Why Is Sailing Around Cape Horn Dangerous?

Cape Horn, located at the southernmost tip of South America, is a notorious and challenging area for adventure sailors. The passage is marked by extreme low-pressure systems that create the dreaded williwaw winds, which are sudden, unpredictable, and frequent. With bigger winds, come bigger waves. Sailing around Cape Horn is considered one of the most dangerous endeavors for sailors, as it is at 56 degrees south, making it one of the most difficult maritime routes.

Cape Horn is close to Antarctica, making it a quicker and safer route than rounding Cape Horn to the south. Before the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, Cape Horn was a place that gave mariners nightmares. The waters around Cape Horn are particularly hazardous due to strong winds, large waves, strong currents, and icebergs. The need for boats and ships to round Cape Horn was greatly reduced by the opening of the Panama Canal in August 1914.

The combination of clashing ocean currents and winds creates huge storms, and the square-rigged sailing ships that were common at Cape Horn can be notoriously dangerous. Low water temperatures increase the risks associated with shipwreck, as prolonged exposure can lead to hypothermia, posing an immediate threat.

Sailing around Cape Horn is considered part of the fastest route to sailing around the world, and some consider it to be the Mount Everest of sailing. In fact, some have even made a landing on the island after rounding the Horn. To minimize the danger and discomfort of the journey, sailors should take steps to minimize the danger and discomfort of the journey.

How deep is the water around Cape Horn?

Southwest of Cape Horn, the ocean floor rises sharply from 4,020 meters (13,200 feet) to 100 meters (330 feet) within a few kilometers. This sharp difference, combined with the potent westerly winds that swirl around the Furious Fifties, pushes up massive waves with frightening regularity. Add in frigid water temperatures, rocky coastal shoals, and stray icebergs—which drift north from Antarctica across the Drake Passage—and it is easy to see why the area is known as a graveyard for ships.

On July 12, 2014, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 satellite captured this image of Cape Horn and the Wollaston and Hermite Islands.

Hundreds of ships have gone down near Cape Horn since Dutchman Willem Schouten, a navigator for the Dutch East India Company, first charted a course around the Horn in 1616. One vessel that narrowly escaped that fate was the HMS Beagle, with naturalist Charles Darwin aboard. In The Voyage of the Beagle, Darwin described the harrowing journey as the explorers tried to round the Horn just before Christmas 1832.

How many sailors have died trying to go around Cape Horn?

NARRATOR: The long-awaited highlight of the cruise is just coming into view. Ignoring the force eight gale, the weather here is gorgeous. This spot has claimed many sailing ships over the centuries. Over 800 of them have foundered and sank while trying to round the cape. More than 10,000 people have lost their lives as a result. This makes the area around the cape the largest underwater cemetery in the world. But these intrepid travellers have survived. That’s cause for celebration. The swimming pool is sloshing all over the place and the champagne is bubbling. On the upper deck, people are undergoing the Cape Horn baptism with icy sea water.

GUSTAVSEN: “I have to baptise my second in command; this is his first time.”

NARRATOR: The cape – a dangerous tourist attraction. No sooner has the ship left the cape behind, than the waters once again calm down. The myth of the cape appears to be more than a mere legend.

Do any cruise ships go around Cape Horn?

Planning your Cape Horn cruise Two ships cover this route, the Ventus and the Stella Australis.

Compass icon 5 Reasons to go on a Cape Horn cruise.

• Visit the wilds of Cape Horn, a place once feared by generations of sailors, in the comfort of a modern expedition cruise ship.
• Sail through the legendary Beagle Channel waterway, following in the footsteps of the naturalist Charles Darwin.
• Watch Magellanic penguins in their remotest colonies, accessible only by boat.
• Feel dwarfed by the icy majesty of Pia glacier and the long human history of Wulaia Bay.
• Start or finish your voyage in Ushuaia or Punta Arenas to fit your cruise into a wider Patagonia adventure.

Cape Horn has been leaving sailors awestruck ever since the navigator Willem Schouten first sailed around it in January 1616, naming it for his Dutch hometown of Hoorn. Its fearsome reputation is down to its location in the storm-swept seas off the southernmost tip of South America between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

What is the roughest sea to sail on?

The Drake Passage on the Way to Antarctica Is Notoriously Intense. Rough Waters: One of the most notorious places for rock-and-roll cruising is the Drake Passage, the body of water between Cape Horn — the southernmost tip of South America — and the South Shetland Islands in Antarctica.

The World’s Roughest Waters for Cruising (Photo: Chimu Adventures)

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The World’s Roughest Waters for Cruising (Photo: Chimu Adventures)

Why is it so hard to round a Cape Horn?

