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Published: February 23rd 2017
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Horn Island
Navy Station Ahoy all you sailors. Today was a special day on our cruise.
We had a good night’s sleep and we woke this morning before 7:00, experiencing strong winds and heavily overcast skies. David got dressed quickly and went up to the Lido Deck to see if the ship was on schedule and if the weather was going to permit us to sail around Horn Island. Soon afterwards our port lecturer started a commentary and explaining the day’s plan.
A little of what we learned is:
Cape Horn is widely considered to be the southernmost tip of South America. It is located on Chile's part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. At the southern end of the Andes mountain range, they regularly have unpredictably strong winds, choppy waters, and even icebergs or rogue waves. These hazardous maritime conditions have protected the rocky region from human settlements since the beginning of recorded history here. The conditions we saw today are the same views of the land and weather that the earliest explorers had seen centuries ago. Frankly we did not see anything growing on the island that was taller than a blade of grass (or maybe
Albatross
Memorial Statue it was simply moss).
Navigating around the Cape was nearly impossible in the 17th century for sailors who attempted to overcome the intense winds and treacherous waters. However, those fortunate enough to return from a successful trip were entitled to numerous benefits, including dining with one foot on the dinner table and wearing gold loop earring to boast of their seafaring victory. If this sailor also successfully navigated the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, they could wear a 2
nd earring and put both feet on the table.
Cape Horn is located at 56 degrees South latitude / -55.98000; -67.28917, in the
Hermite Islands group. It marks the northern edge of the
Drake Passage which is the
strait between South America and
Antarctica. The Cape lies within what are now Chilean territorial waters, and the Chilean Navy maintains a one-family station on Horn Island, consisting of a residence, utility building, chapel, and lighthouse. There is a supply ship that comes to them once a month. A short distance from the station is a large memorial sculpture depicting the silhouette of an
albatross, in remembrance of the sailors who died over the years while attempting to "round
the Horn".
We came out of Beagle Channel during the night and were actually in the Atlantic Ocean. We were traveling from east to west this morning heading back toward the Pacific, approaching the channel that run along the north side of the island. As we approached the skies brightened slightly and occasionally we even had batches of sunshine. The temperature was in the low 50s and at one point they reported the winds as being 130 KPH (80 miles per hour). After a lengthy consultation between the ship’s officers and the two Chilean pilots, they decided we could indeed circle the island and loop around counter-clockwise to view the south side of the island when we headed back toward the Atlantic. The alternative would have been to make a U-turn and head back east through the same channel we had just used. But they said conditions were good enough for us to “round the Horn” and see the whole island. At one point we were lucky enough to see a rainbow shining down on Horn Island. We certainly were glad not to have been in a small wooden ship that used sails for its propulsion.
Initially David had been viewing from up on deck-s 16 and 17, but it was terribly windy up there. When they announced our course it was apparent that we would be able to see everything from our balcony. He could slip in/out of the cabin to listen to the commentary on the TV and then periodically go out to take some more pictures. Our course today took us well below the latitude of any other place on earth, except for people who actually go on to Antarctica. So today was certainly a memorable experience for us.
Footnote: Many years ago David’s Mother was on a cruise around South America and she fell during the transit of Cape Horn. She broke her collar bone and had to leave the cruise at the next port and fly back home. We’re happy to report that we did not have any similar accidents. Today’s successful “rounding of the Horn” in some ways provides a symbolic completion of Jean’s original cruise.
The whole scenic trip this morning was done by 9:00. We got a couple of breakfast sandwiches and donuts from the International Café, and then Janet
Horn Island
Rugged West Coast went to Knitters and Knatters. David worked on trying to find the better pictures from all those taken during today. Then he went to the theater to hear the description of our next port tomorrow – Stanley in the Falkland Islands.
We met back in the cabin and David brought down some hot dogs/burgers/fries from the Lido Deck and some drinks from the Horizon Court. We had something of a picnic in our cabin – it was too cold to eat outside. Then David went back to the theater to watch “The Magnificent Seven” which was a remake of the original movie. Janet stayed in the cabin and watch “Concussion” on the TV while working on her needlework. So we had a restful afternoon. We noticed that some people were hardy enough to be in the hot tubs today (the pools have been drained for the time being) and others were sitting on deck chairs sunning themselves.
We went up to deck-18 for “shrimp appetizers” and cocktails at 5:00 before going to dinner. Janet had a Chairman of the Board Martini and David had Boddington Ale. Although we all could have put one foot
Horn Island
South Face (in profile) - traditional view on the table in the dining room, everyone restrained themselves this evening. Janet wasn’t too hungry so she only had a bowl of Fish Broth and Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken Breast, but no dessert. David had the broth and a cup of Chilled Coconut Soup, as well as the Braised Beef Spare Ribs and then a slice of chocolate Praline Tart. Note to self (and to Jerry on his cruise in April) – the spare ribs weren’t too good in the Med and again not on this cruise either. Next time David will try to remember an order something else.
For those of you struggling to pronounce Ushuaia, it is something like oo-shwy-a. So how many of you got that right yesterday? Another piece of information we forgot to include yesterday is that Ushuaia is only slightly closer to Buenos Aires than it is to the South Pole.
We have not gone to the evening show lately but this evening we went to see one of the production shows. The show was called “Blame it on the Boogie” with the ship’s singers and dancers. It was a fun show although kind of loud, but
Horn Island
Lighthouse (seen from a far distance) was a nice way to finish the day. Tomorrow we have to be at out ‘gathering” at 8:00 so we will need to get up quickly and have an early breakfast again. The next day we may be able to sleep late, but tonight will be a short night unless we get this blog sent soon. Goodnight.
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Janel
non-member comment
Glad you made it safely. Mama will be smiling! Thanks for letting me know about Stephanie. Wishing her the fastest recovery ever!