Day 112 - Motoring, Land Ho, Poised for Entry

We lost about 3 hours of sailing during the night. The boat surprisingly gybed and when I went topside I saw that things had changed. We were surrounded by rain clouds, there was lightning in the distance, and we were in a squall with 22 knot winds. I immediately rolled in the headsail and a few minutes later thought it prudent to take the mainsail down to the second reef. Then the wind died altogether and stayed dead. I decided to leave the sail up to have it ready in case the wind returned so I lashed the boom amidships and tried to get some sleep listening to the painful sounds of the sail snapping as the boat rolled. Fortunately the wind returned and two hours later we were sailing again to a 20-21 knot wind under a clearing sky. However we were now 35 degrees off the desired course and I could foresee some tacking in the morning. At this point we were 50 miles from MdP but tacking would increase that distance and I didn't like our chances of getting into port on this day. It was very dark outside because what was left of the moon had not risen, but I could see the loom of the lights of Buenos Aires to the north. Soon the quarter moon was rising and the sailing was pleasant outside. I was glad that I had delayed putting out the anchor.

Just before dawn I was up again to make some changes. I put the boat on a port tack heading NE to position it to take advantage of a backing of the wind at about noon. I also shook out the second reef to get better drive against the 12 knot breeze. We were managing to make 3.5 knots but on course 065T, when MdP was almost directly north of us. I had no doubt at this point that we would be spending another night at sea. MdP was now 43 miles away, directly upwind.

I was up at 9 AM to find the boat still plodding along at 3 kt on course 355. The wind was down to 10 knots and was predicted to remain light for several hours. Because we were sailing almost tangentially to MdP and the sea was calm I decided to use the engine for a while. Without the autopilot I would have to steer continually and put the engine in neutral during all but the shortest dashes into the cockpit to get something. I would be satisfied with positioning myself outside of the MdP harbor before nightfall, and to achieve that I calculated that it would take at worst 10 hours of motoring (more of course if I took long breaks). But I would also use the wind whenever it was feasible.

I started the engine just after 9.30 AM and ran continuously (with 2 short halts to assess our position) for about 10.5 hours. At the end of the long day we were quietly lying ahull in a calm sea 2.5 miles from the coast and 3.6 miles from the entrance to the Mar del Plata harbor.

It turned out to be a very good day for motoring. All day long the wind was below 5 knots, starting off from the north and eventually backing a full circle. The sea became calmer and calmer until late in the afternoon it took on that smooth oily look. I left the mainsail up for about half of the journey but then the wind swung to the south the sail began to fret and by then I was fairly certain that there would be no wind for sailing that day. The day started off with a thin overcast but steadily cleared. The temperature was mild verging on warm and I could not have asked for better conditions.

Steering the boat was an easier chore than I had expected. One of the reasons why I purchased Pachuca was that it had an attribute high on my list of requirements: a comfortable steering station. I sat on the wide seat with my arms extended on the coaming and steering with my foot on the bottom of the wheel. Sometimes I would cross my steering leg and still easily manipulate the wheel with flicks of my foot. I found that by lashing the wheel I could get several minutes away from the steering in order to dash below to make a cup of coffee, dig out a muesli bar, check our position on the chart plotter, or whatever.

At about 4 PM I got my first glimpse of land and as I approached a fairly large and modern city unfolded. There must be maybe 20 bulidings of at least 10 floors and several that appeared to have more than 20 stories. At about 5 PM I was close enough to see masts in the harbor then I followed the line of the breakwater to see the entrance. Having done that I motored for another hour to compensate for what had been a drift to the south at 0.7 kt from a test that I did. When I finally stopped just after sunset I found that we were drifting toward the shore at 0.3 knots. I did not expect to get long bouts of sleep throughout the night.

Overall I was pleased with the results of the day. The engine ran beautifully and after 4 hours of running I kept the engine turning the 2000 rpm at which I had been running all day, slid back the engine cover, and saw that the vacuum gauge still had the needle in the little square at the bottom of the scale, indicating absolutely no problem with the Racor fuel filter clogging up. That vacuum gauge was a very reassuring piece of equipment to have and I was very glad that Mark had been firm about the need for it. I calculated that I had used no more than 30 liters of fuel during the run, and averaged about 4.3 knots.

I would be up at dawn (and half the night probably) and get cracking on preparing the boat and myself for entry into the harbor, e.g. Quarantine, Argentina, Aussie flags up, Anchor on the roller, fenders out, ropes ready, and a bath, clean clothes, lots of mouthwash, and a bit of after shave for me. I would then contact the port captain on VHF 16 announcing my arrival and once I had his OK for entry I would contact one of the yacht clubs on VHF 27 to arrange a slip.

I enjoyed a dinner of rice, corn, and mackerel in the cockpit admiring the lights of Mar del Plata. (The reminded me of La Paz, actually.) I particularly enjoyed the meal because I had got through the day on muesli bars, coffee, and hot chocolate.

I wasn't happy about the westward drift of the boat and planned to motor east for an hour before hitting the sack.

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