Day 545 [March 31/10] -- A bit slower as genoa takes a break

Today's Report

March 31/10 0800 JST

Position:

28°10'S, 76°42'W (Pacific Ocean, 722 nm from Valdivia)

Saito-san reports that the port-side genoa sheet became entangled in a shroud during the night and has made it necessary to keep the genoa closed until seas flatten and he can work the sheet free, including the possibility of having to go aloft. 

As well, he said in his previous call that the 1st reefing line had parted on the main and so until it is repaired the mainsail can only be raised to the second reefing point. (There are three reefing points on the main.)

This means he will continue for the next few days under reduced sails, with the result that his average speed dropped yesterday by about 1.5 kts to 5.2 kts for the 24-hour period. At the time of his call boat speed under sail was 5.5 - 6.0 kts. That's still enough to make quite good progress under the steady, following winds and gradually flattening seas.

The running rigging is thus starting to see some fatigue, as can be expected from normal wear & tear. And while certain items can be replaced or mended, the opportunity to do that safely must be chosen carefully. 

The staysail is now fully open, the main at second reef, and the genoa fully closed.

No earthquakes were reported yesterday, for the second day in a row. NBSDIII is now far enough distant from the seismic area, and in deep ocean, so it is no longer considered a potential hazard to him. He's 300 nm off the Chilean coast. 

***

No word yet on the missing Japanese sailor. We received a call from an old Saito friend in Texas, Tokio Rogers, who is a HAM radio operator and followed Saito-san on previous circumnavigations, providing him regular radio-based messages and relaying news from home. Although a long-time Texas rancher now with her husband Luke, she is a Japanese expat and said she will listen as well from her base station near Austin for any distress signals that might be made in her native language from the Southern hemisphere. She also reminded us of the good luck rattlesnake rattle they gave Saito-san, which he still carries with him. He had one of the Indian totems with him on his 2005 non-stop circumnavigation.

As well, we received an email from Sue Richards, Site Manager of Noonsite, a web page for cruising sailors. She said they have posted the details as well on the part of the web page devoted to alerts on missing vessels.

***

Distance in last 24 hours: 124 nm

Distance completed: 18,238 nm

To Yokohama: 10,032 nm (distance remaining: 35.5%)

Heading: 018

Reported boat speed: 5.5 kt (day's average: 5.2 kt)

Weather: Overcast 

Temperature: 20.0° C

Barometer: 1008 hPa (down)

Wind (from): Favorable 16-22 kt S -- expected to be 18 kt S next 7 hrs, then 18 out of SSE

Waves: 2.5 m

Current (from): 0.3 kt NW

Engine rpms: 4.5 hrs. 1500 rpm

Generator: 6.0 hrs

Sails: Genoa 0%, staysail 100%, mainsail 2-pt reef

Position Map (click to enlarge)

Day 544 [March 30/10] -- One more 'best' as the winds stay fair

Today's Report

March 30/10 0800 JST

Position:

32°33'S, 76°05'W (Pacific Ocean, 599 nm from Valdivia)

The winds have continued steady and fair, and NBSDIII has apparently loved it as much as Saito-san, achieving another voyage record day -- the third day in a row -- of 160 nm under sail alone. He's now 599 nm out of Valdivia, taking advantage of the perfect wind conditions he had rarely seen when bashing often upwind under a combination of sail and motor. 

Fuel use at the moment is just for the generator, which sips a liter an hour compared to the much larger quantities of the engine at different RPMs, and depending on the condition of the seas and strength of headwinds. 

He had a bit of a surprise yesterday when the auto-pilot suddenly stopped working for no apparent reason. He gave it a rest for a few hours, went through several checks, and it went back to normal operation. He said the batteries look fine so he has no idea what caused the momentary disruption. Otherwise he reports that everything is fine onboard and temperatures are slowly warming up.

No earthquakes were reported today in the area.

***

No further word has been received on the missing Japanese sailor Mr. Chinami. He went missing March 11 as he approached Cape Horn from the Pacific side. A notice was posted yesterday evening on International Boatwatch Network, thanks to the assistance of Linda Kruk of Clearpoint Weather, and Bill Sturridge of Maritime Mobile Service Network.

The wife of Mr. Chinami has been informed of the alert and expressed her great appreciation through her English-speaking friend Mena Sato in Fukuoka, Japan, where they live. Mena-san was the person who first alerted us to the emergency and the worldwide sailor support network has quickly responded. A photo of Kifu can be seen below.

