8.2                         Puerto Tamar

Location                      Estr. de Magallanes (Paso del Mar) - Isla Emiliano Figueroa - Península Tamar

GPS position               S 52°55'56 - W 73°46'05 (anchorage)

Chilean Charts           10000-11000-11100-11131-11200

Other Charts              UK 547-631-1281-1282 * US 22410-22412

Protection                   from all winds except S/SE

Depth                          7 - 10 metres

Bottom                        sand and kelp - very good

Shore lines                  no

Approach                     easy, favour the E shore, close to Pta. Byron

Remarks: this is a good anchorage and lies few miles from Isla Tamar, a milestone on the route to and from Canal Smyth. Anchor in the vicinity of the beach W of Islas Spencer, avoiding the various patches of kelp. This berth, although windy, is not subject to williwaws and allows a close look at the conditions in the strait. Some swell enters the strait during strong blows. When approaching Isla Tamar, a 428 metre (1,404 ft) high mountain, with a pointed N peak and rather flat S peak, provides a good landmark. Tidal streams can attain rates of 1-2 knots in the entrance to the cove.

The name Tamar was assigned to an island, a cape, a peninsula and a pass by Commodore John Byron. He led a British scientific expedition in the Magellan area with the ships Dolphin and Tamar in 1764.