36 Exciting Hours

It has been a very interesting 36 hours on Sila! Friday afternoon, the four boys (Christopher, Pete, Porter and Jack Rabbit) went ashore and visited Rano Raraku, also known as "the nursery." It is the quarry where they built the moai and you can still see moai there in various stages of creation. I am sure one of the boys will write a detailed blog about that visit, complete with photos. Meanwhile, I stayed on Sila because the Easter Island "anchorages" are the sort of places where you don't want to leave the boat unattended. They really are just spots on the various sides of the island.

Into Friday evening, the ocean swell continued to grow. Because of the angle of the wind, 90 degrees off from the waves, we found ourselves rocking and rolling as we sat sideways to the swell. As it started to get dark, there were a few waves that caused some rumbling from the anchor chain. Additionally, the wind started to shift to the south, an un-forecasted change that put us on a lee shore. As Christopher and I sat in the dog house and considered the waves, the wind, the forecast, our location, and the of arrival of dusk we noticed that our position relative to the only other boat in the anchorage had suddenly changed. It took only a moment in the dark to realize that we were not moving, but the Swedish flagged 30' Contessa sailboat was.

Since anchoring in Hotu Iti on the south side of Easter Island on Wednesday night, we had not seen anyone on the Swedish boat so we were confident that no one was aboard as the three of us (Porter and Jack were in the midst of a game and we didn't alert them to the drama) watched it drift toward shore. We called the Chilean Navy on the radio, not expecting that they would be able to do anything, and watched helplessly as the boat ran up on the rocks. Our best guess is that the Swedish boat had been on a rope rode to the anchor and the increased movement from the bigger waves caused it to saw through and break. It took about 15 minutes for the boat to pick up some speed and hit shore, so we don't think they were dragging their anchor.

After careful consideration of the options, the weather forecast, and the time of night, we decided to maintain an anchor watch through the night. So Christopher, Pete and I took turns staying awake. As the ocean swell continued to pitch the boat, the watch stander's job was to watch our position relative to the cliffs and breaking waves on shore and on the GPS screen. None of us slept well that night!

We then spent most of the day Saturday getting information about the weather forecast, considering our options, and waiting. The other anchorages on Easter Island- two or three other places- were either already untenable or would be as soon as the wind shifted back to the north as the forecast suggested it would by early evening. We needed the low pressure system to pass the island so that the wind would make this anchorage, Hotuiti, favorable again. When the wind had still not shifted to the north by 2:30 pm on Saturday, we decided to leave, bound for Puerto Montt. Because we knew it might not be possible to get ashore on Easter Island at all, we came here prepared to go all the way to Puerto Montt without stopping. So we have all of the essentials- enough fresh water, diesel, and food- to leave on a moment's notice.

As you might imagine, having had Sila pull hard on the anchor for a couple of days with 24 hours of big waves and wind in particular, it was very well set. With the engine running and the main sail ready to be hoisted, Christopher worked the problem and we were able to weigh the anchor at 3:30 in what was now pouring rain as the low pressure system was coming through.

We felt palpable relief as we put some distance between us and the lee shore and then set the mainsail in driving rain with 35 knots of wind, gusting a few times to 40. With three reefs in the mainsail and a staysail, the boat settled into a nice rhythm and we set a course for Puerto Montt. We then called the Chilean Coast Guard to let them know that we were leaving without visiting the office to complete paperwork. Nope! With my limited Spanish, we learned that we really should not leave Easter Island without the proper paperwork as it may jeopardize our plans to spend the next few months in mainland Chile. So we changed our course, stood regular nighttime watches, and simply sailed back and forth a bit until sunrise. By then, the wind had shifted back to the north as planned and we were able to anchor again in Hotuiti.

As I write, it is noon on Sunday and the wind is still blowing 25 knots, but now from the north. We are in the lee of the island so the seas are relatively calm with just some small wind waves on the surface. And most importantly, we no longer have a lee shore. Porter and Jack just finished math class and are playing a dice and betting game that they created. Pete and Christopher are both getting some much needed sleep.

These last few days have reminded me of several important things. First, I find myself once again grateful for Christopher's attention to detail and insistence on having a back up to every system. We like to joke that he has at least one spare or separate system for all but two items: he does not have a spare coffee pot and he does not have a spare wife! Second, I am really glad that we oversized our anchor and have 100 meters of all chain rode. Third, the rough edges of the ocean are far scarier than the middle. And perhaps most of all, Sila likes to sail. We had gusts into the low 30s all night last night but Sila with three reefs and a staysail was solid and comfortable. I felt palpable relief personally and could see it on Christopher's face as we sailed away last night.

So the plan is to sit on the boat today and see if the forecast matches what we actually see here in terms of wind direction (coming from the north-northwest) and speed (lightening to 10-15 knots). If they do match and the forecast for the next few days does not change, then we are likely to stay here Monday and Tuesday for some more shore adventures- there is still a lot to see on Easter Island. Then we would do our various passage prep chores and leave Easter Island, bound for Puerto Montt, on Wednesday.

I don't know when we will have wifi that will allow us to post photos and check our regular email accounts. It may be September before we get wifi again. - Molly