15.12.2015: Cape Horn
Cape Horn
55 degrees and 59 minutes south, 67 degrees and 16 minutes west: That is the magical position. That is Cape Horn - the southern tip of South America. This is the spot where the south Pacific and south Atlantic meet one another - where around 10.000 seamen lost their lives in the deep-sea. This is the Cape of tragic tales of the fate of many seamen. Years ago, it took up to three months for the big cargo sailing ships to fight against the prevailing westerly wind from 50 degrees south on the Atlantic to 50 degrees south on the Pacific around Cape Horn. All of us on board must think of this as we approach this mystical place under surprisingly moderate conditions.
We left Puerto Toro on the Isla Navarinho at 04:00 am. It is a distance of 55 sea miles from there to the Cape. With winds from the southwest of about 15 knots we are able to sail quite a distance with the mainsail, foresail and jib. Around noon we pass a Chilean navy ship going in the opposite direction. With us on board are Uwe Agnes and Bernd Siering, who just returned from Islas Hornos where they had the opportunity of filming on the island.
This is Arved's forth visit to Cape Horn
As we are just off Cape Horn in the afternoon, the atmosphere on board is a mixture of euphoria, fascination and emotion. No wonder - Cape Horn is for sailors what Mount Everest is for mountain climbers. Cameras are clicking away. Arved proves once again that he is familiar with seafaring traditions; before all the crew members are given a glass of rum, he pours a glass into the sea for Rasmus and for the "Dagmar Aaen". And the skies immediately clear up. In the sunshine we can see the light house, the huge Chilean flag and the monument in memory of those seamen who drowned.
It is a wonderful moment. Cigars are passed around and Arved tells of his paddling journey around the Cape in a collapsible boat in the mid-eighties. The Cape, which is shrouded in legend, got its name, by the way, from a Dutchman. It was Wilhelm F. Schouten who exactly 400 years ago was the first person to discover this sea route around the Cape and gave it the name of his home town – Hoorn.
In earlier time seafarers around the world called themselves “horniers” when they had sailed around the southern tip of South America. We are not allowed to do this. One had to sail around the Cape on board a cargo sailing ship. Of course that is not what we did. Compared to what seamen went through on a wind jammer, our visit to Cape Horn was really just a small excursion.
Our nest destination is Puerto Williams
Matze Steiner