Antarctica had fallen away behind us. The meteorological good fortune that we had been enjoying continued to hold on our return journey across the Drake Passage, and provided a nice bonus as the shores of South America came up over the horizon; a clear view of Cape Horn. Despite its fearsome (and well-earned) reputation, because of the calm weather we ventured much closer than one normally would.
Land ho! The end of our return journey across the Drake Passage. Photo: Chris Rowan, 2013.
Cape Horn from the south. Photo: Chris Rowan, 2013.
Two things you might not know about Cape Horn: it’s named not for its shape on a map, but for the Dutch city of Hoorn, and as the chart makes clear, its quite a small island – home to a small Chilean coastguard station and a memorial to sailors who encountered ‘The Horn’ in far more deadly conditions than we did.
Bridge chart showing Cape Horn and other associated islands – you can also see how the good weather allowed a closer approach than normal. Photo: Anne Jefferson, 2013.
Sailors’ memorial on Cape Horn. Photo: Anne Jefferson, 2013.
Past ‘The Horn’, looking back southwest. Photo: Chris Rowan, 2013
Our last glimpse of Cape Horn, as Corinthian headed back to Ushuaia. Photo: Chris Rowan, 2013.
Leaving Cape Horn behind us, all that remained was to sail back along the Beagle Channel to Ushuaia, disembark Corinthian, wave goodbye to the lovely crew and expedition leaders, and head to the airport for the long flight home – which ended up being quite an adventure in itself.
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