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Posted By:
Hal Brown
Date Posted:
Apr 25, 2013
Description:
SuRi arrived on station early in the morning in a very narrow fjord.
Date Taken:
Apr 25, 2013
Place Taken:
Estero Quintupeu, Chile
Owner:
Dan Nickens
File Name:
Early_Arrival.jpg - Photo HTML
Full size - <img src="/show.php?splash=SZIO80000h">
Medium - <img src="/show.php?splash=SZIO80000m">
Thumbnail - <img src="/show.php?splash=SZIO80000s">
Category:
524, Yacht Tending Chile
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Click on photo to view the original size. |
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Read what others had to say:
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Dan Nickens - Apr 25,2013
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The helo took off under the low overcast. The fishermen had an early appointment on a wild river.
| | Attachments:
Lifting in Fog
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Dan Nickens - Apr 25,2013
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The helicopter soon returned. Fog at the entrance blocked any exit. There was no way out or over the top. The fishermen had to settle for breakfast onboard.
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Closed Pass
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Dan Nickens - Apr 25,2013
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I was sitting quietly staring into the fog when one of the crew mumbled past. “Gotta go check the entrance for fog. That’ll take an hour.”<br /><br />Before I could check my mouth, it came out: “I’ll go take a look in the SeaRey.”<br /><br />Okay, now what’s the plan? Well, it’s a very narrow entrance. If it looks open I can go out into the channel and turn around. If not, I can just land in the fjord, turn around on the water, then come back. Okay, that should work.<br />
| | Attachments:
SuRi under Fog
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Dan Nickens - Apr 25,2013
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The entrance to the fjord is about 50 meters wide. It makes the fjord practically invisible from outside the channel.<br /><br />In World War I the obscure fjord became part of a high stakes cat and mouse game. The German Light Cruiser Dresden was on the run from the British Navy. By secreting herself in uncharted territory the ship was able to evade the British Navy for three months.<br /><br />The Dresden was part of Admiral von Spee’s ill-fated fleet. After running up against a vastly superior British force at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914, the Dresden was ordered to escape the ensuing massacre. She was able to do that because of her fast coal-fired turbine engines.<br /><br />Over the next three months the Dresden managed to elude eleven Allied warships looking for her. The labyrinth of islands, fjords and legendary bad weather thwarted their efforts. It turns out that the narrow waterway of Estero Quintupeu was actually shown as dry land by British charts.<br /><br />Eventually the Dresden had to depart to find adequate supplies. She was found by the British in the harbor at Robinson Crusoe Island. To avoid capture, her Captain sank her there.<br />
| | Attachments:
Narrow Gap
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Dan Nickens - Apr 25,2013
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Indeed my plan to check the entrance did work because it was open for SeaRey or helicopter operation. I thought the fishing spot was just around the corner. I checked that too. It was overcast but visibility was 20 miles on the deck. There was a serious fog bank, but that was on the west side of the channel. I went back and reported. The helicopter soon departed on its fishing mission.
| | Attachments:
Fog Bank
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Dan Nickens - Apr 25,2013
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While the fishermen were out, some of the crew and I checked out a quiet mountain lake up fjord.
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Mountain Water
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Dan Nickens - Apr 25,2013
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The exit to the lake wasn’t exactly clear, but there was enough cloud-free air to squeeze a SeaRey back out.
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Close Departure
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Dan Nickens - Apr 25,2013
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The non-fishing guests must have been bored. They were lounging. The crew took advantage of the quiet time for local SeaRey flights. It kept the rubber ducky busy hauling SeaRey clients.
| | Attachments:
Back to the Boat
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Dan Nickens - Apr 25,2013
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The SuRi sat in quiet water while fog came and went at the entrance to the fjord. There was no sign nor report from the helicopter that I sent out on my favorable weather report.
| | Attachments:
Gently Rippled
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Dan Nickens - Apr 25,2013
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Finally the Captain got concerned. He got a garbled call from the helicopter on the Sat phone. He sent down orders for the SeaRey. “Please go and see if they require assistance.”<br /><br />Well, okay. Since my faulty weather reporting had sent them out, it only seemed fair that I go find them. Looking at their satellite coordinates I found they were not just around the corner. They were on a peninsula on the far side of the channel…yep, out where I had spotted the fog bank.<br /><br />The fog bank was still there. I was pretty sure I couldn’t get low enough to get into the river. Instead I tried hailing them on the radio. Breaking out of the fog, they had me spotted and were closing on their way back to the boat.<br />
| | Attachments:
Brightening Day
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Dan Nickens - Apr 25,2013
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Back at the boat the helicopter pilot had quite a tale to tell. On my weather report they flew out of the narrow fjord and into the channel. The fog closed in as they approached the west side of the channel. Instead of turning around for a second time, he decided to continue. I’m sure he didn’t want to be called a wimp.<br /><br />He managed to make the beach as the fog closed in. Visibility was, well, measured in single digit meters. He hovered along the beach looking for the river.<br /><br />He missed it. When the GPS showed he had gone too far, he landed on the beach to re-evaluate his wimpiness concerns. While he was pondering that one of the guides suggested asking the owner of a beach hut where they were. I can only imagine his chagrin as guide disembarked to ask directions at the hut. (While he avoided being characterized as a wimp, his manhood had to be questioned. Stopping to ask directions? What was he thinking!)<br /><br />The guide returned. He had been bitten by the hut owner’s dog. He did, however, find out where they had missed the river turn. Off they went, finding the river, and lots of fish too.<br />
| | Attachments:
Quiet Water
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| Attachments:
Foggy Fishing
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Dan Nickens - Apr 25,2013
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It seemed to me, now an expert in local weather forecasting, that the clouds were breaking up. I tested that theory by trying to climb out of the fjord in search of glaciers.
| | Attachments:
Three Peaks
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Dan Nickens - Apr 25,2013
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So much for my expertise in forecasting. The glaciers remained covered in cloud.<br /><br />I was told later that the most experienced fjord pilot ended his career (and life) crashing on a glacier in his Caravan. Before he died, he showed his passengers what they needed to do to survive. They made it eight days until being rescued (and, no, they didn't have to resort to eating the dead pilot; he had packed plenty of emergency provisions).<br />
| | Attachments:
Cloud in Rock
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Dan Nickens - Apr 25,2013
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It was the last day before returning to Puerto Montt. I could have stayed, but everyone else was ready to go home. Sigh. Only one more day.
| | Attachments:
Hard to Leave
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Don Maxwell - Apr 25,2013
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Intriguing and beautiful territory, Dan. Thanks for taking us there, even vicariously. Fog is lovely (when you don't have to go anywhere in it--especially by seaplane--even on the water).
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Wayne Nagy - Apr 25,2013
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Your pictures are breathtaking ...as usual, Dan. The pictures and stories have a greater <br />impact with me now that I have had the opportunity to talk with you at Garner's Landing.
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