The magic of Cape Horn - this is basically the last part of planet earth as you head to the South Pole that you can realistically live on! Any further south and it's just too cold to live. Michael Palin once managed to step foot here on a BBC Documentary a few years back and now it was time to make the trip to Cape Horn.[]
Chile owns Cape Horn - not Argentina and this is the southern tip of the series of islands known as Tierra Del Fuego. You have to love the sound of this place - Cape Horn - it has a certain charm in its very title! The idea was to see it for real, up close and personal.
Stepping foot on the cape of Horn is at a high cost, hence why Michael Palin was able to do it - being a posh English type on a rich BBC budget, I envy his adventures but cannot afford them. Chilean officials do not allow any boats that are not Chilean to go within 12 or 13 miles (can't remember which) of the Horn itself, without a strict permission.
We left Argentina behind for Antarctica sailing on the MS Expedition which was built up in Denmakr, had been registered in Africa at Liberia and was now making these regular trips down to the white continent. Everyone on the ship was asleep (except the crew) the night we headed south on the dreaded Drake Passage, so getting up close to Cape Horn wasn't happening - we were much too far east for that anyway and we had one intention - arriving in Antarctica[]
Onboard the boat there was talk about whether we could go anywhere near Cape Horn on the way back to Argentina. There were clues onboard that this may happen. Screening an onboard documentary about Cape Horn was one, yet the crew were saying nothing!
However the map of the route onboard the ship was the giveaway as we had departed from Antarctica at Elephant Island and were changing direction rapidly, instead of heading directly north, there was a slight tilting to the north west, where Cape Horn sits.
On the evening of our final ascent up the Drake Passage the visit to view Cape Horn was finally confirmed by the crew amid a joyous response. We were told at the recap of the day and the briefing session that we would indeed be sailing close to Cape Horn for a view at 5am the next morning.
However it was also the last night on board the ship to celebrate the epic journey to Antarctica so we had all been in the onboard bar celebrating and toasting to the incredible trip. It was almost 3 am when I got to bed and that meant only a couple of hours sleep before the dream arrival at the horn!
It was only 2 hours in bed and then up again so that we could actually see Cape Horn. It was a massive crowd gathered on deck for the viewing as we inched closer to the horn itself. It must have been 6.30 when we finally caught sight of it.
By 7am there it was and we all gasped as we saw it - this island tip ahead of us was indeed Cape Horn. Cheers roared louder when the captain then announced that the seas were not as rough as normal and we were being allowed to get beyond the normal 12 mile barrier and see Cape Horn close up.
Once we were that close to Cape Horn everyone was busy staring out at it and taking photos. We got within 3 miles of it in the end and it was a magnificent moment. None of us landed on Cape Horn but we saw it with our own eyes!
Chile owns Cape Horn - not Argentina and this is the southern tip of the series of islands known as Tierra Del Fuego. You have to love the sound of this place - Cape Horn - it has a certain charm in its very title! The idea was to see it for real, up close and personal.
Stepping foot on the cape of Horn is at a high cost, hence why Michael Palin was able to do it - being a posh English type on a rich BBC budget, I envy his adventures but cannot afford them. Chilean officials do not allow any boats that are not Chilean to go within 12 or 13 miles (can't remember which) of the Horn itself, without a strict permission.
We left Argentina behind for Antarctica sailing on the MS Expedition which was built up in Denmakr, had been registered in Africa at Liberia and was now making these regular trips down to the white continent. Everyone on the ship was asleep (except the crew) the night we headed south on the dreaded Drake Passage, so getting up close to Cape Horn wasn't happening - we were much too far east for that anyway and we had one intention - arriving in Antarctica[]
Onboard the boat there was talk about whether we could go anywhere near Cape Horn on the way back to Argentina. There were clues onboard that this may happen. Screening an onboard documentary about Cape Horn was one, yet the crew were saying nothing!
However the map of the route onboard the ship was the giveaway as we had departed from Antarctica at Elephant Island and were changing direction rapidly, instead of heading directly north, there was a slight tilting to the north west, where Cape Horn sits.
On the evening of our final ascent up the Drake Passage the visit to view Cape Horn was finally confirmed by the crew amid a joyous response. We were told at the recap of the day and the briefing session that we would indeed be sailing close to Cape Horn for a view at 5am the next morning.
However it was also the last night on board the ship to celebrate the epic journey to Antarctica so we had all been in the onboard bar celebrating and toasting to the incredible trip. It was almost 3 am when I got to bed and that meant only a couple of hours sleep before the dream arrival at the horn!
It was only 2 hours in bed and then up again so that we could actually see Cape Horn. It was a massive crowd gathered on deck for the viewing as we inched closer to the horn itself. It must have been 6.30 when we finally caught sight of it.
By 7am there it was and we all gasped as we saw it - this island tip ahead of us was indeed Cape Horn. Cheers roared louder when the captain then announced that the seas were not as rough as normal and we were being allowed to get beyond the normal 12 mile barrier and see Cape Horn close up.
Once we were that close to Cape Horn everyone was busy staring out at it and taking photos. We got within 3 miles of it in the end and it was a magnificent moment. None of us landed on Cape Horn but we saw it with our own eyes!
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