T

here are few places in the world in which man feels as vulnerable and surrounded by a mystic aura of spirituality as Cape Horn. Its location between two oceans at 55°56’ South latitude and 67°19’ West longitude, along with the intensity of the climatic phenomena that occur there, make its passage a unique and incomparable experience.



Entire books have been written about the difficulties that the sailing ships of yesteryear had in traveling around Cape Horn. The extraordinary feats and countless dramas that took place there can be illustrated by three pieces of information:



European eyes first set sight on Cape Horn at the beginning of the 17th century. In the small port of Höorn, the French merchant, Isaac Le Maire, and the sailors, Guillermo Cornelio and Juan Schouten, signed the constitution of the Southern Company and outfitted two ships: the 360-ton Endracht (Unity) and the 110-ton Höorn, which sailed from Texel, Netherlands on June 14, 1615.