We also received a message yesterday from Mr. Hanaoka in Punta Arenas, on the Strait of Magellan, that he is alerting local fishermen. Hanaoka-san speaks Spanish, English, and Japanese and is familiar with the area as the owner/operator of a fishing company there. He was also instrumental in assisting Saito-san during his nearly 10 months there.

35-foot Kifu, shortly before leaving Fukuoka, Japan in 2008

***

Distance in last 24 hours: 160 nm (best DMG of voyage under sail only)

Distance completed: 18,114 nm

To Yokohama: 10,156 nm (distance remaining: 35.9%)

Heading: 332

Reported boat speed: 7.0 kt (day's average: 6.7 kt)

Weather: Clear and sunny 

Temperature: 17.0° C

Barometer: 1012 hPa (steady)

Wind (from): Favorable 15-24 kt S -- expected to be 18 kt S next 13 hrs, then 15 out of SSE

Waves: 2.5  m

Current (from): 0.4 kt S

Engine rpms: 0 hrs 

Generator: 10.0 hrs

Sails: Genoa 30% open, mainsail 1-pt reef (sailing only)

Position Map (click to enlarge)

Day 543 [March 29/10] -- Another 'best' sailing day, but close shaves on 3 seaquakes

Today's Report

0800 March 29, 2010 JST

Position:

32°33'S, 76°05'W (Pacific Ocean, 463 nm from Valdivia)

Another great day under sail, this time boosting his voyage record DMGUSO* :) to 156 nm. Winds were constant and fair, at 18 - 24 kts from the south, on seas of 2 - 3 meters.

*DMGUSO: Distance Made Good (Under Sail Only)

We've been watching an advisory service on earthquakes and see that no less than three large seaquakes have occurred (see position map) in the past 9 hours. Had he been a day or so behind, he would have been within 30 - 45 nm of their epicenters. However, thanks to his excellent progress he was well away -- about 200 nm northwest at the time the worst of the three, at 5.9 magnitude, occurred.

The smartphone app-based advisory service, Epicenter, gives the lat / long and time of quakes anywhere in the world on a near real-time basis. It uses the data supplied from the USGS here.

***

Yesterday we sent out an urgent request on behalf of the family of another Japanese sailor, Mr. Keiichi Chinami, who has gone missing near Cape Horn since March 11.

We want to thank Linda Kruk of Clearpoint Weather for forwarding our message on to Bill Sturridge, who sent us the following response. I am repeating it here for anyone interested, as well as to alert other sailors to the emergency service by this worldwide network of radio operators, the Maritime Mobile Service Network.

Hi
I am a net control with MMSN and do not wish to raise hope without facts, but two stations have reported hearing a Japanese call on frequency (14.300usb used for emergency traffic when other means not available) in last three days. Too weak to copy pointing south from Florida. I have been able to communicate with vessels in this area on occasion.

It would be helpful to have more information for the Net control stations. A description and or photo of the vessel. The MMSI#. A description of the type and size of life raft. Also the Sat phone # as we have a contact with a Marine radio station that can put out calls to both the MMSI DSC and the Sat phone. Also his heading and average speed at last contact if known. Weather conditions in the area at that time would also help if reported by Mr. Keiichi Chinami. We all wish the best for him and will listen and put out calls to his station.

William F. Sturridge KI4MMZ

We had already told Saito-san about the emergency, and confirmed this morning that he had not been trying to raise Mr. Chinami, thus was not the "Japanese call" the two MMSN stations reported.

We were informed by Saito-san that his own radio has been out of commission for some time. He expressed his own concern for the missing sailor.

A 24-hour stream of MMSN radio transmissions is available here.

***

Distance in last 24 hours: 156 nm (best DMG of voyage under sail only)

Distance completed: 17,954 nm

To Yokohama: 10,316 nm (distance remaining: 37.0%)

Heading: 331

Reported boat speed: 6.5 kt (day's average: 6.5 kt)

Weather: Overcast 

Temperature: 16.0° C

Barometer: 1012 hPa (slightly down)

Wind (from): Favorable 15-24 kt S -- expected to be 22 kt S next 19 hrs

Waves: 2.0 - 3.0 m

Current (from): 0.25 kt S

Engine rpms: 0 hrs 

Generator: 10.5 hrs

Sails: Genoa 30% open, mainsail 1-pt reef (sailing only)

Position Map (click to enlarge)

Urgent request to locate missing sailor near Cape Horn

We sent this out today to the Saito 8 email contact list, and are reposting it here.


