Mercedes to Tigre
Up at a reasonable hour to catch a 10:30 coach to Nueva Palmira.
A virtualy empty marina at Nueva Palmira. Only a few local boats and no visiting boats at all.
Much lower water levels today and lots of ocean bulkers at anchor waiting to load grain.
The bridge on our Delta Argentino launch, Don Humberto.
Autumn in the Tigre delta.
Back at Tigre on time at 18:00.
A virtualy empty marina at Nueva Palmira. Only a few local boats and no visiting boats at all.
Much lower water levels today and lots of ocean bulkers at anchor waiting to load grain.
The bridge on our Delta Argentino launch, Don Humberto.
Autumn in the Tigre delta.
Back at Tigre on time at 18:00.
Rio Negro Day Two
18/04/10 21:09 Filed in: Uruguay
Back aboard Menkar for another day on the Rio Negro.
Nancy and Dominique at lunch en route.
Gilles the skipper.
Approaching a secluded anchorage some 2 hours down river from Mercedes.
Lovely beach. The water here is comparatively clear when compared with the Rio Uruguay. We anchored in about 3 metres.
Time for a quick swim.
Relatively deep water close inshore with about 1 knot of current. Fish territory.
I caught a fish! Not a bad one at that. It weighed about 3kg.
My fish. Salminus Brasiliensis, common name Dorado. A fresh water carnivore, it is found in northern Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and southern Brazil. It can grow to 1.2 metres (30kg) and is very aggressive. Those teeth can cause serious damage to the fingers of a careless angler.
I caught this one using a lure without bait and it took about 8 minutes to get it into the dinghy.
The fact that I caught it owes everything to Gilles skill in selecting our fishing spot and the fact that almost every time a lure was cast it was struck almost immediately. If a fish was lost another was on the line within minutes. All I had to do was land it.
Fresh out of the water at 18:00.
Cleaned and ready for the oven 18:48. My fish had two quite large partly digested fish in it's stomach.
Ready to eat 20:05. More than enough for four.
All done 20:40.
After eating we had an uneventful trip back to Mercedes in virtually total darkness and arrived just after midnight.
Our route today.
Nancy and Dominique at lunch en route.
Gilles the skipper.
Approaching a secluded anchorage some 2 hours down river from Mercedes.
Lovely beach. The water here is comparatively clear when compared with the Rio Uruguay. We anchored in about 3 metres.
Time for a quick swim.
Relatively deep water close inshore with about 1 knot of current. Fish territory.
I caught a fish! Not a bad one at that. It weighed about 3kg.
My fish. Salminus Brasiliensis, common name Dorado. A fresh water carnivore, it is found in northern Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and southern Brazil. It can grow to 1.2 metres (30kg) and is very aggressive. Those teeth can cause serious damage to the fingers of a careless angler.
I caught this one using a lure without bait and it took about 8 minutes to get it into the dinghy.
The fact that I caught it owes everything to Gilles skill in selecting our fishing spot and the fact that almost every time a lure was cast it was struck almost immediately. If a fish was lost another was on the line within minutes. All I had to do was land it.
Fresh out of the water at 18:00.
Cleaned and ready for the oven 18:48. My fish had two quite large partly digested fish in it's stomach.
Ready to eat 20:05. More than enough for four.
All done 20:40.
After eating we had an uneventful trip back to Mercedes in virtually total darkness and arrived just after midnight.
Our route today.
Rio Negro Day One
17/04/10 23:12 Filed in: Uruguay
The port of Mercedes is 60km upstream from Rio Uruguay.
Gilles and Dominique on Menkar returned late last night. We joined them this morning for a trip on the Rio Negro.
Menkar on a buoy between Isla del Puerto and the quay at Mercedes.
Looking upstream at Mercedes towards the pasarella. Lots of floating debris was trapped in the bridge superstructure.
The main quay at Mercedes.
The whole dock area has been restored. Mooring for yachts, alongside or on a buoy is free! This includes water and electricity. Although the entire area is open to the public there is 24/7 security and I saw nothing to indicate any problems.
Is there a catch to all this? Possibly.
This photo was taken back in february when we passed through Mercedes. This catamaran is lying more or less in the same spot as Menkar in the photo above. Flooding raised the Rio Negro to a depth of 8.8 metres at Mercedes. Sufficient to immerse the red building up to it's roof and flood buildings a block and a half into the town. They have 14m of chain on the mooring buoys!
Our plan was to motor gently upstream and do some fishing.
Mercedes rowing club.
We needed to pass under this bridge. Absent detailed information we needed to get up close and see if we could pass.
It looks pretty high. We should get through.
Hmm, difficult to tell.
Getting very close. Having second thoughts.
No indications as to depth or air draught.
Just port and starboard markings.
Will we make it? The people on the bridge can't see underneath. From our deck it's very difficult to tell. Gilles edged up close into the current.
Too close to call. Gilles drops back and returns down river to fish elsewhere.
A lovely day on the river. Little wind and 1-2 knots of current.
Autumnal colours, calm and virtually deserted.
Numerous beaches with fine white sand.
Gilles anchored about an hour downstream behind an island. Out came the rods.
Lot's of fish in the river. The bait (tiny fish) was attacked almost immediately. Something on the line here.
A small catfish with very big spikes.
Self with a yellow fish of about 1kg.
After a few hours fishing we made a night passage back to Mercedes. The Rio Negro is buoyed but not lit and with little habitation and no moon it was a dark night. Gilles has a very sophisticated computerised navigation system. He can overlay GPS data onto most maps, photographs or charts and even onto google earth which we were using tonight.
No problems apart from a small exchange of paint with one of the buoys.
