BLUE WATER TANGENT

Iain and I attended a marvellous lecture last night at Bardowie Clubhouse. These Clyde Cruising Club winter lectures are a chance to meet and greet with folk one only sees in oilskins or in a blue boiler suit weilding an oily rag.

Bill and Jane MacLaren left Rhu in 2000 in their Rival Bowman 40 yacht Vagrant and sailed to Newfoundland via the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland and Labrador. They trucked their yacht across Canada [as you do!] and spent 2 years exploring the British Columbia coast, Alaska and the Aleutians. From there they headed south, 'way south!

The lecture last night was about their time on the southern coast of Chile, around Tierra del Feugo, then in and around the Falklands and home via the Azores and Ireland.

Here she is off the Chilean coast with the Andes in the background.

In the Beagle Channel which is the strait separating the islands of Tierra del Fuego on the very, very tip of South America. The eastern part of this channel is part of the border between Chile and Argentina.

They had lots of stories to tell. The one I liked best was about their sail back to Britain from South America. They were heading north aiming for the Azores. The ARC [Atlandic Rally for Cruisers] Race was on where a large number of yachts sail from the Azores to the Caribbean. In the far distance they saw one of the fleet heading towards them on what they calculated to be a collision coarse. Watching and waiting the boat did not alter course. As they got closer they became aware that there was no one on watch. They held their course and ... passed just behind her stern. At this point they gave a great hoot on their foghorn. Emerging from below came six very astonished sailors!

He used 2 screens and showed wonderful wildlife photos as well. Here are two Glentoo penquins in the Falklands.

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Photographs by Bill and Jane McLaren. Map by Wikipedia.