 50 degrees south on the Atlantic to 50 degrees south on the Pacific around Cape Horn. All of us on board must think of this as we approach this mystical place under surprisingly moderate conditions.
We left Puerto Toro on the Isla Navarinho at 04:00 am. It is a distance of 55 sea miles from there to the Cape. With winds from the southwest of about 15 knots we are able to sail quite a distance with the mainsail, foresail and jib. Around noon we pass a Chilean navy ship going in the opposite direction. With us on board are Uwe Agnes and Bernd Siering, who just returned from Islas Hornos where they had the opportunity of filming on the island.
This is Arved's forth visit to Cape Horn
As we are just off Cape Horn in the afternoon, the atmosphere on board is a mixture of euphoria, fascination and emotion. No wonder - Cape Horn is for sailors what Mount Everest is for mountain climbers. Cameras are clicking away. Arved proves once again that he is familiar with seafaring traditions; before all the crew members are given a glass of rum, he pours a glass into the sea for Rasmus and for the "Dagmar Aaen". And the skies immediately clear up. In the sunshine we can see the light house, the huge Chilean flag and the monument in memory of those seamen who drowned.
It is a wonderful moment. Cigars are passed around and Arved tells of his paddling journey around the Cape in a collapsible boat in the mid-eighties. The Cape, which is shrouded in legend, got its name, by the way, from a Dutchman. It was Wilhelm F. Schouten who exactly 400 years ago was the first person to discover this sea route around the Cape and gave it the name of his home town – Hoorn.
In earlier time seafarers around the world called themselves “horniers” when they had sailed around the southern tip of South America. We are not allowed to do this. One had to sail around the Cape on board a cargo sailing ship. Of course that is not what we did. Compared to what seamen went through on a wind jammer, our visit to Cape Horn was really just a small excursion.
The days are growing longer, air and water considerably cooler. We can see and feel the fact that we are once again in upper latitudes. The thermometer has dropped to about 14 °C. Big albatrosses accompany us majestically.
The "Dagmar Aaen" is really in her element here. The stoves give off a cozy warmth and there is a comfortable atmosphere under deck. No one utters a word now about potential air conditioners or a refrigerator. The night watch fetch their warm clothes and wear sea boots instead of going barefoot on deck.
Since Punta del Este the crew is no longer just international with a Swiss member (Marcel) but now not sloley German-speaking. John is Canadian and is doing the cooking for us. Therefore the language on board is mainly English, especially when official matters are to be spoken of - for example any safety instructions and at the table (as politeness demands).
