Rounding Cape Horn

December 16, 2023

After leaving the Falkland Islands, we sailed west heading back towards South America. As we neared the continent, we enjoyed some very scenic sailing, with some absolutely magnificent views of the rocky islands that are located off the southern tip of South America.

Of course, the most anticipated part of our travels through the islands was Cape Horn. Rising like a pillar out of the water where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet, Cape Horn is a massive prehistoric-looking volcanic rock. Our ship circumnavigated the island where Cape Horn is located, and from south of this island, we had some up close and beautiful views of the Cape. Located at the tip of the South American continent, this is the southernmost land in the world until Antarctica, which is located 600 miles south of Cape Horn, across the Drake Passage.

Cape Horn

Sailing around Cape Horn was perilous in times past, due to the mismatch between the capability of the ships and the terror of the seas, and many sailors have been killed trying to round the Cape. It was dangerous because of the turbulent weather conditions, huge seas, and powerful currents. It is not uncommon to have 40 or 50 foot waves and 60-70 mph winds in this part of the world. Since modern ships are bigger and better built, it is not quite as dangerous today. However, the weather can still make the passage tricky at times. Our captain kept marveling at how fortunate we were to have some remarkable weather. It was beautiful sunshine and very calm waters. Apparently going around the Cape is a big deal in the sailing world as later that day we were presented with a certificate for successfully rounding Cape Horn!

After sailing through the islands, we headed north and entered the Beagle Channel, named after Charles Darwin's boat HMS Beagle. This maps shows our journey, coming from the Falkland Islands to the east, circumnavigating Cape Horn, and then heading north to enter the Beagle Channel.

And this map shows the ship entering the Beagle Channel.

The Beagle Channel forms part of the border between Argentina and Chile. It provides a protective passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, much safer than traveling around Cape Horn. When traveling through the Beagle Channel going east to west, everything on the the right, or north, side of the channel is in Argentina, and everything on the left, or south, side is in Chile. Apparently there was a Beagle Channel dispute in the 1970s, and this territorial conflict brought the two countries to the brink of war. Pope John Paul II offered to mediate. He drew a line down the middle of the Beagle Channel and apportioned the north side to Argentina and the south side to Chile. The overwhelmingly Catholic countries accepted the papal mediation and war was avoided.

Once we were in the Beagle Channel we were treated to some more absolutely gorgeous views, with the snow capped peaks of the Andes coming into view in the background. The first picture below is where we entered the Beagle Channel.

Pictures from the Beagle Channel

Andes Mountains shown in the pictures below

There aren't very many cities in this part of the world, but we did pass a small town called Puerto Almanza on the Argentina side of the Beagle Channel. This town was very picturesque, located along the coast with the mountains as a backdrop.

Puerto Almanza

Later in the day we were told that we were going to dock in the port city of Ushuaia this evening instead of tomorrow morning as previously scheduled. Another Viking ship was leaving Ushuaia and it turns out that our paths were going to cross as they were leaving and we were coming in. The Viking Polaris is an expedition ship that left Ushuaia to begin its voyage to Antarctica. As we passed the Viking Polaris, the two ships greeted each other with horn blasts.

Viking Polaris, heading to Antarctica

And now we've finally arrived at the Edge of the World, the city of Ushuaia, which we will explore tomorrow. Here are a couple of pictures of the city as we approached the harbor.