Graham and Avril Johnson describe their process for putting mooring lined ashore in the Chilean Channels. (Extracted from thier article in Flying Fish 2007/2)

Returning through the Andes we were again in the Patagonian channels. The ‘canal’ system is a huge, glaciated, mountain range inundated by the Pacific. It runs for about 800 miles along the western Pacific coast of Chile, stretching from Tierra del Fuego to Isla Chiloé. The main channels are generally steep-to, the lower slopes covered by impenetrable forest, whilst the peaks are either windswept bare rock or snow-covered with ancient glaciers, nature’s most erosive force, inching down through crevasses towards the shoreline. It is a region that bears little evidence of mankind’s interference, and most of the waters outside the main channels remain uncharted. There are myriad tiny islands, bays, inlets and fjords which afford wonderfully protected anchorages. Our favourites were within a tiny notch where it was possible to tie up four square, allowing a peaceful night’s sleep no matter what wind howled overhead. Second best (and most common) were small coves where one could drop the anchor in the entrance and use stern lines attached to trees to haul the yacht close in to the shore. The state of the trees is an excellent indicator of the level of shelter likely in an anchorage: bare, bent and broken does not auger well; dense, green, upright – now that was more like it!

Gradually we perfected our mooring techniques, such that on a good day it became quite a slick operation. The dinghy would be launched and Avril would reverse Dream Away into the chosen berth whilst Graham dropped the anchor and paid out the chain. Next he would jump into the dinghy and row ashore, trailing one of our 100m floating lines, whilst Avril ensured it came off the reel smoothly. A short clamber up the foreshore to a sound tree would see us safely tied up, and then a second line to another equally substantial tree would have us firmly bolted to the planet. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?

On a bad day, after Avril had finally endeavoured to persuade Dream Away into our chosen spot, Graham would start rowing ashore as the wind tried to blow the yacht out of the anchorage. The floating line would wrap itself around an oar, and the kelp lining the shore would then foul both oars and hinder further progress. The line would now be near its full extent as Dream Away tried to escape, and clambering up a slippery rock face was fraught with the imminent possibility of being plucked off into the freezing waters. The chosen tree would prove to be totally rotten, and the surrounding vegetation so thick that penetrating deeper into the jungle was almost impossible.Thankfully there were not too many days like that!