The climate in the region is generally cool, owing to the southern latitude. There are no weather stations in the group of islands including Cape Horn; but a study in 1882–1883, found an annual rainfall of 1,357 millimetres (53.4 inches), with an average annual temperature of 5.2°C (41.4°F). Winds were reported to average 30 kilometres per hour (8.33m/s; 18.64mph), (5Bf), with squalls of over 100 kilometres per hour (27.78m/s; 62.14mph), (10Bf) occurring in all seasons. There are 278 days of rainfall. (70 days snow) and 2,000 millimetres (79 inches) of annual rainfall.Cloud coverage is generally extensive, with averages from 5.2eighths in May and July to 6.4eighths in December and January.(unreliable source?) Precipitation is high throughout the year: the weather station on the nearby Diego Ramírez Islands, 109 kilometres (68 miles) south-west in the Sea of Hoces, shows the greatest rainfall in March, averaging 137.4 millimetres (5.41in); while October, which has the least rainfall, still averages 93.7 millimetres (3.69in).(unreliable source?) Wind conditions are generally severe, particularly in winter. In summer, the wind at Cape Horn is gale force up to 5 percent of the time, with generally good visibility; however, in winter, gale-force winds occur up to 30 percent of the time, often with poor visibility.

Many stories are told of hazardous journeys “around the Horn”, most describing fierce storms. Charles Darwin wrote: “One sight of such a coast is enough to make a landsman dream for a week about shipwrecks, peril and death.”

Being the southernmost point of land outside of Antarctica, the region experiences barely 7 hours of daylight during the June solstice, with Cape Horn itself having 6 hours and 57 minutes. The region experiences around 17+1⁄2 hours of daylight during the December solstice, and experiences only nautical twilight from civil dusk to civil dawn. White nights occur during the week around the December solstice.

Cape Horn yields a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc), with abundant precipitation—much of which falls as sleet and snow.

Is it safe to sail around the Horn of Africa?

Cape Horn was identified by mariners and first rounded in 1616 by the Dutchmen Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire, who named it Kaap Hoorn”},”data”:{“ipa”:””,”text”:””,”lang”:”en”,”wikibase”:””,”file”:”Nl-Kaap Hoorn.ogg”},”classes”:(“ext-phonos-PhonosButton”,”noexcerpt”)}” Kaap Hoornⓘ after the city of Hoorn in the Netherlands. For decades, Cape Horn was a major milestone on the clipper route, by which sailing ships carried trade around the world. The waters around Cape Horn are particularly hazardous, owing to strong winds, large waves, strong currents and icebergs.

The need for boats and ships to round Cape Horn was greatly reduced by the opening of the Panama Canal in August 1914. Sailing around Cape Horn is still widely regarded as one of the major challenges in yachting. Thus, a few recreational sailors continue to sail this route, sometimes as part of a circumnavigation of the globe. Almost all of these choose routes through the channels to the north of the Cape (many take a detour through the islands and anchor to wait for fair weather to visit Horn Island, or sail around it to replicate a rounding of this historic point). Several prominent ocean yacht races, notably the Volvo Ocean Race, Velux 5 Oceans Race, and the solo Vendée Globe and Golden Globe Race, sail around the world via the Horn. Speed records for round-the-world sailing are recognized for following this route.

Cape Horn is located on Hornos Island in the Hermite Islands group, at the southern end of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.(unreliable source?) It marks the north edge of the Drake Passage, the strait between South America and Antarctica. It is located in Cabo de Hornos National Park.

The cape lies within Chilean territorial waters, and the Chilean Navy maintains a station on Hoorn Island, consisting of a residence, utility building, chapel, and lighthouse.(unreliable source?) A short distance from the main station is a memorial, including a large sculpture made by Chilean sculptor José Balcells featuring the silhouette of an albatross, in remembrance of the sailors who died while attempting to “round the Horn”. It was erected in 1992 through the initiative of the Chilean Section of the Cape Horn Captains Brotherhood.(unreliable source?) Due to severe winds characteristic of the region, the sculpture was blown over in 2014. A 2019 research expedition found the world’s southernmost tree growing, a Magellan’s beech mostly bent to the ground, on a northeast-facing slope at the island’s southeast corner. Cape Horn is the southern limit of the range of the Magellanic penguin.(unreliable source?)

Why is it so hard to round Cape Horn?

The climate in the region is generally cool, owing to the southern latitude. There are no weather stations in the group of islands including Cape Horn; but a study in 1882–1883, found an annual rainfall of 1,357 millimetres (53.4 inches), with an average annual temperature of 5.2°C (41.4°F). Winds were reported to average 30 kilometres per hour (8.33m/s; 18.64mph), (5Bf), with squalls of over 100 kilometres per hour (27.78m/s; 62.14mph), (10Bf) occurring in all seasons. There are 278 days of rainfall. (70 days snow) and 2,000 millimetres (79 inches) of annual rainfall.Cloud coverage is generally extensive, with averages from 5.2eighths in May and July to 6.4eighths in December and January.(unreliable source?) Precipitation is high throughout the year: the weather station on the nearby Diego Ramírez Islands, 109 kilometres (68 miles) south-west in the Sea of Hoces, shows the greatest rainfall in March, averaging 137.4 millimetres (5.41in); while October, which has the least rainfall, still averages 93.7 millimetres (3.69in).(unreliable source?) Wind conditions are generally severe, particularly in winter. In summer, the wind at Cape Horn is gale force up to 5 percent of the time, with generally good visibility; however, in winter, gale-force winds occur up to 30 percent of the time, often with poor visibility.