Gilles and Dominique on Menkar returned late last night. We joined them this morning for a trip on the Rio Negro.
Menkar on a buoy between Isla del Puerto and the quay at Mercedes.
Looking upstream at Mercedes towards the pasarella. Lots of floating debris was trapped in the bridge superstructure.
The main quay at Mercedes.
The whole dock area has been restored. Mooring for yachts, alongside or on a buoy is free! This includes water and electricity. Although the entire area is open to the public there is 24/7 security and I saw nothing to indicate any problems.
Is there a catch to all this? Possibly.
This photo was taken back in february when we passed through Mercedes. This catamaran is lying more or less in the same spot as Menkar in the photo above. Flooding raised the Rio Negro to a depth of 8.8 metres at Mercedes. Sufficient to immerse the red building up to it's roof and flood buildings a block and a half into the town. They have 14m of chain on the mooring buoys!
Our plan was to motor gently upstream and do some fishing.
Mercedes rowing club.
We needed to pass under this bridge. Absent detailed information we needed to get up close and see if we could pass.
It looks pretty high. We should get through.
Hmm, difficult to tell.
Getting very close. Having second thoughts.
No indications as to depth or air draught.
Just port and starboard markings.
Will we make it? The people on the bridge can't see underneath. From our deck it's very difficult to tell. Gilles edged up close into the current.
Too close to call. Gilles drops back and returns down river to fish elsewhere.
A lovely day on the river. Little wind and 1-2 knots of current.
Autumnal colours, calm and virtually deserted.
Numerous beaches with fine white sand.
Gilles anchored about an hour downstream behind an island. Out came the rods.
Lot's of fish in the river. The bait (tiny fish) was attacked almost immediately. Something on the line here.
A small catfish with very big spikes.
Self with a yellow fish of about 1kg.
After a few hours fishing we made a night passage back to Mercedes. The Rio Negro is buoyed but not lit and with little habitation and no moon it was a dark night. Gilles has a very sophisticated computerised navigation system. He can overlay GPS data onto most maps, photographs or charts and even onto google earth which we were using tonight.
No problems apart from a small exchange of paint with one of the buoys.
Puerto Sauce to Mercedes
16/04/10 22:10 Filed in: Uruguay
Felt a lot better this morning and got up early to do some more winterising. Swapped all halyards with dummy lines. The halyards will still need washing.
Due to a check the bus times malfunction I missed the bus into Colonia. If I caught the next bus I would have missed my onward connection to Mercedes. A punishing Ur$750 (£25) taxi ride into Colonia was the solution.
Our bus route to Mercedes took us through Carmelo, Nueva Palmira and then inland to Mercedes. The service is not an express. It stops at major towns and villages and most other places on request. This more than doubled the trip time to Nueva Palmira where Nancy joined me.
We got into Mercedes at around 15:00 and checked into the Gran Hotel Brisas Del Hum on Plaza Independencia. Not the cheapest at US$75 but it was relatively new and very comfortable.
View Mercedes in a larger map
Due to a check the bus times malfunction I missed the bus into Colonia. If I caught the next bus I would have missed my onward connection to Mercedes. A punishing Ur$750 (£25) taxi ride into Colonia was the solution.
Our bus route to Mercedes took us through Carmelo, Nueva Palmira and then inland to Mercedes. The service is not an express. It stops at major towns and villages and most other places on request. This more than doubled the trip time to Nueva Palmira where Nancy joined me.
We got into Mercedes at around 15:00 and checked into the Gran Hotel Brisas Del Hum on Plaza Independencia. Not the cheapest at US$75 but it was relatively new and very comfortable.
View Mercedes in a larger map
At Puerto Sauce
15/04/10 21:11 Filed in: Uruguay
13 April 2010
Took the ferry from Tigre to Nueva Palmira and onto Colonia and Puerto Sauce by bus. The sailing season here is pretty much over so I decided to store the sails and running rigging below.
The weather forecast was not good. I did not get to Puerto Sauce until mid afternoon by which time a storm threatened. I was able to get the foresails stowed before a heavy rainstorm hit but with oilskins on I could use the rain to give the topsides a good wash.
My replacing of the shaft seal padding had worked well. The bilge was dry.
14 April 2010
Very heavy rain all day with increasing SW winds. There was only slight movement in the port and with the Superwind keeping the batteries charged the Eberspacher fired up without problem and kept me warm and cosy. This was fortunate as I developed a stinking cold.
15 April 2010
Not a good day. Very strong SW winds gusting to 35 knots and frequent rain squalls. The boat rode comfortably.
Interesting to observe a large Argentine motor cruiser arrive and find it impossible to pick up a mooring. In the end a Belgian skipper dinghied over to assist.
Took the ferry from Tigre to Nueva Palmira and onto Colonia and Puerto Sauce by bus. The sailing season here is pretty much over so I decided to store the sails and running rigging below.
The weather forecast was not good. I did not get to Puerto Sauce until mid afternoon by which time a storm threatened. I was able to get the foresails stowed before a heavy rainstorm hit but with oilskins on I could use the rain to give the topsides a good wash.
My replacing of the shaft seal padding had worked well. The bilge was dry.
14 April 2010
Very heavy rain all day with increasing SW winds. There was only slight movement in the port and with the Superwind keeping the batteries charged the Eberspacher fired up without problem and kept me warm and cosy. This was fortunate as I developed a stinking cold.
15 April 2010
Not a good day. Very strong SW winds gusting to 35 knots and frequent rain squalls. The boat rode comfortably.
Interesting to observe a large Argentine motor cruiser arrive and find it impossible to pick up a mooring. In the end a Belgian skipper dinghied over to assist.