Ep43, 3 Tips to plan Chacao crossing, from Quemchi to PTO Ingles #ithacacruising

We had been waiting for a week in Quemchi for a perfect weather window to cross canal Chacao. on the 14th March, there was finally a window with light west wind, in comparison to the strong north wind blowing most of the time. We think this is our chance, because there was no chance of downwind sailing in the canal recently, and we had a deadline of getting to Santiago on 20th March for our French Polynesia visa interviews. So our 3 conditions to cross the canal are: 1. high tide, arrive at the mouth at the high tide or 1 hour before high. Thus, the ebb current can flow the boat out of the canal into the Pacific. (on the other hand, inbound canal Chacao, you will need to go at the low tide in Puerto Inglés, please refer to my video Episode 29) 2. during the day, it is better to cross the canal during the day, not in the dark, for safety reasons. 3. downwind or no wind. The forecast weather is very light wind, but the canal does gather more wind than predicted. luckily, it was not bad and we could go through easily without any worries. PS: if you go through at high tide or after high, you will experience very strong riptides, the boat could fly at 11-12 knots of speed easily here. Once we passed the narrowest part of the canal, we spotted a few dolphins in the channel to swim with Ithaca and Ithaca's new friend, Boaty MC Boatface, a German sailboat, which met in Estero Pindo. These dolphins were so adorable and jumped out of the water like a show to us. Thank you dolphins! We always appreciate them accompanying us and they make the ocean a more magical place. For the first time, we anchored inside the Puerto Inglés bay because the water outside is a bit rolly and not comfortable. The bay is fairly big and have enough space for anchoring, even with a few boats. The salmon farm or oyster farm is close to the side and didn't bother us at all. The only tricky part is that you don't know the depth inside, so you have to watch. We anchored in about 4-5 meters. Our friend Boaty MC Boatface anchored nearby and had no issues at all. We will stay here for 2 nights, then the south wind will come and we need to sail in the Pacific ocean and head north to Valdivia. #sailaroundtheworld #patagoniachile #sailboatlife