The Atlantic met the circumnavigation expedition of the Tomsk Branch of the Russian Geographical Society with a severe storm on the approach to the coast of Tierra del Fuego. Through the freezing wind and powerful waves, the crew managed to pass the Strait of Magellan, but bad weather has so far closed the further way to the south. The trimaran was torn from its anchor and began to drift towards Africa, but the heroic efforts of the crew allowed them to reach land and hide the vessel in the harbor of the Argentine city of Rio Grande. Here Stanislav Berezkin and Evgeny Kovalevsky intend to wait out the bad weather, put the battered rigging in order, make up for losses, and gain strength before going to Cape Horn.
Dolphins, sunshine, and joy
At first, sailing from Comodoro Rivadavia to Rio Grande was nice. On November 20, in the afternoon, a large pod of black and white dolphins approached the vessel. They played with the trimaran for about an hour, possibly mistaking it for a large whale.
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“Dolphins were rushing back and forth, left, right, under the trimaran, in front of it. They jumped out of the water one by one, in threes, in fives. I was running with the camera from side to side, from stern to bow. I tried to shoot underwater, but it turned out to be too difficult," said Evgeny Kovalevsky.
The number dolphins in the bright greenish water kept increasing, as if the news of a strange whale with people sailing on it, had rapidly flown around all the surrounding waters.
“There are probably about 200 of them already. At such moments I am happy. After all, these are the moments of our unity with nature, unity with the ocean. It is our father, and we are all its children. The dolphins, seeing a person on board, concentrate near. If you lower your hands closer to the water, you can even touch this friendly ‘dolphin vortex’ rushing by under your hands. Dolphins understand that we are of the same blood, they jump up and poke their noses into the hand. They smile, laugh, rejoice no less than we do at the short-term unification into one crew. Or maybe it's us who join their dolphin pack for a while," Kovalevsky added.
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However, as the sun sets, sailing becomes less comfortable. It doesn’t just get cold, but frigid. The circumnavigators have to sleep in sleeping bags without undressing for two reasons. Firstly, it's just warmer in clothes. Secondly, it is very difficult to get ready for watch in pitch darkness. It's easier to be dressed already.
“When waking up at 3:45 for the watch, I don’t need to add much. I put on the second storm pants – another pair and the thermal underwear is already on me. I add a sleeveless jacket to a polyester tank top, two fleece jackets, and a hoodie that I'm already wearing. On top of a windproof storm jacket, a life jacket. On my head is a balaclava, a cap. There is a scarf around my neck; a lantern on my forehead. I'm ready to keep watch," Kovalevsky described the equipment.
At 4 o'clock in the morning it gets lighter, and the sun breaks through from behind the horizon just after five. Timid rays gild the surface of the waves, throw a sparkling path to the trimaran. The star seems to be addressing the navigators, "Here’s my fire, here's my warmth for you!"
“The beauty of the heavenly fire, its generosity, and goodness render me speechless. The earth, the ocean, and all of us, the inhabitants of the planet, seem to wake up when the sun appears, come to life anew, feel the greatness of the universe, and our belonging to it," Kovalevsky admitted.
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The joy brought by sunlight is complemented by a good wind speed of 6-7 knots, morning coffee, which can be brewed in a cezve, and the fact that there is no storm promised by the forecast yet.
November 21 passes quietly. Roman Struchkov from Kaliningrad, who became a crew member at this stage, is trying to fish. The sun is shining brightly, the wind is coming from the north-west, the trimaran is sailing with the wind on the quarter at a speed of 5-6 knots.
“Sometimes the wind increases; we fasten the staysail, reducing its area. The mainsail is on the first reef. The cold forces you to be in storm gear all the time," says Kovalevsky.
The crew is even thinking whether they should go directly to Ushuaia, but they need to figure out if there is enough water. It turns out that there are 70 liters, and at least 10 liters are consumed per day. So, they'll have to go to another city and replenish supplies. They also need gasoline, because you can't do without a motor in a headwind. Puerto San Julian is about 50 miles away, this is the first option. The second is to go to Rio Grande after the Strait of Magellan.
“All our Russian circumnavigators of the 19th century passed along these shores – Kruzenshtern, Bellingshausen, Litke, Kotzebue, Golovnin, Wrangel. But they did not go through the Strait of Magellan, instead going around Cape Horn. Kotzebue almost died in this area. He was caught by a wave and thrown overboard. Kotzebue managed to cling to the tackle and survived," Kovalevsky recalls.
Storm near the Strait of Magellan
On November 23, a bad forecast begins to come true. At 9:45 a strong squall comes from the west, a chilling wind rises.
“We release the mainsail from the last reef, reduce the staysail by half, sail on a beam reach. The speed is 5-6 knots. In front and to the right there is a thick veil. This is a storm front. We'll get there soon. The ‘Furious Fifties’ take us in their arms. It's harsh here. Farther on, it will be even more severe. There is no sun. The cold penetrates through all the clothes," admits Kovalevsky.
