We have been following Mary and Scott Flanders aboard their Nordhavn 46 on their journey from Gibraltar to New Zealand by way of Cape Horn. We featured the beginning of their voyage in our August 2007 issue and we will continue to follow their journey in upcoming articles. Here, we get the feminine perspective of their trip so far, as Mary Flanders shares the good, the bad, and the ugly of wintering in the deep south.—Editor’s Note Wintering In The Fin Del Mundo (The End Of The World) The Feminine Perspective By Mary Flanders Let me be frank here. I am not a born mariner. Prior to meeting Scott I had no experience on the water. I was born and raised in the Midwest town of Superior, Wisconsin, and never handled more than a rowboat. My parents were not boaters; I didn’t even see the ocean until my family moved to Florida when I was in high school. Honestly, I have never taken a sea class. What I have learned thus far is through “the captain” and being “out there.” That is not to say taking classes, obtaining certificates, etc., aren’t important; however, the cruising life for me sort of “metamorphed” over time and well, here I am. Having confessed that, I have slowly learned a great deal from Scott and also learned to be a valuable member of the crew. There can only be one captain, there is no question about that. I trust Scott and this fantastic little “ship” to get us where we want to go in comfort and safety. He also needs me as well, so we have become closer since we’ve started cruising than in almost 39 years of marriage! HANGING OUT IN USHUAIA As I write this, there is a partly cloudy sky, the outside temperature is 48°F, and it is blowing! I’m not sure exactly how much, as the anemometer is not working, but from previous experience I can say the wind is gusting close to 40–50 knots, conservatively. We are at anchor in Ushuaia harbor, capital of the Argentine state of Tierra del Fuego. The small inflatable (our transport) is swinging astern. The wind is out of the west, so the waves are only choppy. When we go to town we will “suit up.” It is not so bad! Scott and I are now used to putting on plenty of clothes to not only keep warm, but also dry, as the weather changes so often here. We often carry a backpack with extra gloves, hats, etc., and it comes in handy when we want to shed layers of clothing. We have a good heavy anchor and lots of chain. Egret ’ s anchor, TK, has been well set for a while so there is no concern about dragging. We are just very careful about getting in/out of the dinghy and taking our time when we run to the dinghy dock. We are not boat bound. We enjoy walking into town (about one-half mile around the harbor) and up and down the streets as it is good exercise. The locals are friendly; we always run into o...

Log in or register to read the full article and view pictures.