***

You are being sent this as one of the people receiving the Saito 8 Daily Updates.

If you are in a position to help, your assistance is urgently requested.

We have been contacted in Japan by someone representing the family of another solo sailor who has been unaccounted for since his last message to his wife in Japan on March 11.

He was approaching Cape Horn from the west at the time of his last contact, and was approx. 438 nm due west of the Pacific entrance of the Strait of Magellan at the time.

The Japan Coast Guard and Chilean Navy have both been alerted.

He has an EPIRB emergency transponder on board, and it has not been activated. An attempt to track his Iridium sat phone signal was not successful.

If you are able to assist or advise in some way, please email (ftf@gol.com) or call Hunter Brumfield in Tokyo at +81 90 52 13 49 67.

Mr. Chinami's position and details are as follows:

Skipper's full name:  Mr. Keiichi Chinami
Age:  62
Nationality: Japanese
Name of boat:  "Kifu," 35-foot ketch
Home port:  Fukuoka, Japan
No. of persons on board:  1
EPIRB registration No.:  TBA
Radio call sign:  JE6BBF  (Iridium phone also on board)
Missing since:  March 11, 2010
Last known position:  051 deg 08 min S,  086 deg 55 min W (approx 438 nm west of Strait of Magellan Pacific entrance)
Last port:  New Zealand in mid-January, sailing eastward (toward Cape Horn)
Next intended port:  Puerto Williams in Strait of Magellan


Map showing Mr. Chinami's last known position (Click to enlarge)

Day 542 [March 28/10] -- Best day under sail

Today's Report

Position:

35°03'S, 75°14'W (Pacific Ocean, 299 nm from Valdivia)

The seas are a bit higher as he heads further off coast, urged along by near-ideal sailing conditions. He was powered the entire period by a 1-pt reefed main and 30% genoa, making 151 nm -- the best DMG of the voyage under sails only.

He's wishing for winds more from the southwest so he can stay nearer the relatively flatter waters of the coast. But he's also well out of ship traffic, saying he has seen no ships at all, since the shipping routes are closer to land.

About 150 nm off his port side he will pass Robinson Crusoe Island and Isla Santa Clara sometime tomorrow. To his starboard side he will also be abreast of the coastal city of Valparaiso and Chile's capital city, Santiago.

According to Wikipedia, Robinson Crusoe Island was hit by a 5-meter tsunami after the 8.8 earthquake on Feb. 27, resulting in the death of five islanders. Much of the island village of San Juan Batista was destroyed by the tsunami.

The island is famed for the book by Daniel Defoe, and was named in 1966 for the character in the adventure classic. An actual person was marooned there in 1704 for four years after the crewman complained that he did not trust the vessel's sea-worthiness. The captain left him there with scant provisions and a Bible.

***

Distance in last 24 hours: 151 nm (best DMG of voyage under sail)

Distance completed: 17,799 nm

To Yokohama: 10,471 nm (distance remaining: 37.0%)

Heading: 345

Reported boat speed: 7.0 kt (day's average: 6.3 kt)

Weather: Overcast 

Temperature: 16.0° C

Barometer: 1014 hPa (falling)

Wind (from): Favorable 18-24 kt SSW -- expected to be 23 kt S next 18 hrs

Waves: 2.0 - 3.0 m

Current (from): 0.25 kt S

Engine rpms: 0 hrs 

Generator: 7.0 hrs

Sails: Genoa 30% open, mainsail 1-pt reef (sailing only)

Position Map (click to enlarge)

Day 541 [March 27/10] -- Feeling "great!"

Today's Report

Position:

37°29'S, 74°24'W (Pacific Ocean, 147 nm from Valdivia)

If you want a definition of utter and complete happiness, think "Minoru Saito."

Back on the water since yesterday at 1700 local, on flat seas with following winds in balmy spring-like temperatures, Saito-san this morning declared himself (and his vessel)  "Feeling great!"

The contrasts between now and one year ago could not be more pronounced.

On March 27, 2009, he was approaching Cape Horn near the close of the late-fall weather window, in a well-functioning vessel, but with the knowledge of four previous Horn passages well understanding how unpredictable and unforgiving the weather can be.

