Yelcho

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shipstamps
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Yelcho

Post by shipstamps » Mon Nov 10, 2008 12:14 pm


The 20c, stamp of Chile, pays just tribute to the man who rescued Sir Ernest Shackleton's crew stranded on Elephant Island in 1916. Shackleton arrived at Punta Arenas after 16 days' journeying north in an open boat, accompanied by five men, to seek assistance for those left behind, a remarkable voyage in the conditions encountered. Shackleton pleaded for help to Argentina and Uruguay. Argentina replied that they considered the Antarctic winter was too far advanced to make rescue possible, while Uruguay sent out a vessel, but she was unable to reach the island and turned back. Lt. Luis A. Pardo, of the Chilean coastguard and survey vessel Yelcho volunteered to make the rescue attempt and was given permission by the Chilean Admiralty. "Pilot Pardo", as this officer is affectionately known by the Chilean public, reached Elephant Island in dangerous weather conditions and got Shackleton's men off with half an hour to spare before the ice floes cut off the island. He refused monetary rewards by Great Britain on the grounds that he was a Chilean naval officer only doing his duty. The Yelcho was built in 1906. Her standard displacement was 280 tons, loaded, 467 tons. Dimensions were: length 128 ft., beam 23 ft., draft 9.5 ft. Speed was 12 knots.
SG578 Sea Breezes 10/68

aukepalmhof
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Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

Re: Yelcho

Post by aukepalmhof » Tue Sep 08, 2009 9:50 pm

Built as a tug under yard no 34 on the yard of George Brown & Co., Greenock for Y Paleria, Valparaiso, Chile.
23 May 1906 launched under the name YELCHO.
Tonnage 219 gross. Dim. 120 x 23.1 x 9.3ft.
One compound steam engine 350 ihp. Speed 10 knots. One Scotch boiler. Engine and boilers manufactured and fitted in by Muir Hutson, Ltd., Glasgow.
Fitted with four bulkheads, not a double bottom, but trawlers at least Scottish built of this period were not fitted out with a double bottom tanks. Ballast tanks: fore peak tank of 9 ton and an after peak tank of 20 tons.
July 1906 completed.

1908 Her owners given as Sociedad Ganadera e Industrial Yelcho y Palena of Puerto Montt, Chile.
1910 Lloyds Register of that year gives her owners as the Chilean Government at Valparaiso.
Displacement given as 467 tons.
Armament: one Hotchkiss 37 mm gun.
Used as auxiliary vessel and tender by the Chilean Navy.
Most of her fame is when she was used during the rescue of men of the Shackleton Expedition from Elephant Isle.
Shackleton third attempt to rescue his men was with the auxiliary schooner EMMA, a well know seal poacher laid up for the winter in Punta Arenas.
With the help of the British Club at Punta Arenas £1.500 was raised, and with this money he could charter the oak-built schooner EMMA of 75 tons.
On 13 July 1916 she sailed out towed by the Yelcho, she towed the EMMA south of the Staten Island before returning to Punta Arenas.
The EMMA was to weak to break the ice, and returned to Port Stanley, where Shackleton sends a cable to Punta Arenas for a tug to tow the EMMA back. The YELCHO was send, and arrived 9 August at Port Stanley, leaving the next day with the EMMA in tow. The tow arrived the 14 August at Punta Arenas.
After arrival Shackleton asked the naval commander at Punta Arenas to lend him the YELCHO for a last attempt to rescue his men.
Some sources give, the YELCHO was built and designed as a steel fishery vessel, other as a tug, but one thing was sure she was not suitable to break the pack ice. After a rapid exchange of cables between Punta Arenas and Santiago it was agreed that Shackleton could use her, with the condition that he did not use her in the ice.
At that time she was not in a good state, her engines and boiler were in a bad condition, most paint on her hull had mosty disappeared, plates dented. Looking like an old rust bucket.

On 25 August early in the afternoon the YELCHO sailed from Punta Arenas, with on board Shackleton, Worsley and Crean, a volunteer crew of the Chilean Navy under command of the naval lieutenant Luis Pardo Villalón. The YELCHO sailed westwards out of the Magellan Straits, and then through the Beagle Channel before setting course to the Elephant Island.
On the evening of the 29 August the Yelcho was sixty miles from Elephant Island, and still in open waters, during the night a thick fog came down, but Shackleton afraid that the pack ice would close, did not slow down, took over the command, and steamed blind to the island. At 10 am some breakers were seen on the North West Breaker, a reef that marked the point of Elephant Island. Sometime later Seal Rocks were sighted, and after she got a good bearing the Yelcho set course eastward along the coast.
Surrounded by icebergs the YELCHO proceeded along the coast and around 01.00 p.m. Shackleton and his men did see familiar surroundings.

The party left on the island by Shackleton 126 days ago was on 30 August 1916 in a bad state, some were gathering limpets, which was now virtually their sole source of food, when they did see a ship rounding the point. The YELCHO slowly steamed nearer till she was about 150 yards of the beach before stopping. A boat was lowered and within an hour all 22 men with luggage had embarked and the YELCHO headed out again for open waters.
In the evening of 2 September, the YELCHO entered the Straits of Magellan from the east, and arrived early the next morning off a cold storage plant at Rio Seco, five miles from Punta Arenas, the anchor was dropt and from there he notified the outside world of the rescue before he proceeded to Punta Arenas. When he arrived there the whole population was on the waterfront given him a hero return.

After a good rest in Punta Arenas, Shackleton and his men boarded the YELCHO again on 15 September for the voyage to Valparaiso, at Valparaiso and then at Santiago the reception was as sensational as at Punta Arenas.

YELCHO retired from active services in 1945, only used as a tender by the Chilean School of Sailors until 1958.

Then the Chilean website gives: Discharged for D.S. 190 of 27 January 1958 and struck in 1962 according the law 14.564 of 5 May 1954.
Sold to Astilleros y Maestranzas de la Armada (ASMAR) for Eº 300.000 ( Eº a old name used by Chile for the Escudo.

Chile 1967 20c sg578, scott361. 1991 50p sg1373, scott 960b

Source: John D Stevenson. Shipping Wonders of the World. Shackleton by Roland Huntford.
http://www.armada.cl/site/unidades_navales/310.htm translated by Mr. Mario F.Rosner, with thanks.
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D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen
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Re: Yelcho

Post by D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen » Thu Aug 06, 2015 7:39 pm

Falkland Islands 2000, 75 p. StG.?
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D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen
Posts: 871
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 7:46 pm

Re: Yelcho

Post by D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen » Sun May 22, 2016 6:19 pm

British Antarctica Territory 2015, 2x £1,01, StG.?
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