Day 379 [Oct. 17/09] -- Final Preparations

Saito sees departure as early as next week

Position:

53 11 S, 70 55 W --- Rafted in a harbor in Punta Arenas, Chile

Today's Report [0700 JST]

Saito-san outlined in a call last night his plans to leave Punta Arenas, which were further described in an email this morning from Hanaoka-san.

• First on the list are their efforts to meet the visa requirements; Saito-san's tourist visa ran out about two months ago and they have worked out a solution that meets the renewal requirements.
• Next is clearing the boat and skipper through the Coast Guard. This has been done, with special treatment by the Punta Arenas port authorities that Hanaoka-san described as "very kind." So once the captain himself has his visa in hand, he'll be free to leave.
• Saito-san said they were able to acquire a replacement antenna for the VHS radio, and the engine starter relay problem was expected to be fixed this weekend.
• Fuel was to be topped off this weekend.

Hanaoka-san and Saito-san described their gratitude to Mr. Imai and Miss Morita of the Japanese Consulate in Santiago for their efforts on his behalf in recent days. Their emails and calls on the visa and related matters have helped a great deal, Hanaoka-san said by email. (They were also a huge assist several months ago in forwarding Saito-san's medications, which had run into problems during an earlier courier attempt. They're just heart pills, but even with a doctor's note were tough to get past the watchful eye of Chilean customs.)

Saito-san said it looks like he may leave as early as this Tuesday, Oct. 20, but will not know for certain until after the weekend.

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Today's Featured Photo from Voyage Archive

Click on the image to see it in large size. Learn about the Photo Archive here.

[Sunrise at 0935 hours on 1/18/2009 ]

Summary of that day's log entry:

Day 108 [Jan. 18, 0700 JST] -- click to see entire entry & position

The day turns overcast with occasional showers, and the winds ease and remain out of the east for true downwind sailing. This requires either steering as much as 30 degrees off course to keep the wind sufficiently abeam, or running the risk of an uncontrolled jibe if the wind should come around unexpectedly.

Day 378 [Oct. 16/09] -- Map back to Cape

Saito maps his return route as he prepares for new Cape Horn attempt

Position:

53 11 S, 70 55 W --- Rafted in a harbor in Punta Arenas, Chile

Today's Report [1900 JST]

Still no word yet on his departure date, but a map drawn by Saito-san arrived in the morning's emails, and we were expecting a call later.

He drew this Oct. 9 before the departure delay, so the days of the week are now a week or more out of sync. It shows that from Punta Arenas, Chile, he will continue NE on the Strait of Magellan, sail into the South Atlantic Ocean, follow the coast to pass on either the west or east side of the Ils de los Estados, then south and west until he reaches a point slightly north of where the tow started.

As he indicates on the map, the choice of a west or east passage at Ils de los Estados will depend on the currents.

The route is almost exactly 500 nm to the point of the tow start and is expected to take about 5 days. Last week he told us by Iridium that he will attempt to stay within 10 - 30 nm off Cape Horn to avoid an increased chance of colliding with ice further south.

Here's his hand-drawn map, sent by Hanaoka-san. [Click to enlarge.]

Here's the Google Earth version with his return route shown in green.

The red path was his route during the first attempt in April. [Click to enlarge.]

A closer view. [Click to enlarge.]

About the Voyage Photo Archive

The featured photographs are from the first 60% of Saito-san's voyage, up to Cape Horn. These were uploaded to a photo web server by José Luis Novoa Olmos of Punta Arenas, Chile. The photo data includes the time and date, which permits us to identify the location in the Daily Log.

We have close to 700 images to pick from.

Each day we feature one image. A summary of the log entry for the day is also provided. We link to the full entry and route position for easy look-up in the official log archive.

Day 376 [Oct. 14/09] No word yet

Still quiet from Punta Arenas

Position:

53 11 S, 70 55 W --- Rafted in a harbor in Punta Arenas, Chile

Today's Report [1700 JST]

No word from Saito-san on his departure date.

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Today's Featured Photo from Voyage Archive

Click on the image to see it in large size. Learn about the Photo Archive here.

[A morning's "deck catch" of flying fish at 0936

hours on 1/13/2009 ]

Summary of that day's log entry:

Day 103 [Jan. 13, 0700 JST] -- click to see entire entry & position

Cyclone Dongo was downgraded yesterday to a tropical low, and the US Navy storm center issued in the afternoon what it called its "final warning" on the quickly dissipating storm.

Saito-san reported clear skies and "just a little clouds" as he is now 530 nm from the center of the low that is drawing obliquely away from him to the south. Clearpoint shows he should expect rain over the next 2 days and winds out of the north at 25 kt sustained. A weather trough is expected to pass over his position in about 30 hours.

Day 375 [Oct. 13/09] Still waiting

No word yet on status

Position:

53 11 S, 70 55 W --- Rafted in a harbor in Punta Arenas, Chile

Today's Report [1100 JST]

Sometimes no news IS news of a sort.

We're waiting for word from Saito-san, and Saito-san was waiting on final boat maintenance and repairs, and the weather, and official clearance to leave (from immigration -- the boat already has clearance from the Coast Guard). Monday was Columbus Day, a public holiday Chile shares with the U.S. So Tuesday will be the first opportunity to clear up the lapsed visa.

One of the nice things about the new blog is that it's easy to update. As part of a historical record, we'll leave old posts up, unchanged, but update them as necessary with addendums.

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Today's Featured Photo from Voyage Archive

Click on the image to see it in large size. Learn about the Photo Archive here.

[Moonrise at 2045 hours on 1/12/2009,

following a close encounter with Typhoon Dongo ]

Summary of that day's log entry:

Day 102 [Jan. 12, 0700 JST] -- click to see entire entry & position

A good day under sails alone, riding winds being pulled westward into the low pressure of Cyclone Dongo. Dongo was an apparent near-miss, absent any major move off its 160 degree southern track. As had been predicted by the weather center, southbound Dongo last night veered 15 degrees to the east, but by that time was already south of Saito's latitude and heading lower. The skipper also had prudently moved more north thus providing added distance between him and the now apparently departing cyclone, the year's first.

Day 374 [Oct. 12/09] Waiting out the gale

Even if he were ready, the weather is not

Position:

53 11 S, 70 55 W --- Rafted in a harbor in Punta Arenas, Chile

Today's Report [1030 JST]

A late-winter gale has arrived at The Horn, so even if he were ready to leave, he couldn't. It's blowing 50-plus knots from the west -- the direction he'll need to go -- with seas running 5 to 6 meters.

We're waiting to hear if radar calibration was carried out over their weekend. Other than that, and final engine maintenance and a new VHF antenna, he'll shove off, weather permitting.

We're trying to get his precise route on departure and will send that out ASAP. Thanks to the several people who have asked.

Here's the way it looks right now:

Wind Chart

From ClearPoint Weather, a Saito 8 contributing sponsor

Weather Forecast

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Today's Featured Photo from Voyage Archive

Click on the image to see it in large size. Learn about the Photo Archive here.

[Tiny island at 0729 hours on 12/08/2008 ]

Summary of that day's log entry:

Day 67 [Dec. 8, 0700 JST] -- click to see entire entry & position

The skipper was in good spirits after a rough but uneventful night. Seas were running 4 m swells but had reduced to 3 m by a bit after daybreak. Winds were also moderating after being in the 30s during the night. No leaks reported despite the heavy seas and strong headwinds. Saito noted the appearance of a small island 1 nm north of his 0700 JST position. He said it was hard to see but that he had been watching it on radar.