As followers of his trip know, at just after pitch-black midnight April 12 with his rudder and propeller fouled by a washed-overboard line, he was within hours of being swept by a three-day gale back onto the rocks of the man-killing cape he had already passed a few days before.

Nearly a full year later, he has survived an excruciatingly frustrating, frigid Chilean winter in a crowded fishing harbor, an emergency abdominal operation, two additional Cape Horn passages, two destroyed genoas, a highly risky voyage up the desolate southern Chile coast, two engine breakdowns, three furling equipment failures, a damaged main, an injured arm, and history's seventh-worst earthquake with tsunami waves that destroyed coastal villages less than 70 miles away.

That was after sailing 16,400 nm and 192 days to get to fabled Cape Horn, the most feared and respected sailing waters of the world, fighting headwinds and bashing through prevailing seas much of the way.

And now on Day 541, Saito-san -- a year older at age 76 -- finally appears to be on his way home.

PS
Saito-san expressed his thanks again to the people of Valdivia for their hospitality and friendship during his stay there, as well as the sanity-preserving help he received from several kind individuals in Punta Arenas, under the extreme physical and personal conditions he faced there for more than 10 months. He also thanked his Tokyo shore crew for their constant support.

***

Distance in last 24 hours: 147 nm

Distance completed: 17,648 nm

To Yokohama: 10,622 nm (distance remaining: 37.6%)

Heading: 335

Reported boat speed: 5.0 kt (day's average: 6.1 kt)

Weather: Clear 

Temperature: 16.5° C

Barometer: 1020 hPa (rising)

Wind (from): Favorable 18-20 kt S -- expected to remain next 19 hrs

Waves: 1.0 - 1.5 m

Current (from): 1.5 kt S

Engine rpms: 4 hrs 1500, 20 hrs 2000

Generator: 2.0 hrs

Sails: Genoa, 90% open, mainsail 2-pt reef sailing/motor off since 2 hrs prior to call after wind changed to southerly (from south)

Position Map (click to enlarge)

Day 540 [March 26/10] -- Saito-san departs Valdivia

39°48'S, 73°27'W (Back in the Pacific)

Saito-san called and said he left Valdivia at 1700 local time today and at the time of his 2000 (0800 JST) call had just entered the Pacific Ocean.

He reports the winds out of the NW at 10 knots.

Boat heading 325 at 5 kts motoring at 1500 rpm, waiting for good visibility before sailing.

Weather is foggy, with visibility about half a mile to one mile. He says the radar is working.

All systems are working well.

We want to especially thank Sr. Edgardo Ojeda Bucarey, Administrador of Club de Yates Valdivia, for his many, many kindnesses shown to Saito-san during his time there.

He will continue to call in his position twice a day. We will receive beacon reports 4 times a day.

No earthquakes on the Chilean central coast have been reported in the past 10 hours.

We will supply more details in a subsequent post, but for now we're all just glad he's back on his way again!

Day 539 [March 25/10] -- Almost ready

Today's Report

March 25/10 0800 JST
Position:
39°49'S, 73°15'W (Valdivia Marina)

The replacement furler swivel arrived and was installed yesterday along with a halyard wrap preventer, Saito-san reported today. Both were supplied by the manufacturer under warranty, though local delivery from Santiago and customs handling and duty added on another 191,000 pesos ($350) and a frustrating 14-day delay. At least it finally could reach him!

He said repairs and sail rigging are finished and everything "looks good." His arm, injured from a falling hatch, is now completely recovered. 

Other than clearing customs and getting a stamp on his exit papers he appears set to go. He expects to leave within the next two days. 

The timing appears good, with the weather and winds favorable. Plus his extended visa runs out on March 31.

Day 533 [March 18/10] -- A different sort of race

Today's Report

March 18/10 0800 JST
Position:
39°49'S, 73°15'W (Valdivia Marina)

While Saito-san says he has not felt them, the aftershocks continue in central Chile on a daily basis. Just today there have been the following strong tremors, as of 8 pm Tokyo time:

5.4 magnitude -- 2 hours ago
5.0 -- 8 hours ago
4.8 -- 12 hours ago
4.7 -- 14 hours ago
4.9 -- 15 hours ago
5.1, 5.1, 5.0, and 5.2 -- all 1 day ago

(Note: These reports are available as constantly refreshed updates on the web in a smartphone application called "Epicentral." For iPhones, it's available for free from the App Store.)

