Chile Cruising Guide

Created by doina. Last modified on 2006-02-10 11:45:51
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Topic: Books,Charts and DVDs
Countries: Chile

Chile

Arica Desert to Tierra del Fuego

Andrew O’Grady

RCC Pilotage Foundation & Imray Publishers 2nd edition 2004

UK recommended price £30

ISBN 0 85288 721 3

Many sailors would agree that Chile is currently one of the most attractive cruising destinations in the world especially its southern part between the island of Chiloe and Cape Horn. This vast area that spans some 1200 miles is crisscrossed by hundreds of narrow channels and fiords where solitude reigns supreme. The spectacular beauty of this remote corner of the world has the quality of a rough diamond that will leave a lasting impression on anyone fortunate enough to sail there. On my return trip from Antarctica, early in 1999, I sailed from Puerto Williams to Valdivia, and was profoundly grateful for being able to use the previous edition of this guide. That first edition, published in 1998, was the result of work carried out in the 1990s by Ian and Maggy Staples, with additional information provided by Tony and Coryn Gooch. Andrew O’Grady, who revised and updated the current edition, visited Chile in 2001, and has been assisted in his work by Ulla Norlander who is responsible for the detailed plans of ports and anchorages. The current guide covers the entire Chilean coast, with details of every port and anchorage, and also advice on passages between ports, as well as practical information on the ports themselves.

Andrew O’Grady and Ulla Norlander have also put together a set of Pilotage notes on South Georgia that can be downloaded from the RCC Pilotage Foundation website at www.rccpf.org.uk

Two other guides on Chile that should be mentioned are the very first guide to the area published by the Chilean navigator Alberto Mantellero under the tile “Una Aventura Navegando Los Canales del Sur Chile”. As a guide, the book is now rather outdated but is still a good source of local information. The Italian sailors Mariolina Rolfo and Giorgio Ardrizzi have spent eight years in the area and in 2004 published “Patagaonia and Tierra del Fuego Nautical Guide” in association with the Italian magazine Bolina. Their comprehensive guide, published in English, is reviewed in: http://www.noonsite.com/General/BooksandCharts