Closer to noon, the wind changes to the south-west, to almost headwind. The speed immediately drops to two knots, but the sailors have to keep going. The crew of the trimaran starts the engine.
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“A strong wind blows in the face and on the right. Carries away any loose thing from the deck. We approach the entrance to the Strait of Magellan. And then the storm begins. The wind increases to 35 knots with gusts of up to 40, the ocean is trying to tear the trimaran to pieces. Harsh three-meter waves with scallops are dismantling us, and we are reassembling again. Periodically, the wind tears dozens of liters of water from the foam ridges and throws them onto the deck, stunning us with this icy bath. We are smashed and hammered, mangled and twisted. The trimaran is like a transformer, bends and straightens, twists and unwinds in time with the waves," Kovalevsky describes the situation.
When the trimaran begins to pass by the Strait of Magellan, the elements become even more fierce. The vessel is carried out into the ocean, the crew is desperately trying to stay 20 miles from the shore with the help of a 15-horsepower motor. The storm has been going on for three hours and has not weakened. The shrouds are whistling, there is more and more water on the deck.
“We hope that we will not be carried far into the ocean, that the wind will subside by night, that tomorrow we will be able to sail into a bay in Rio Grande,” Kovalevsky notes at this moment.
However, the storm does not abate. By the morning of November 24, it has been going on for almost a whole day. Wind with gusts of up to 30-40 knots.
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“The mainsail was lowered at night. The cold is intense. Everyone is completely wet, and the sleeping places are also wet. Waves continue to throw tons of water on the trimaran. A mess of furious water, wind, and cold," says Evgeny.
The trimaran approaches the Rio Grande around 11 a.m. The wind from the west continues to rage, its speed reaches 50 knots. It is necessary to go to the mouth of the river, but it becomes clear that it is unrealistic to get to the shore against such a wind. The circumnavigators drop anchor and begin calling the coast guard on the radio. The Argentines respond, but answer that they will not be able to drag the vessel to land – their boats are too weak. They are ready to help with the evacuation, but evacuation is saving people when the ship is lost.
“We understand that we will not stay anchored for a long time. The wind of such strength is slowly starting to tear us to pieces. Then, a terrible thing happens: we are being abruptly carried into the open ocean. I rush to the bow of the trimaran – the anchor rope has broken, we no longer have an anchor. In the next three days we will be carried nonstop towards Africa. Our only chance is to use the remnants of gasoline and try to get closer to the coast, and then, if possible, go ashore through the surf," Kovalevsky shares.
Stanislav Berezkin starts the engine, Kovalevsky makes his way to the bow of the trimaran and prepares the rest of the anchor rope. Within 40 minutes, the Russians manage to get closer to the shore, they already see the black sand of the beach and surf waves.
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“I'm getting ready to jump into the water as soon as the trimaran jumps over the waves and gets to the shore. A blow – I fall on the bow, jump up and hop off. Stas barely manages to pull the motor out of the water. I'm trying to run through the sinking wet sand to the shore, dragging a rope behind me. Stas tries to remove the steering wheel, but flies overboard from the impact – at least it is shallow, but he is swept by surf waves. I pull the rope, and the rest of the crew join me. The trimaran bounces on the surf. We can't hold the bow of a three-ton vessel, and it turns around the nose. Pulling the stern. Locals run up, grab the rope, help. One of the locals drives a pipe into the sand with a sledgehammer, and we attach the rope to it," Evgeny Kovalevsky describes the dramatic moment.
The tide begins to ebb, and gradually the water moves away from the shore. The Argentines offer to pull the trimaran above the tide level. Prefectural cars and local rescuers are approaching. Now a small tractor is helping to transport the vessel. The whole operation takes about an hour.
“That's it! We can exhale. We are going through the formalities of the prefecture until the end of the day. The only Russian resident of Rio Grande, my namesake Evgeny, invites us to visit. The trimaran was beached right in front of his house. We are warming ourselves up. We decide to spend today recovering," says Kovalevsky.
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In the near future, forecasters promise a storm in the Atlantic with winds up to 50 knots, so the RGS’s circumnavigation will stay in Rio Grande for at least three days. Temporary crew members will leave the crew. Evgeny Kovalevsky and Stanislav Berezkin will go on together. We wish them success. The journey continues.
On July 1, 2021, Siberian travelers Evgeny Kovalevsky and Stanislav Berezkin set off along the route of the first Russian round-the-world expeditions of the 19th century: Ivan Kruzenshtern’s (1803-1806), Yuri Lisyansky’s (1803-1806), Otto Kotzebue’s (1815-1818, 1823-1826), Vasily Golovnin’s (1817-1819), Fedor Litke’s (1826-1829), Faddey Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev’s (1819-1921). The international project of the Tomsk Regional Branch of the Russian Geographical Society "Following the paths of Russian explorers" is dedicated to the 250th birthday anniversary of Krusenstern and the 200th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica by Russian sailors. These events for a long time determined Russia's leadership in the development of the oceans and the discovery of new lands. You can learn more about the project and provide all possible assistance in its implementation on the website of the expedition.
Alexander Zhirnov