So while we have our fingers confidently crossed (!), there is still a race, of sorts, to get him out of Valdivia and away from these seismically precarious conditions as he sits just 10 miles up a river from a coastline subject to tsunami waves that might come rushing in at any time. Once out to sea and well away from the coast he should be fine.

The delay to leave is now down to a single cause, but one we have grown wearily used to.

Customs, for no reason that we have yet heard, has held up the delivery of the replacement genoa furler swivel.

It was dispatched on March 4 from the manufacturer and we've been watching for its release from Santiago since it landed there on March 10.

In an email today we were told by the manufacturer's rep that "our UPS contact [is] contacting the UPS office in Chile to get more information." So we anticipate that this will be cleared up soon.

In the meantime, the replacement water pump for the aux. generator was received in just 7 days from Tokyo by Express Japan Post (despite the intervening massively destructive earthquake) and installed on Tuesday, and Saito-san reports the generator is now back working well.

The sails were received Wednesday from being repaired in Valparaiso (which was also hit by the earthquake), and Saito-san put the main on in about 4 hours yesterday with the help of marina staff.

We greatly appreciate the many kindnesses that have been shown Saito-san by the marina management, including nearly daily email exchanges through the office of the marina administrator, Mr. Edgardo Ojeda Bucarey.

The newly repaired genoa will have to wait until the swivel arrives and the rigger can come to the boat to complete the installation. A halyard wrap preventer has also been supplied by the manufacturer at no added charge. We thank them very much for that.

After those are installed and the genoa is back in place, Saito-san expects to leave the following day -- weather and earthquakes permitting!

Day 523 [March 9/10] -- Images from the past

Today's Report

March 9/10 0800 JST

These are pictures Saito-san sent today that are thumb-tacked to a bulletin board at the marina. These show boats resting on the bottom of the river after the tsunami from the earthquake in 1960.

They serve as a stark reminder what the sailors in Valdivia face in addition to the the usual challenges of sailing just 800 nm north of Cape Horn. [Click to enlarge.]

While we have been waiting for the parts he needs to get back on the water,* we read a really excellent portrayal of the 1968-69 London Sunday Times Golden Globe Race that was won by Saito's long-time friend and fellow BOC competitor, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. In fact, he was the only one who finished.

* Rather miraculously, we thought, the fresh water pump for the aux. generator arrived three days ago, taking just 7 days from Tokyo by express mail sent via Japan Post. That was despite the disruption from the earthquake, and just a quarter of the time it took for our first delivery in May, 2009, to Punta Arenas.

The book, titled "A Voyage for Madmen," by Peter Nichols, is a widely acclaimed history that focuses in exquisite detail not just on the race, but on the mental makeup of the nine men who competed in the first organized competition to sail around the world solo, non-stop, and unassisted.

It's available from Amazon and highly recommended for anyone with even the slightest interest in what drives someone to undertake such a voyage. We got the Amazon Kindle version. Here's a link to the book, letting you browse through key pages.

We met Sir Robin ourselves in Tokyo several years ago, and enjoyed hearing his stories over beers and bits of grilled Kobe beef in Roppongi (a Tokyo entertainment district). We saw that the Robin of 40 years gone by was no less the man portrayed in Nichols' masterful account. The next year, 2006, Sir Robin competed "one last time" (as he vowed) in a non-stop, solo circumnavigation race -- and again finished, at age 67.

Sir Robin in Tokyo in 2005

Day 518 [March 4/10] -- Not just one, but TWO, earlier massive 'Valdivia Earthquakes'

Today's Report

March 4/10 0800 JST
Position:
39°49'S, 73°15'W (Valdivia Marina)

We received an email from a Saito supporter, excerpted below, which got us looking a bit more into past earthquake trauma and have discovered information that makes us even more thankful this was not worse for Saito-san and the people of Valdivia, his newest "hometown" until ordered repair parts arrive.

A Google search reveals that not just one, but TWO, earthquakes carry the name "Valdivia." In addition to history's strongest earthquake, at 9.5 on the scale seismologists use, there was a much earlier one that struck during the original period of Spanish occupancy in the 16th century. This one is called the "1575 Valdivia Earthquake."

According to Wikipedia:

Pedro Mariño de Lobera, who was corregidor [chief magistrate] of Valdivia ... wrote that the waters of the river opened like the Red Sea, one part flowing upstream and one downstream. Mariño de Lobera also evacuated the city until the dam at Laguna Riñihua (Riñihue Lake) burst. At that moment he wrote that, while many Indians died, no Spaniards did, as the settlement of Valdivia was moved temporarily away from the riverside.

