Now that Madrone has been reunited with her crew, the next step is to get sailing again. Of course there’s the usual week or ten days of cleaning and slowly turning back on all of the systems that were in storage mode for the past nine months. With that done, the next step is to get the necessary approvals to start sailing.
We rented the marina caretaker’s car to drive to the Carabineros and Armada offices
In Chile the movement of all boats, whether for commercial and pleasure purposes, is regulated by the Armada, a kind of hybrid Navy/Coast Guard national government organization. Before departing from any port, it’s necessary to request a zarpe that states where you’re leaving from, when you’re leaving, where you’re going, the route you’ll take, and when you plan to arrive. It’s an excellent example of the impressive level of government bureaucracy that we’ve found in Latin America.
Normally, a zarpe is not difficult to obtain. There are a few forms to fill out, and after some waiting time an Armada official presents a signed and stamped approval document that is used to present to the Armada office in the next port.
We waited patiently outside of the Carabineros office while Jorge was inside convincing them to issue us a salvoconducto to Puerto Williams
Things are not normal right now, of course – there’s still a state of emergency in place across Chile due to the pandemic. Both the place the boat is currently located (Valdivia) and the place the boat wants to go (southern Patagonia) are still in full 24 hour quarantine.
So, before granting a zarpe, the Armada also requires us to obtain approval from the Carabineros, the Chilean national police. That approval is called a salvoconducto – it’s a document that allows us to depart from a place that is in full quarantine. Currently, it’s technically only allowed to receive a salvoconducto for traveling to a funeral, traveling for essential work, or in other special cases.
With our salvoconducto in hand we headed to the Armada to secure a zarpe
We asked the manager of our marina in Valdivia, Jorge, to help us try to obtain a salvoconducto. Before starting the application process, Jorge warned us that our success would depend on who he was able to talk with at the local office. “Some of the officers are better at listening than others,” he gently put it. While we waited outside the office Jorge went inside to plead our case – he poked his head out a few times to ask us for information, and 30 minutes later he emerged shaking his head but carrying our signed, stamped document. “This would have been very, very difficult for you to obtain on your own,” he said in his typical understated style.
Salvoconducto in hand and thinking that the hard part of the process was behind us, we proceeded to the appointment with Armada that Jorge scheduled for us. Our hopes of a quick approval were dashed when the first officer explained that since the far south is in quarantine, they’re not allowed to issue zarpes.
After nearly an hour and a half inside with the Armada, Mike emerges with our zarpe in hand
Mike’s broken Spanish generally does not extend to delicate negotiations, but somehow eventually the officer was convinced to call in his superior, who in turn called in his superior. After a lot of discussion amongst themselves, they agreed that the best thing was to call an Armada office in the far south. After a long phone conversation with a lot of frowning and head shaking, the Armada officers in Valdivia finally agreed to issue the zarpe – in the end, they must have figured that was the best way to make the crazy foreigner go away.
So we now unbelievably have not only returned to Chile, but have even more unbelievably received permission to sail south to Patagonia. We are as happy as can be.
Back aboard Madrone we celebrate having our paperwork to sail south
