Piriapolis to Puerto Sauce - Day 1
09/05/13 19:37 Filed in: On Passage | Uruguay
First job today was to get the rudder mounted. This is a very simple job ashore but a tad more difficult with the boat in the water.
The rudder is very buoyant and can be floated into position. Thereafter it has to be weighed down, I use a bucket filled with chain, supported from the top and jiggled into position.
It wouldn’t go. In the end I had to remove the upper pintle then take a swim and dive down to ensure the heel was seated properly. Finally it seated properly. Then with the pintle back in place and the tiller bolted on we were good to go. It was now 14:00.
The weather forecast from Dirección Nacional de Meteorología was as follows.
Río de la Plata.
Vientos: NW y N fuerza 4/5.Nubosidad y fenómenos asociados: algo nuboso y nuboso.
Visibilidad: buena.
Olas: Zona W: 0.5 m. Zona E: 1.0 – 1.5 m.
Tendencia próximas 48 horas: vientos: NW rotando al SW fuerza 4/6.
Nubosidad y fenómenos asociados: nuboso a cubierto con precipitaciones aisladas y probables tormentas aisladas.
This was just fine as long as the wind stayed more or less north. The further it backed NW and W the less I would enjoy the trip. It is around 25-30 hours to Puerto Sauce. There being no reason to stay in Piriapolis I decided to leave and if the weather worsened there was the option to nip into Montevideo.
My mooring bill for 47 days was £360. The office staff were as helpful as ever. This time refusing to print an invoice for review before payment. Piriapolis is one of the better marinas in Uruguay but its unpleasant customer experience make it a place to be avoided if possible.
Next stop was the Prefectura to clear out. On clearing in my details were noted. Nothing else was requested. Now copies of all my documents were required and, no, they would not make copies. I was expected to go into town and obtain the required copies. This despite all documents being on file from a previous visit.
As it happened I was going into town anyway to top up on stores and completed clearance on the way back.
On board it was mirror calm making it easy to squeeze out of berth #50. Piriapolis harbour was cleared at 17:30 and course was set to pass north of Isla Flores.
It remained calm until 23:00 when a light northerly developed enabling us to motor sail.
The rudder is very buoyant and can be floated into position. Thereafter it has to be weighed down, I use a bucket filled with chain, supported from the top and jiggled into position.
It wouldn’t go. In the end I had to remove the upper pintle then take a swim and dive down to ensure the heel was seated properly. Finally it seated properly. Then with the pintle back in place and the tiller bolted on we were good to go. It was now 14:00.
The weather forecast from Dirección Nacional de Meteorología was as follows.
Río de la Plata.
Vientos: NW y N fuerza 4/5.Nubosidad y fenómenos asociados: algo nuboso y nuboso.
Visibilidad: buena.
Olas: Zona W: 0.5 m. Zona E: 1.0 – 1.5 m.
Tendencia próximas 48 horas: vientos: NW rotando al SW fuerza 4/6.
Nubosidad y fenómenos asociados: nuboso a cubierto con precipitaciones aisladas y probables tormentas aisladas.
This was just fine as long as the wind stayed more or less north. The further it backed NW and W the less I would enjoy the trip. It is around 25-30 hours to Puerto Sauce. There being no reason to stay in Piriapolis I decided to leave and if the weather worsened there was the option to nip into Montevideo.
My mooring bill for 47 days was £360. The office staff were as helpful as ever. This time refusing to print an invoice for review before payment. Piriapolis is one of the better marinas in Uruguay but its unpleasant customer experience make it a place to be avoided if possible.
Next stop was the Prefectura to clear out. On clearing in my details were noted. Nothing else was requested. Now copies of all my documents were required and, no, they would not make copies. I was expected to go into town and obtain the required copies. This despite all documents being on file from a previous visit.
As it happened I was going into town anyway to top up on stores and completed clearance on the way back.
On board it was mirror calm making it easy to squeeze out of berth #50. Piriapolis harbour was cleared at 17:30 and course was set to pass north of Isla Flores.
It remained calm until 23:00 when a light northerly developed enabling us to motor sail.