#nofilter

        After leaving Trinidad, we headed down the east coast of South America on our way to Quintero, Chile. We are now passing through the Strait of Magellan. The strait is a narrow, twisting passage that separates the mainland of Argentina and Chile from the islands that make up the southernmost tip of the South America (the main island is known as the “Tierra del Fuego”). The climate is cold (it is summer and 50° F now) and the surrounding land is sparsely populated, but the views are quite stunning. We shot a pretty cool time-lapse video, but will probably have to wait until the end of our voyage to get a strong enough connection to share it.

            The full passage will take around twenty-four hours. In order to safely navigate through the channel, we have two pilots who joined us at the mouth of the strait.

            When pilots are going to come aboard, they typically approach the ship in a small (30-50 ft) pilot boat. Our ship slows down to allow the pilot boat to comfortably match its speed. The two vessels then stay side-by-side while the pilot boat slowly maneuvers closer until its fenders are against the side of the ship. By the time the pilot boat is close, the ship’s crew has lowered a rope ladder (called the pilots’ ladder) over the side of the ship, and they have also partially lowered the gangway. The pilot stands on the edge of the pilot boat, and when he can reach the pilots’ ladder he grabs it and climbs up to where it meets the end of the gangway. Once on the gangway, the pilot can walk up to the deck like walking up stairs. Any luggage for the pilot is pulled up beforehand by ropes tossed down by the deck crew.

The pilot boat on approach. From up high on the ship’s deck the waves and swell don’t seem that big until you see them toss a small boat around like a toy…

The gangway in its stowed position with the pilots’ ladder in the top left corner rolled up and covered in black canvass. The gangway folds out 90 degrees so that its flat side is parallel with the water. The far end then lowers, making something between stairs and a ramp 

After a few days of travelling up the Chilean coast we will reach Quintero and discharge the cargo that was loaded in Trinidad!