clearly we are here in the domain of the albatross
the rocks at the west side of Isla Hornos are even more treasonous
no, the Cape is not named after these horns but after the Dutch town of Hoorn
Cape Horn, also known as Isla Hornos, is the rocky and wind swept southernmost island of Tierra del Fuego.
He named
the Cape after his recently lost ship and his Dutch hometown Hoorn.
Until the opening of the
Panama Canal in 1914, ships
traveling between the east and west coasts of the Americas had to round Cape Horn and negotiate the dangerous waters of the
Drake
Passage where the Atlantic meets the Pacific.
Thousands of souls and hundreds of ships were lost here in fierce storms,
high waves and iceberg collisions.
There is a small Chilean marine outpost that operates the
lighthouse and when needed provides pilot
service for ships that want to sail into the Beagle Channel.
On a calm afternoon in February 2008 we circled Cape Horn counterclockwise.
Unfortunately the photographic conditions
were rather poor.
The many rocky outcrops reminded us how dangerous these waters can be in real bad weather.
at 5 PM we get our first sight of Isla Hornos, aka Cape Horn
there is plenty of rock to wreck your ship on
our captain has the Chilean flag raised to honor the owner of the teritory, in this case Chile
but Giant petrels also call these waters home
the Dutch charter Anne Margaretha is rounding the Cape
we have reached the Chilean Navy station on the east side of Isla Hornos and have to wait for the pilot
to the left of the lighthouse sits the Albatross monument, to the right is the small Stella Maris chapel
after a short wait the pilot ship approaches
here comes the pilot who will guide the Star Princess safely around the island
the pilot ship is moored below the Albatross Monument. That's quite a climb up for the crew
we pass again south of Cape horn and have completed our circumnavigation of Isla Hornos
a view of the horns from the west side
later that night, on our way to Ushuaia, mother Nature spoils us with a beautiful sunset