Cape Horn

The Southern Tip
Of South America

Day 15: Friday, January 18, 2002

Friday, January 18, 2002

Morning coffee with the Antarctic Experts
Antarctica Lecture "Ice Breaking" with Capt. Carl Swedberg
Q & A Session with the Antarctica Experts hosted by Col. James Reid

The Giant Albatross Keeps Vigial.

It's nearly 3 pm on Friday. We've been traveling full speed ahead for about 26 hours since we left Palmer Station, on Anvers Island, Antarctica yesterday. The captain said he was trying to outrun a storm that was approaching. That's great, we had all the gale-force winds we wanted on the way south across Drake Passage.

At 7:35 pm we spot Cape Horn.

The crossing was something over 30 hours. That's pretty fast according to what we'd heard from others who have done it. It's the famous southern tip of South America, but it's not part of the mainland. It's just a small island.

Neighboring Islands of Cape Horn

Click the button below for the Tierra del Fuego map. It shows a fair representation of the Cape Islands.

Judging by the looks of the sky, it seems that we didn't beat that storm by very much. We will sail northeast to gain entrance to the east end of the Beagle Channel. This waterway is protected by the island group north of Cape Horn. We will use this to gain access to Ushuaia, Argentina's harbor.

7:45 PM

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