Geoff returned to Curare just over a week ago to start preparations for getting under way as soon as the remainder of the crew arrives early in January. The weather has been mostly co-operative for the ongoing boat chores with daytime temperatures ranging from high teens to mid-20’s Celsius on most days. It’s still cool at night though getting down to 5 degrees.
Besides the usual cleaning, sorting and storing we’ve got a lengthy but not extensive list of tasks to undertake. Some tasks involve dismantling of other equipment, such as removing the stove to replace the arborite counter. Others, like varnishing require keeping the dust (and dog hair) under control. Everything requires tools which tend to get spread out all over the place. So it’s best for the majority of the repairs and maintenance to be done with only one person on board.
Curare is not the only one going through spring cleaning. The Marina Estancilla has been a bee hive of activity for weeks. They’ve installed seven new flag poles (and since the only two liveaboards are Canadians, we got to express our patriotism), built a boat launch, installed new lights and lots more. This 
is all in preparation for the World Cup Sailing competition that the Valdivia Yacht Club is hosting in mid-January. The boats being sailed in the races are a one design 5 metre class called “Pirat” (sic) that were designed in Germany in 1938 and have a large international following. The yacht club manager has already received applications from participants in 16 countries and they expect to have over 60 
competitors in total. This is a big deal for this little yacht club. There are three venues for racing, depending on local conditions. Course 1 is on the river directly in front of Marina Estancilla, Course 2 would be in behind Isla Mancera at the mouth of the river and Course 3 is in Bahia Corral at the entrance to the Pacific Ocean. This should be an exciting time with some very competitive racing in a challenging venue. For more information, including the Notice of Race, visit the Club de Yates Valdivia website.
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