Cape Horn, Chile

Published

Cape Horn, Chile

Scenic Cruising

February 1, 2020

Rising like a pillar above the point where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans converge, Cape Horn, named for the Dutch city of Hoorn in The Netherlands, home of the land's discoverers, is part of the Hermite Islands archipelago.  This remote, stark and treeless place is often considered the continent's southernmost point, though lesser-known Diego Ramirez Islands are farther south.

This is the land and these are the waters of adventurous sailing tales - stories of calamity and shipwrecks, of being blown hundreds of miles off course, of encountering fierce winds in storms, walls of waves and decks awash - tales of bravery as well as stupidity, stories of unimaginable hardship at sea.

According to our Viking Daily newsletter, we were expected to make our transit of Cape Horn at approximately 8 AM.  Our line of approach as well as how close we would get to the island would be decided by the Master dependent upon prevailing weather conditions.  What luck we had with the weather.  It was partly cloudy with hardly any wind or waves, and predicted to be in the 50's.  It was definitely a Go and we were to circumnavigate the entire Isla de Hornos.

Cape Horn Island framed by Deceit Island in the Foreground

Our First Early Morning View

We awoke with the 5:45 AM sunrise and were among the first to arrive in the Explorers Lounge.  By 6:30 AM the Jupiter was nearing Isla Deceit.  Mamsen's began serving breakfast and we were able to eat, watch and begin photographing.  You can follow our path from the night before and around the horn in the two chart photos above.

Half of the breakfast spread at Mamsen's.  The other side has all the breads, muffins, danish sweets.

A cruising ship's permit to transit Cape Horn and enter the island chain of Parque Nacional Cabo de Hornos is time specific and we were slowly cruising to meet our time slot. Two smaller expedition vessels were already in the lee of the island right off the peninsula where the lighthouse and monument were located.  With the benign weather, most likely some lucky travelers would be tendered to shore to climb the path and visit the compound.  

The rise of land on which the lighthouse station is located measures approximately 80 meters above sea level.   From left to right are the Monument, Lighthouse and most likely a communication tower.  The lighthouse is manned by the Chilean Navy and in the station resides a lighthouse "keeper" family.  What a wild and remote job to have!  The complex also holds a tiny wooden chapel called Capilla Stella-Maris as well.

If you look closely, below you can see a line of people walking along the clifftop towards the lighthouse.

As we slowly sailed around the island counter-clockwise, the weather continued on the good side.  Visibility was sufficient even with the low clouds.  We were very lucky sailors.

Late waking passengers began to appear at the observation lounge.  With the 50 degree temperatures and low wind, it was still chilly outside on deck and we bundled up with hats and jackets when stepping outside.  The prime indoor seating spots began to fill.

Sailing around the island gave us the opportunity to see the different bays, rocky headlands, followed by yet another rocky headland - as well as look back over the Wollaston Islands to the distant mountains in Argentina.

All the outside decks were open for this marvelous transit and were well visited by passengers.  A commentary given by Sue Stockdale, the Guest Lecturer and Polar Explorer on board, could be heard both inside and on the outside decks.  

Rounding Cape Horn brought us to the southernmost point of our cruise at about Latitude 56 S and a little more then 60 nautical miles shy of the Antarctic Circle.  

Cape Horn photo below taken by Lorna.  It's the only one in the series taken with my cell phone. Yay!  All the other photographs are compliments of husband Ray.

Cabo Horno sits at about 280 meters at its highest point.

Below is the Monument at Cape Horn which you can barely see in the photo.  We did get a good look at it through binoculars.  It depicts an albatross in flight - the seafaring symbol for souls lost at sea - and was designed by Chilean sculptor Jose Balcells Eyquem in 1992.   It is believed that more then 10,000 seamen have perished rounding the horn.  The sculpture is accompanied by a poem in Spanish written by Sara Vial.  The translation is below.

I am the albatross that awaits you

at the end of the world.

I am the forgotten soul of the dead mariners

who passed Cape Horn

from all the seas of the world.

But they did not die

in the furious waves.

Today they soar on my wings

towards eternity

in the last crack

of the Antarctic winds.

- by Sara Vial

And YES we saw albatross!!  Below are two photos of the Black-browed Albatross with a wingspan of about 35 inches.  Its distinctive identification is the solid black wings crossing its back from wing tip to wing tip with the underside of its wings outlined in black only.  They do have a black brow but it is difficult to see from a distance or capture with a camera.  We saw many of these birds at sea for several days.

In the photo below are Imperial Cormorants.  We only saw them close to shore.  With the numerous surrounding islands there was plenty of space for their large colonies.

 

For anyone considering taking a similar trip through Patagonia and around Cape Horn, we highly recommend reading the book Rounding the Horn by Dallas Murphy and purchasing the Patagonian & Fuegian Channels Chilean Fjords Cruise Chart.  We finished reading the book on our trip and we hung the Chart on our stateroom wall with magnets.  It was a great reference for our travels.  We noticed several passengers reading the Rounding the Horn book and it was a great conversation starter too.

After an eventful morning of scenic cruising, the Jupiter, instead of heading directly towards The Falkland Islands which was our next port two days hence, headed back North toward Isla Picton.  There we had a rendezvous with Customs & Immigration officials aboard an official vessel that met up with our ship at sea.  Once properly cleared to leave Chilean waters, we pointed our bow toward open water and another sea day to come.

The weather continued to be pleasant and, as I strolled the upper decks with the warm sun on my face, I decided to take a plunge in the hot tub on the Aquavit Terrace near the infinity pool on the aft deck instead of going to the indoor spa.  As I headed to my room to don bathing wear and robe, I came across Bill & Sandi who decided to join me.  Ray, who was deep into downloading his photos in our room, declined to join us.   Well the warm windless conditions did not last for long.  Apparently we were emerging from the protection of land and a fierce wind whipped up out of nowhere.  So strong was it that the place settings on the tables blew off and some of the chairs began heading to the rails of their own volition.  We hunkered down in the hot water but I wished I had a head covering!  The hardest part was leaving the hot water and running in the cold 50 degree wind to our towels and robes.  I suppose in a sense it was an outdoor Nordic Bathing Ritual of hot followed by cold.

Here is a photo of the Aquavit Terrace with the Hot Tub and Infinity Pool but NOT on the same day.

February 1st is our "co-habitation" anniversary (we lived together 10 years before marrying) and this year we reached 45 years.  Our Anniversary Party took place at the Chef's Table for the Route de Indes menu with wine pairing.  We had a table for six people and our friends joined us for the celebration. The meal and wine were delicious and Viking served us a second dessert consisting of a beautifully decorated cake.

La Route Des Indes Menu

Chef's Table

This chapter of our South America cruise is in memory of John Kocher, who passed away on December 21, 2020.  He was an old friend, fellow yacht club member, a great sailor, a boating safety educator and a brilliant man.  He read each of  the chapters in this blog as soon as I announced they were ready.  I know this because he commented not only on the photos but the story.  He would have loved to read about our rounding of Cape Horn even if it wasn't in a sailboat.

  - January 3, 2021