Many stories are told of hazardous journeys “around the Horn”, most describing fierce storms. Charles Darwin wrote: “One sight of such a coast is enough to make a landsman dream for a week about shipwrecks, peril and death.”

Being the southernmost point of land outside of Antarctica, the region experiences barely 7 hours of daylight during the June solstice, with Cape Horn itself having 6 hours and 57 minutes. The region experiences around 17+1⁄2 hours of daylight during the December solstice, and experiences only nautical twilight from civil dusk to civil dawn. White nights occur during the week around the December solstice.

Cape Horn yields a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc), with abundant precipitation—much of which falls as sleet and snow.

Is sailing Cape Horn dangerous?

Cape Horn – a name like thunder, a synonym for hardship and danger. The weather conditions are brutal: cold, wet and sudden changes in the weather make the place one of the most inhospitable corners of the seven seas. In winter, there is a risk of collision with icebergs. Due to the prevailing westerly wind drift, the passage from east to west can be a hell of a ride. Cape Horn is home to the largest ship graveyard in the world. Over 800 ships sank there and 10,000 sailors found their watery graves in the area. It is the most significant of the three great capes. A myth that still frightens and fascinates people to this day.

The first ship was lost before it had even reached the Cape: a fire broke out on the “Hoorn”, in which a Dutch expedition crew led by Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire had sailed safely to Patagonia, during repairs shortly before reaching its destination, destroying it.

The two captains Schouten and Le Maire came with the task of finding an alternative route to the East Indies Spice Islands, as both the route around the Cape of Good Hope and the Strait of Magellan, which had already been discovered in 1520, were controlled by the Dutch East India Company.

How many ships have sunk in the Cape Horn?

The waters around the Cape have claimed more than their fair share of sailors: between the 16th and 20th centuries it is estimated that at least 800 ships were shipwrecked, causing the deaths of over 10,000 seamen.;

Despite being a faster way of reaching the other side of the continent, the route around Cape Horn was regarded as too perilous a journey by the Spaniards, who in the 1800s instead preferred to transport their plundered gold and silver across South America by land.;

The route around Cape Horn became an important passageway for international trade, particularly following the discovery of gold in California in 1848. However, the completion of the Panama Canal in 1914 led to a steep decline in the number of commercial ships rounding the horn.;

Is it difficult to sail around Cape Horn?

Cape Horn marks the point at which the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet – which is what makes the passage so treacherous. Extreme low-pressure systems whirl across the sea, creating the dreaded williwaw winds. These gusts are sudden, unpredictable and frequent – and with bigger winds, come bigger waves. With such challenging conditions, Cape Horn is now the stage for the world’s most challenging yacht races, including the Vendee Globe and the Volvo Ocean Race.

But make no mistake – there’s a lot more to Cape Horn than fierce waves. The headland is also home to stunning wildlife, scenery, and cultural heritage. In fact, comfortable cruises staffed by experienced guides can now easily navigate this legendary landscape. To find out about Australis excursions to Cape Horn, take a look at our brochure.

How big are the waves in Cape Horn?

Seas: W 19 feet at 11 seconds. Strong NNW winds with very choppy seas.

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React-text: 220 Pressure ( /react-text react-text: 221 mb /react-text react-text: 222 ) /react-text.

Why is the Cape Horn route so treacherous?

Extreme winds Winds from the west, especially during the passage of frontal systems, are a distinctive feature of Cape Horn. These winds can reach extraordinary speeds, creating a challenging and dangerous environment for any vessel venturing into the area.

Cape Horn, located at the southern tip of South America, has gained legendary notoriety due to its unique navigational hazard. This iconic geographic point has witnessed extreme challenges that have baffled mariners for centuries.

Location. At the southernmost point of the American continent, lies Hornos, an imposing 425-meter high cliff south of an island of only 12 square kilometers. Serving as the northern limit of the Drake Passage, a 650-kilometer wide strait that separates South America from the Antarctic continent, in this corner the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans intertwine, delineating a risky passage known as the Beagle Channel, which serves as access to the South Pole.

Cape Horn stands as one of the most feared corners of the globe, where winds roar with the fury of storms most of the year, intensifying to hurricane force at least one or two days a month.