Conditions: Cool and misty
Wind: East @25 knots
Visibility: Poor
Wednesday August 29th, 2001
We departed the marina at San Fernando at 10am on Wednesday morning - the sky a clear blue and in only the lightest of breezes as we headed through the narrow waterways at the mouth of the Parana River down to the main port of Buenos Aires. With our rudders at only half-depth to avoid the occasional very shallow patches, the centreboards up and our vessel heavy with fuel, water, food and supplies to last us the next few months, Seamaster steered somewhat erratically. But the day remained fine and we were soon tied up alongside the main stone quay at the headquarters of Yacht Club Argentino.
What has been achieved during our time in Argentina - since arriving after 3 months in Antarctica earlier in the year?
Essentially, Seamaster is an exploration vessel that was designed for extremely cold climates - to safely withstand minus 40 degrees centigrade temperatures; to be able to “winter over” should she become “frozen in” when exploring the ice regions of the planet. But the enormous amount of insulation also means she should be a good vessel in the intense heat of the tropics - as long as we manage to keep the sun from the decks and improve the ventilation throughout.
So, awnings to cover almost the entire deck have been made; new extract fans will provide a 10 knot breeze throughout our interior; specially moulded scoops mean we can keep the hatches open in driving rain; insect netting will cover all openings; we have added extra refrigeration in place of the aft divers shower that was never used - to keep the salad and vegetables fresh; a special water purification system was designed and built so that we can safely drink the river water when the tropical downpours don’t provide enough; all of the crew have been inoculated against yellow fever, rabies, typhoid, hepatitis A and B, and are now up to date with all those other jabs that you have as a child but may tend to forget about as you get older; the “potions and lotions” to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes fill the passageway shelves; the special clothing developed by Line 7 is still in the boxes down aft - waiting for when the weather warms up; the high anti-snake boots take up space in most cabins, along with special hats, ponchos, sandals and general bits and pieces. Still to come are the hammocks for sleeping under the awning on deck, but we won’t buy these until Belem at the mouth of the Amazon in a few weeks time.
Of course it will be very different to Antarctica. There were no shops way south, while the Amazon is populated and we will never be very far from a small village.
There is a long way to go - approx 3,500 miles north and then west - to the river city of Belem only a few miles south of the equator on the southern side of the mouth of the Amazon.
The weather for our planned departure tomorrow is for some rain with a stiff easterly wind, dying away and turning southeast - then south - so by the time we exit this second largest river in South America and turn north up the Uruguayan coast, we should have a fair breeze and easing seas.
We are about to get underway.
The Amazon awaits!
With kind regards,
Peter and crew.
Sir Peter Blake
"Having vision is not enough. Change comes through realising the vision and turning it into a reality. It is easy to espouse worthy goals, values and policies; the hard part is implementation."
Learn about Sir Peter Blake and his journeys around the globe