April 3, 2007
Clark April 3rd, 2007
April 3, 2007
52?55′ South, 73?46′ West (still the same place)
I think this is about the worst storm I’ve ever been in. It hasn’t blown less than 50 knots in over 48 hours, and a lot of that time it’s blowing 70-ish. I can’t tell the difference between rain and spray anymore, but some kind of water, fresh or salt, is always being blown in great sheets over my boat. The Boca Occidental of the Straits of Magellan is open to the full force of the Southern Ocean and the seas are getting unbelievable. Thank God I’ve got my little peninsula to protect me from the seas, but not the wind. No end in sight. I go crazy.
So to continue my rant about the Armada…
More strange and irritating is that most of Chile is closed to foreign yachts.
We are only allowed to very specific places, and the route from Tierra del Fuego to Puerto Montt through the channels is along a narrow approved route with a few approved side trips. This keeps us fairly happy, because this route alone has enough nooks and crannies to fill several lifetimes of exploration, but there is a whole galaxy of channels that Chilean fishermen are allowed to visit, but not us.
Why? It’s a political and bureaucratic nightmare, and foreign yachtsmen don’t exactly represent a powerful political force in Chile. There are, however, some Chileans with a vested interest in promoting yachting tourism.
Part of it is because of Argentina, who has the bad habit of attacking its neighbors from time to time. Chile and Argentina were at war over a few islands in the 70’s, and Chile was on the Brits’ side in the Falklands War, so there is sort of d鴥nte between Chile and Argentina. If Chile were to let other foreigners go sailing around remote channels, then they would have to let Argentines, who might claim an island for themselves, or build a secret base!
The Armada asserts further justification in that many of the channels have not been completely surveyed, but this doesn’t really hold water. The fact is they don’t really have a clear answer, and they don’t really have to, because nobody who counts is asking the questions. It’s not like the US or any of Chile’s neighbors are going to jump to bat for the cause of foreign yachtsmen: These poor yachtsmen need more cruising grounds! Other than yachtsmen, there probably aren’t too many other people in the world who care.
I accept that when I visit a country I am subject to their laws and shouldn’t really complain, but it seems like a country that calls itself free, open, and democratic shouldn’t be the ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD that has policies like this. Like other countries, its land and waters should be open to foreign visitors.
On the bright side, the people in the field are incredibly sweet and polite. Most of the remote Armada control posts are manned by families, and the officer’s wife is just as likely to call you on the radio as he is. They take their duties very seriously, and they don’t have much else to keep them busy, so they are professional yachtspotters. Our friends in Puerto Toro told us it was really important that we check in, because if we don’t they worry about us and can’t sleep. They were openly and unapologetically pro-Pinochet, as are most military people, which brings us to my half-baked explanation.
In Chile, as in most Latin American countries, the transition from military government to democracy was just that, a transition, not a revolution. Here in Chile we are dealing with Pinochet’s navy, the navy of a military government, transitioned into a new era, but not about to give an inch unless they have to. There would need to be major reform, or international pressure, and I don’t see either coming any time soon.
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