Through the Kirke Narrows and docking at Puerto Natales

The afternoon of February 2nd was our last afternoon at sea aboard the Resolution (at least for this trip, maybe we will cross paths again with the ship in the future)

No zodiac cruise nor hike on this last stretch. This afternoon was all about enjoying the fjords from the decks and one final maneuver of the ship through the Kirke Narrows.

The Kirke Narrows, the opening on the right is a narrower lane than it seems. Not only is the width much smaller than the rest of the channel, but you cannot see the obstacles below from the shallower depth of the channel.

Careful measurements were taken again to precisely map the narrow passage's depth. The captain needed to be aware of both the horizontal and vertical tolerances he had to make a clear passage. Once the measurements were in, this was a game of patience to wait for the right shifts in wind and current. Timing the ship's movement in this tight fit was critical in order to get the vessel through without having a shipwreck on either side of the passage. Things change quickly; note the difference in the sky and clouds as the wind pushes rapid weather changes through the fjords.

A smaller vessel passes through the narrows first as it had the more favorable wind and current initially.

After a very cautious pause (if I recall over an hour), the conditions shifted in our favor, and it was time for the Resolution to head through the narrows. A hyperlapse video is posted below so you can see how we passed through.

Hyperlapse of passing through the Narrows. At real speed this took us around 7 minutes.

Once through the Kirke narrows, we were able to complete our journey through the Beagle Channel. For the first time in weeks, we were in sight of several towns and late that Sunday afternoon, we docked at Puerto Natales. The late afternoon and evening sky were a treat to say the least.

Yep, this happened. Not sure what else to say about this.

As we were in our daily recap in the Resolution's "Ice Lounge", we were welcomed ashore by a rainbow.

While we're at it, let's enjoy a rainbow

Below is a view of the waterfront and mountains to the east. We would be aboard the Resolution for the next two nights while docked. On Monday, February 3rd, we would embark on an excursion into Torres del Paine National Park, one of the most beautiful hiking spots in the world. Early Monday morning, we would take a bus ride through the mountains to the park.

For the first time in two weeks, we are docked. Buenas tardes Puerto Natales!

We enjoyed the mountainous views. If you peek to the left, you see a yacht docked there. This was one of two very impressive yachts next to our ship. Both had plenty of "toys" on them like jet skis, high powered motorboats, ridiculous swimming pools. But... those things wouldn't be able to cross the Drake Passage anytime soon. Like ever. Drake Lake or not.

Not sure what to say about this either. Puerto Natales offered us a spectacular sky show.

The views on this evening just kept on coming as the winds swept clouds across the landscape.

Sea, mountains, whisps of clouds with a silhouette of an albatross.

After dinner, we enjoyed one of our last evenings onboard. From our early morning hike at Bernal Glacier to making our way to the disembarkation point, we had a loaded Sunday. Monday the 3rd would be our final excursion of the expedition to Chile's famed Torres del Paine National Park. All had their fingers crossed that we would see a puma the next day...

Beth enjoying the evening sky while we recap the day.