La Balade de Jade · video

What this video covers

Jade, a French-flagged OVNI, transits from the Strait of Magellan to the Beagle Channel and Puerto Williams over roughly ten days in late December and early January, sheltering repeatedly in caletas between successive depressions at the 52nd parallel south.2:43 The polar front belt between 50° and 60° south generates continuous depressions with sustained winds of 25–30 knots, gusts to 40–50 knots during frontal passages, and williwaws from unpredictable directions reaching 70 knots — conditions the crew describes as constant for the entire period.3:41 Jade and two companion boats — Cap on an OVNI and Giver, Canadians on a South African boat — coordinate to share weather windows, crossing the Pacific-exposed western approaches to the Magellan Canal in 15–25 knots with 1.5-meter swell after a 50-knot day prior.7:10 At Caleta Breaknock, the crew rides out a front forecast at 52–55 knots, rigging 13 mooring lines between two boats and multiple trees.15:39 A Simrad sounder installed in Polynesia two years earlier fails after two months in the canals, leaving them to navigate a 4-meter-deep, 400-meter passage in the Pedro Canal on the standard depth sounder alone.13:25 Navionics and TimeZero show conflicting routes around one island — a concrete illustration of why multiple chart systems matter in Patagonia.17:58

More from La Balade de Jade

Jade#52 - GULF OF SORROWS, PUERTO EDEN: Patagonian anchorages are anything but restfulJan 2026Jade#51 - Towards the SAN RAFAEL GLACIER: we're navigating among our first icebergsDec 2025Jade#50 - CHILOÉ and the GULF OF ANCUD: the adventure resumes, the crew is trainingNov 2025Jade#49 - AT THE SHIPYARD IN PUERTO MONTT (Chile): preparing the boat for the Patagonian canalsOct 2025

From La Balade de Jade — see the channel’s boat, crew, and every analyzed video.

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