New zarpe rule in Puerto Montt
Published 17 years ago, updated 6 years ago
Hi Noonsite,
The Port Captain in Puerto Montt has just instituted a new rule, as of Dec 1st 2007, that he has stopped issuing Zarpes to Puerto Williams and will only issue zarpe’s for ports north of Gulfo de Penas. He says he is doing this “in order to better control the movement of yachts in the channels”. Practically speaking, the cruising boats are now getting a zarpe from Puerto Montt to Castro, and then the Castro Port Captain has no problem issuing a Zarpe to Puerto Williams.
Regards,
Evans Starzinger, S/V Hawk
Related to following destinations: Chile, Puerto Montt, Puerto Williams
Hi, I would like to add my personal comments to the above note. My yacht Cape Petrel was in Peurto Montt from 2007 until 2010. In Feb 2010 we were told we had to renew her (Cape Petrel’s) visa. To do this it was required we sail to an Argentinian port if only for one day.
We obtained a zarpe for the complete trip south and as we were officially out of Chile a blind eye was turned to the overnight stops along the way. We reported in daily and as we were about to leave Chilean waters we received an email from the Peurto Montt port captain thanking us for our obedience and welcome us back to Chile on completion of our Argentinian stopover.
I can say no more than during my stay in Chile we obeyed the rules and found the Armada the most professional officials I have e er dealt with. I constantly beard from other yachties how they never checked in and gave each other ‘coded’ messages as to their positions. It incensed me.
The Chilean channels are far and away the most complex navigation area of this type on earth and the noncompliance of what are safety rules for their own good only makes it harder for the genuine cruiser. After listening to some comments about the rules and the Armada, in general, I’m surprised they let yachties in at all.