An HF/SSB radio net exists for cruisers in South America, which not only covers Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego but also a vast area from Mar del Plata out to South Georgia, down to the Antarctic, up the Pacific coast to Valdivia and out to Easter Island. Over the years a number of lynchpin personalities have run the daily schedule on 8164 KHz at 0900 local Chile time. Currently the net controller is Wolfgang (callsign: Wilde Mathilde) who calls daily from his shorestation in Villarica to each yacht logged in to get a position update, weather report and current plan.

Leaving Puerto Montt at the beginning of summer, the French yacht Nouvelle Brise proceeded south via the relatively protected route between the Chilean islands. She is an archetypal 34ft French Brise de la Mer aluminium cruising yacht, crewed by Pierre and Veronique. Both extremely experienced sailors, Pierre at 81 has spent the past 50 years at sea, though Veronique being somewhat younger can only claim 30 years’ experience. They checked in regularly on the net and we listened to their frustrations regarding the long period of southerly winds, which conversely were giving Dream Away such a marvellous passage north.

Nouvelle Brise finally arrived at Puerto Millabú, a secure anchorage at the head of a three mile long fjord on Isla Clemente, in mid December. Just on the edge of Bahía Anna Pink, this is a well-regarded location for awaiting fair weather to cross the infamous Golfo de Penas, gateway to the remote Southern channels. Again they were thwarted in their progress by stubbornly southerly winds, and we thought little of it when they did not check into the net for several days. After a week without contact, friends on the net were starting to get concerned. However it was known that they had had problems with their radio before they left, so the assumption was that this was the cause of the lack of communication. Wolfgang asked the Chilean armada (navy) if they had heard anything but had a lukewarm response – they were not yet overdue at their next port.

Towards the end of December there were several days of favourable northerly winds that should have allowed a good passage south, but still there was no contact. Pierre and Veronique’s good friends Peter and Gisela aboard the German yacht Comodo, then in Valdivia, were now getting seriously worried. Coincidentally, we arrived in Puerto Edén, just south of Golfo de Penas, about this time, so checked with the Port Captain to find out if Nouvelle Brise had crossed the Golfo de Penas. The very friendly and extremely helpful Port Captain reported that they had not passed by Puerto Edén, and after receiving a full description of the vessel contacted the lighthouse keepers on both sides of the Gulf, ascertaining they had not crossed.

Gisela, meanwhile, had been asking the armada in Valdivia to find out the whereabouts of the missing vessel and exerting some pressure to get things moving. Knowing the yacht had not crossed the Gulf it appeared more likely that something was amiss. The Port Captain at Puerto Edén sent an urgent message to the armada headquarters voicing our concerns and Gisela intensified her lobbying of the authorities in Valdivia to instigate a search. The outcome was an ‘all ships’ message from the armada to report any sighting of the French yacht. No sightings were reported.

Liaising with the Port Captain in Puerto Edén, we indicated the exact last known location of Nouvelle Brise on his chart. Armed with this information the Chilean armada dispatched a plane to search the area. They found the vessel still in that same anchorage. She was aground, half sunk. Ashore was a small encampment – Pierre and Veronique had been living ashore in their liferaft for the past twenty days. An armada vessel was immediately dispatched and the couple were rescued the following morning.

It transpired that there had been a gas explosion aboard the yacht when Veronique lit the stove for their morning coffee. It had blown out the cockpit and seriously distorted the hull, ripping the hoses from the seacocks and causing the vessel to start sinking immediately. The RIB had been on the coachroof in preparation for departure, but was not lashed down. It was blown off and Veronique had dived into the water to retrieve it. It was probably this immediate dowsing in cold water that reduced the effects of the burns she received to her arms, legs and face. The inflation valves on the RIB had been blown out so, returning to the yacht, she and Pierre salvaged whatever they could and escaped ashore in the liferaft.

As fate would have it, although a fisherman had shared the anchorage the previous night none visited again. As time passed the situation became more desperate, as despite salvaging some food from the stricken yacht they were living on a sparse daily meal supplemented by seaweed. It was particularly frustrating for them to be surrounded by great quantities of molluscs which could not be eaten due to the risks of contamination by the ‘red tide’ which has incurable fatal results for humans. Fortunately fresh water was available, along with brushwood for making a fire. The liferaft provided good shelter, but both were disappointed with the contents of the survival pack which they said would have been useless had the accident happened at sea. They made one attempt to reach the end of the fjord by paddling the liferaft, but having travelled only two miles in three days gave up the effort.

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A few weeks later Dream Away arrived in Chacabuco, where we found Pierre and Veronique living in rented accommodation in nearby Puerto Aysén. Veronique told us that she always thought that they would be rescued as she was sure that somebody on the PatNet would raise the alarm after they had not checked in for several days.

Neither could account for the cause of the explosion. They had been living aboard Nouvelle Brise for the past ten years and had never experienced any problems with the gas supply. Veronique said she smelt no gas before the incident. However, the gas bottle and regulator had been changed to a different system before dinner the previous day.

Veronique said that she wished that they had brought an EPIRB for the trip, but Pierre felt that even if they had it would probably have been lost in the explosion. Aboard Dream Away ours is mounted on the companionway bulkhead opposite the galley – we wonder how it would have fared in similar circumstances.

Pierre and Veronique were treated very hospitably by the Chilean armada, who housed and fed them for over a week and extended as much help as possible. The Provincial Governor renewed their visas, waiving the normal US $100 fee, and a local businessman went to great lengths to provide help and assistance.

The rescue made the newspaper headlines and the main TV news. When recovered, it was found that the yacht had already been stripped of much of her useable gear, including winches and cordage. Sadly, during the salvage operation the mast was broken and further damage occurred to the hull. They consider the yacht to be beyond economic repair for them, but have been made an offer, and have sold her. They are now looking for a new craft to continue their cruising life. As Pierre said, “What else should we do? I’m too young to sit and watch a garden grow”.