Ports of southern Chile

aka GHP&W 4

Some of you might remember schooner Issuma . . .   ?  Since this post and this one five years ago, Richard Hudson has sailed the schooner from the Northern Atlantic, westward across the Northwest Passage to Alaska, down to Easter Island, and now he’s truly been gunkholing along the western side of southern South America, where there’s an archipelago not unlike parts of the coast of Maine.

The boat below, part of the Naviera Ulloa fleet, is also remarkably similar to the transporter in yesterday’s post.

Richard took these photos in mid-September, so this is approaching the start of spring here.

Don Jose, part of the Frasal fleet, is a multi-purpose transporter that sometimes transports commodities such as fish and wine.

 

 

Hull cleaning is done here in much the same way I’ve seen it done in Maine.

 

 

By the way, the distance from this archipelago in the south to the salt mines in the north of the country, Salar Grande de Tarapacá, Iquique-Chile, is about 1500 miles!  These are the mines where much of the road salt stored in Staten Island and elsewhere along the eastern US come from.

Many thanks to Richard Hudson for these photos. Priot to sailing on Issuma, he had a beautiful Tom Colvin-design pinkie schooner called Rosemary Ruth.

Salt 7c

I’d planned something else for today, but when Brian DeForest, terminal manager of Atlantic Salt, sent along these fotos –taken Sunday from a unique perspective, I scrapped my erstwhile plan. See the orange details in the foreground?

These are fotos from the ship, which is currently moving at 10 to 11 knots southbound off Cape May.   That’s the Bayonne Bridge and

here’s the arm conveying salt onto the pile.

I’m sure this has a technical term, but I’ll call it the bracket that supports the arm when not in use.

And here’s a view into the traveling wheelhouse and

the hold.

Here is engine room info.

Finally, here’s Quantico Creek as seen from the bridge wing.

Here’s a foto I took nearly six years ago on the KVK looking off the starboard bow of a large vessel of another time–a century ago–that used to engage in a salt trade out of Chile.   Know the vessel?

Answer:  Peking.  Here’s one of six posts I did about that transit of Peking from Caddell’s back to South Street Seaport Museum waters.

Many thanks to Brian DeForest for all these fotos, except the last one.

A thought just occurs to me:  Chile’s main salt port today is Patache.  Could that word be a Spanish spelling/pronunciation of the word “potash”?

Salt 7b

Here was part a of this series.  Twelve hours after arrival, Balder could already be 25,000 tons lighter, although I’m not sure at this writing at what hour of darkness the discharge began.

But in daylight as by night, the Cats labor to keep the salt piled for maximum space efficiency.  Since I’ve not done it, I can only imagine what a time lapse of the unloading process–in say 60 seconds–would look like as the great orange hull rises in the water as a mountain–with Cats scrambling laboriously– grows on shore.

Periodically the flow of salt stops along this nearly 300′ long arm, and

the traveling deckhouse,  covering the unloading machinery and keeping the process virtually dustless, trundles over a still loaded portion of the hold.   The fotos below come from the MacGregor site.

Notice the Empire State Building–almost 10 miles distant– in the foto below, just down and to the left from the starboard side lifeboat.

Here’s another shot showing Balder‘s traveling deckhouse.

x

Salt goes off the portside while fuel enters to starboard from

Doubleskin 33 squired by –here–Quantico Creek.

All fotos–and narrative–by Will Van Dorp, who is solely responsible for any factual errors and who is grateful to Brian DeForest for permission to observe and take fotos of this process.  I’d also LOVE to accompany Balder for the six-week 6000-mile voyage to the Chilean desert for more seasonings to tame your wintry commute.

Returning to the foto above, notice the creamy colored hull intruding from the right . . . well, more on that tomorrow.

Postscript:  Balder might have loaded this salt in Patache, in northern Chile.  Click here for a CSL article on Balder’s South American bulk trades.

 

Salt 7a

It’s appropriate that this was Salt 6.  You’ll understand as you go through this post and the next one.

Just like it’s appropriate that this Cat is prowling.

Wonder what’s the relationship between this dark shape arriving and safe driving and even on safe walking on streets in the lit-up Manhattan in the distance?

Balder is in port with almost 50,000 tons of crystals from the deserts of Chile aka road . . .

. . .  salt.

She drifts in silently and crews make her fast.

Can you imagine doing this in a February or any other cold month sixth boro?

Well  . . . it happens

again and again, ship after ship, with utmost concern for safety.

Balder (2002) features a self-unloading system.

Once all lines are secured along with customs check and other paperwork,  partial crew change .  . .

While some of the city sleeps, Balder’s arm stretches forth and the Cats get to work.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp, who is very appreciative for Atlantic Salt terminal manager Brian DeForest’s permission to  be in the yard.