Accounts of the second Valdivia namesake earthquake in 1960 include mention of the Isla (Island) of Chiloe, presumed to be named after Chile, or perhaps was the origin of the country's name, which was swept by towering 25-meter (82-foot) tsunami waves, destroying the island's ports and killing 200 people. On the 10-nm river approach to Valdivia, the river banks collapsed, and a large ship sunk by tsunami waves can still be seen resting on the river bottom. This picture shows destroyed homes in Valdivia after that earthquake.

Today, the uppermost part of the island has a small fishing harbor, and a bit further inland is the Port of Ancud, about 2 days by sea (125 nm) south of Valdivia. Ancud was the first stopover point we considered for Saito-san as we tried to determine the best port for repairs and refueling after he made the difficult 800 nm stretch up the Chilean coastline. Hanaoka-san, who assisted Saito nearly 9 months in Punta Arenas, has a friend in Valdivia, and knew of the marina there, so the choice was made for NBSDIII to head for there instead.

At the time we were trying to decide which port would be easiest for Saito to reach without having local charts on board. Had we asked him to stop somewhere other than the further inland port of Valdivia, it is highly possible he would have been at an exposed mooring when the tsunami swept down the Chilean coast Saturday morning, later to be felt as far away as Hawaii, Los Angeles, and Japan.

If not for Hanaoka-san's suggestion, Saito-san likely would have been in Ancud when the earthquake hit. And had the earthquake been even close to a repeat of the earlier two Valdivia-named disasters, the consequences would have been all too predictable.

Assessment of Saturday's widespread tsunami damage continues. In Tirúa, a small fishing village just 95 miles north of Valdivia, waves washed away about 50 houses, bent iron light poles to the ground, and deposited several cars in the river that runs along the town.

Tirúa, Valdivia, Ancud, and Isla Chiloe

The email received from Derek follows, and is representative of a number of phone calls and emails we have received. Our thanks to Derek for his kind thoughts and continued support, which have been passed to Saito-san.

With great relief I read the latest two postings – I followed since last weekend’s huge earthquake and tsunami the situation concerned and worrying firstly about Saito-san’s wellbeing and secondly about NBSDIII.

It is great to know both are in good shape although a boat can be replaced – nothing can bring back a human being.

It will be sometime until the logistics and infrastructure are repaired sufficiently to get Saito-san the parts he urgently needs to continue his voyage and leave Valdivia.

We already knew this was going to be a big challenge we somehow didn’t expect all this “excitement” that nature was going to throw in Saito-san’s direction.

Kind regards,

Derek 

Day 517 [March 3/10] -- A fortunate break for Saito

Today's Report

March 3/10 0800 JST

Position:

39°49'S, 73°15'W (Valdivia Marina)

While the day's news from northern Chile is full of stories about looting and fires in the aftermath of Saturday's 8.8 magnitude earthquake, the word from Valdivia continues to be reassuring.

As the entire world has now been reminded, Valdivia was devastated in 1960 by the worst recorded earthquake in history, 9.5 on the quake intensity cale, but this time was apparently virtually unscathed, with no deaths and relatively little damage from Saturday's quake that seismologists say is the 7th greatest in measured strength. Saito-san has sent us some pictures, but only one showed any obvious damage -- a fissure in the pavement near the marina.

So it is with much relief that we can say that there was tremendously good fortune in the choice of Valdivia as a port to have repairs done on BMW Shuten-Doji III. The long, 10 nm section of river that separates the city from the Pacific acted as a buffer against the resulting tsunami that caused extensive property damage, numerous injuries, and some loss of life in less-protected ports only a day or so closer by sea to the quake's epicenter.

After three days the death toll is continuing to climb, and has now passed 720 persons [raised to 800 fatalities later] as rescue teams search the rubble of homes and buildings in Santiago and the even harder-hit city of Concepcion, just 200 miles north of Valdivia. Our deep sympathy goes out to the many people who have lost loved ones and we hope for the continued safety of the survivors of the affected areas.

Had Saito-san just continued for another day and a half and put into the seaside port of Concepcion, instead, there almost certainly would now be a very different story about him and his vessel.

A split in the pavement in Valdivia

Day 514 [Feb. 28/10] -- Valdivia spared, Saito is fine

Today's Report

Feb. 28/10 0800 JST

Position:

39°49'S, 73°15'W (Valdivia Marina)

Saito-san called last night about 10 pm Tokyo time to report that he was fine. He called again this morning to provide more details.

