Written by Third Officer Prince Noel Cainap
The experience was indescribably awesome; the splendid view will leave you overwhelmingly speechless. Oh! I wish I could take you to the exact moment.
Our first Magellan Strait transit on board Bow Architect was completed early morning of January 7, as the two pilots disembarked at Possession Bay. Captain Carlos Huber Yo and Captain Eduardo Barrios Santelices expressed their gratitude for the special welcoming stay and superb hospitality of the entire crew, saying:
“It was so nice to sail with cheerful sailors! Filipinos, sure indeed, are awesome navigators!”
The journey was indeed a feat, and for those asking what it felt like transiting the famous Estrecho de Magallanes: I’ll leave you with the word “awesome” coupled with “indescribable” and “breath-taking”. Such words, however, in themselves can never suffice for the exact feeling, so I’ll trust your imagination to decide as I leave you with some narratives of how exactly this journey’s story was etched in our hearts.
Magellan Strait had a long history as an important route for steam and sailing ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, up until the completion of the Panama Canal in 1914, which shortened that passage by thousands of miles.
Such history was not the only thing that made it the number one talk among most pioneer sailors; the Chilean majestic passage itself offers the natural beauty of glacial and mountainous scenery, an experience that will leave most sailors in awe—capturing smiles of unforgettable bliss within the frames of digital pictures and countless stories to tell.
Of course, talking a bit about our brief history, the Strait of Magellan, more famously called “Estrecho de Magallanes” by the local pilots, was named after Ferdinand Magellan, the first European to navigate the Strait in 1520, a Portuguese navigator who was sailing under the Spanish flag in an attempt to find a westerly route to the Spice Islands (the Maluku Islands). The lands north of the Strait were named “Land of the Patagones” (Patagonia) and those to the south were named “Land of Smoke” (Tierra del Fuego), which (later changed to Land of Fire), likely referring to the smoke emitted by fires produced by the local Fuegian people for heating.
Transiting the Magellan Strait only took us a day, yet the adventure and excitement of the crew started the moment the pilots on Ancud Pilot Station embarked.
Upon embarkation, the Pilot enthusiastically discussed the 1092-nautical mile journey to the Captain, about 300 nautical miles of which is the Magellan Strait passage. An entire journey that would take almost almost days to complete—the most exciting five days of a sailor’s life, shall I say.
With the pilot onboard, the vessel was ready to take on the journey and discover the marvelous beauty of the Chilean archipelago that awaited—the grandeur of the Patagonian Channel.
First on the list was the Gulf of Ancud, a large body of water separating the Chiloe Island from the Mainland of Chile (surrounded by tall mountains and the splendid display of calm, smooth sea).
The vessel continued navigating south—passing the Gulf of Corcovad—and joined Canal Moraleda. The journey then took its westerly turn upon reaching Canal Darwin and back to the Southern Pacific Ocean, joining the Chilean Archipelago again once it reached Canal Trinidad where the journey’s most awesome scenery began.
A mix of ice-capped mountains and a variety of green landscapes lined up Canal Trinidad. As the canal got narrower, the scenery also got more spectacular, until we reached Canal Concepcion where the beautiful islands and islets were much closer.
The view got another exciting twist as soon as the vessel entered the narrowest canals of Inocente and Sarmiento, both offering the best scenery, from green landscapes to snowy white-capped mountains that glistened with the light of the setting sun.
Even if our cameras were not able to capture the view in Collingwood Strait, we were in awe of our indescribable experience: the mountains met the sea and the starlit sky partnered with the cold breeze of the Chilean summer night.
Like every journey, we also went through a challenging part—not the Siren’s songs nor the Carybdis and Scylla moments you see on Percy Jackson films, though—but a few maneuvers and speed reductions that we had to deal with as soon as the vessel reached Canal Smyth, passing in between Isla Larga and Isla Summer where we needed to handle a few draft restrictions. Fun fact: Along the dusky silhouette background of the Smyth Canal lies the famous SS Santa Leonor which ran aground and sank in 1968. Seeing it firsthand gave us another thing to brag about.
The narrow canals got wider and the current got stronger as soon as the sun rose on the fourth day of the journey, signifying the vessel’s arrival in the famous “Estrecho de Magallanes”.
The Magellan Strait indeed never failed to amaze its guests, whether pioneers or newbie sailors such as myself. It welcomed everyone with its glacial and beautiful mountains, often compared to the Inside Passage of Alaska.
Our Magellan Strait passage also included a quick glimpse of Punta Arenas—the capital city of Chile’s southernmost region, also dubbed the most populous southernmost city of Chile. I offered a great sunset view over Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, an island territory divided between Chile (on the west) and Argentina (on the east).
The pilots disembarked with smiles on their faces—as if applauding us for a job well done—leaving behind some wonderful commemorative certificates to the captain as a sign of appreciation and congratulations that we all made it!
It was indeed an unforgettable journey, and if I were asked to give it another try, I would definitely say “Yes!” with a big smile.
Watch some highlights from the transit:
