Why go round the Horn?

Having been an ocean sailor, like many others, I have dreamed about rounding Cape Horn but never made it. I did sail my 42 foot ketch, Polyandra, to Hawaii and back from Victoria BC in 2005. This was a 3000 NM voyage.

So - why not "Round the Horn" in a cruise ship? On January 18th 2023, I depart, along with my friend Hugh, on the Oceania Marina from Buenos Aires. This will be the account of that voyage.

I have a bookshelf of many books that have accounts of the rounding of Cape Horn by small boats.

Miles Smeeton wrote "Because the Horn is there" in 1970. He and Beryl with crew member Bob Nance "Doubled the Horn" - meaning sailing from 50 degree latitude to the same latitude in the other Ocean (Atlantic or Pacific). 

Previously the Smeetons wrote "Once is Enough" in 1959 describing how in Tzu Hang they, with John Guzwell as crew, had been pitchpoled off the coast of Chile the first time, loosing the mast and then being dismasted a second time after which Tzu Hang was transported back to England by freighter. 

Joshua Slocum is considered to have been the first to do it in a small boat as he described it in "Sailing around the World" - first published in 1900 after he sailed through the strait of Magellan in 1896. He did not actually round Cape Horn but close to it.

"The Totorore Voyage" (1988) by Gerry Clark is one of the most remarkable small boat adventures of all time. Gerry Clark was an ornithologist and his objective, helped by willing crew, was to identify birds on remote shores. He did round Cape Horn and even camped on nearby islands. 

Francis Chichester (at the age of 65) rounded Cape Horn in Gipsy Moth IV at 16.07 G.M.T. on 20th March 1967 on his single handed voyage with one stop in Sydney, Australia. 

Robin Knox-Johnston (who is two months older than me) rounded Cape Horn on January 17th 1969. That was 53 years ago and he would have been aged 30 at the time. He won the Golden Globe trophy being the first person to sail single handed around the world in  Suhaili. In 1969 he published "A world of my own". He left Plymouth on 14th June 1968 and finished on 22nd April 1969 taking 313 days.

On 18th March 1969, 45 year old Nigel Tetley in the trimaran "Victress" in the Golden Globe race rounded Cape Horn 15 miles to the south (the race rules allowed different start dates). Unfortunately Victress sank on May 21st 1969 just north of the Azores Islands on the way home. Nigel Tetley was rescued by the ship M.T.Pampero after abandoning his sinking boat and entering his life raft. He had an emergency transmitter provided by The Sunday Times.

Suhaili was the only boat to complete the Golden Globe race. It started Robin Knox-Johnston's yachting career. 

Tony Gooch, an Ocean Cruising Club member, had sailed to Antarctica in Maistral an Arpege 29 with his wife Coryn and then in Taonui, a 13.3 Meter sloop around Cape Horn. Many of their voyages in high latitudes can be found here: Gooch's sailing. They have rounded the Horn at least three times and "Doubled the Horn" twice.

On September 28th 2002 Tony Gooch started his non-stop single handed round the world voyage from Victoria, BC supported by his wife Coryn who stayed home and handled communications and many other logistics. He completed it in 177 days, covering 24,340 miles or 137 miles per day. He finished on March 24th 2003. Here is a link to his account of that voyage. Tony Gooch RTW.  The photograph of Taonui setting off on September 28th 2002 was taken from Polyandra by Tony Sheridan.

Victoria, BC has been the base for several Ocean Cruising Club members who have either rounded or tried to round the horn. Jeanne Socrates last went around the Horn in 2019. In January 2023 Jeanne, now aged 80, was in San Diego for the New Year with possible plans to proceed to Mexico and then across the Pacific Ocean.

Glen Wakefield was a remarkable sailor who was determined to sail west about around the world. Sadly on his second attempt in 2020 he had a stroke at sea, was rescued and returned to Victoria where he died. His wife Marylou wrote this eulogy at a celebration of Glen's life two years after he died. Glen Wakefield

Nicholas Coghlan and his wife Jenny live near Victoria. He wrote a book "Winter in Fireland" in 2011. They first went to Buenos Aires in 1978 to teach at St Georges School for a few years. In 2005-2006 they sailed Bosun Bird, a Vancouver 27 from Capetown, to Patagonia, wintering in Puerto Williams in Chile. Their sailing adventures, which continue to-day are recorded here: Nicholas Coghlan.

It was more comfortable and safe to "Round the Horn" on the cruise ship Oceania Marina!

Welcome to this Blog which is a diary plus pictures of the trip.