At the time of his first call he had little news himself on the earthquake other than word-of-mouth. There was no cell phone service throughout the day until it was restored in late afternoon. He had not heard of the magnitude of the quake until our call, which he could finally make by Iridium 6 1/2 hours later. He said he had heard from a fellow boater that "Santiago was 80% destroyed" (a figure that TV news showed later was greatly exaggerated).

Saito-san said that he was awakened about 3:30 am by unusual boat movement but that it caused no damage to the boat or dock facilities. Later in the morning he visited the marina's main building. Other than a large crack in the floor there was no noticeable damage, he said. 

He reported that a tsunami came up the river, though "it wasn't much, only about half a meter," he estimated, arriving several hours after the earthquake struck.

He walked through streets of Valdivia and saw no serious damage. All shops were closed, he noticed.

It is expected that delivery of the parts that have been sent to him to repair the aux. generator and genoa furler will now be delayed. According to CNN, the Pan American Highway connecting the north and south is expected to take weeks or months to be repaired. Major bridges are damaged or collapsed, including those that connect the northern and southern areas of the country. We have to assume as well that air service to Valdivia will be disrupted for some time.

We tried to call Hanaoka-san in Punta Arenas, and were not able to get through. It is presumed no damage resulted there as it is 800 miles further south.

Saito-san does not know the status of the two sails, the main and the genoa, which are off the boat after being sent to a sail loft to be repaired. The rigger is scheduled to visit Monday and Saito-san said he hopes to learn about the sails then. He is unsure whether the loft was outside the area of intense quake damage.

CNN is reporting that at least 214 persons were killed in Santiago, and that more than 45 aftershocks have occurred. Experts have calculated that it was 800 times the magnitude of the recent quake in Haiti, but with less damage due to various factors including the greater depth of the Chilean quake and better earthquake resistance of buildings in Santiago after the lessons learned from the massively destructive 1960 Valdivia earthquake.

Yesterday's quake is expected to go into the record books as one of the world's top five earthquakes in terms of magnitude since 1900.

A tsunami "high alert" is in effect (at the time of this 11 am post) for the Japan western coastline with 2- to 3-meter waves expected in mid to late afternoon, with some waves predicted as early as 1 pm. Evacuation orders have been issued for a number of low-lying areas of Hokkaido, in northern Japan, with residents ordered to evacuate immediately to higher ground.

Two-meter waves were expected in Tokyo Bay and Sagami Bay about 1:30 pm.

About 9 am JST, an "all-clear" was announced for Hawaii after a weak series of tsunami waves were reported there, and relieved officials said on TV the Hawaiian Islands had "dodged a bullet."

Day 513 [Feb. 27/10] -- Earthquake

Today's Report

Feb. 27/10 0800 JST

Position:

39°49'S, 73°15'W (Valdivia Marina)

An 8.8 magnitude earthquake near Concepcion, Chile, has been reported. The quake struck at 3:34 am local time.

Google Earth shows the epicenter as 265 miles due north of Valdivia.

We have no indication whether Valdivia has been affected as well, and hope for the best for all the people of the area. A tsunami warning has been issued, and a 9-foot tsunami was reported along the coastal area. A news article can be accessed here.

North and south along the coast near the epicenter, tsunami waves were reported to be 16 feet.

Buildings in Santiago 185 miles north of the epicenter were said to have collapsed. CNN reported the earthquake as much as 1,000 times stronger than the recent earthquake in Haiti, which suffered a 7.0 quake.

A tsunami warning was issued for the entire Pacific Basin including California and Japan. At 9 am local time, 74 persons had been reported killed in Chile.

Updates on the earthquake can be accessed here.

By comparison, the Great Hanshin earthquake that devastated Kobe in 1995 registered 6.8 magnitude.

Valdivia had the historical misfortune of being the site of the largest earthquake ever recorded, registering 9.5 magnitude in 1960. It was named the "1960 Valdivia Earthquake" (also the Great Chilean Earthquake), produced tsunamis as far away as Japan, the Philippines, and Alaska, and destroyed downtown Hilo, Hawaii.

The Valdivia River on which Nicole BMW Shuten-dohji III is presently moored rose 4 meters immediately after the 1960 quake, according to Wikipedia.

No word had been received from Saito-san at the time of this posting.