We arrived here on the afternoon of the 15th, after the boisterous ocean romp from Valdivia. It was a downwind sail all the way, even flew the spinnaker for a short while not far from the mainland. Overnight the wind built and we shortened sail repeatedly, until we were running downwind on headsail only with 30 to 35 knots of wind. That is a good downwind sail for sure, but the motion of the elevated sea state made Kati and Zia rather green. We are working to crawl out of the temperate zone and enjoy some moderate, consistent, and warm trade wind sailing! The weather is challenging us. After a couple days R&R on the island we were prepared to start the final long leg to the Galapagos, but another gale force storm is rolling over the island and we took shelter in a cove on the south side. Best guess now is a Tuesday morning start.

Juan Fernandez Island is a pleasant place, a volcanic outcropping 200 miles from the mainland, steep and jagged, somewhat reminiscent of the Na Pali coast in Hawaii but drier. There is a small settlement here, about 600 very friendly Chilean folks. The lobster is plentiful and delicious. And of course, legend has it that in the early 1700's Alexander Selkirk was marooned here for some years, spawning the story of Robinson Crusoe. The residents use it to their touristic advantage. While normally there are few sailboats calling here because it is off of the popular cruising routes, we arrived to find 3 in the anchorage and another arriving later. It is the time of the year that the boats which spent the season in Patagonia move on to other areas, most here are en-route to Easter Island, while we are north-bound to the Galapagos, each about a 2000 mile sail from here. We were excited to find here our friends from the catamaran Spirit of Africa, whom we had met in Valdivia twice during the construction period of Hekla.