With the Captains
greeting and safety drill briefings out of the way, the MV Stella Australis departed Ushuaia
and back south down the Beagle Channel towards the Drake Passage, our destination
being the famous Cape Horn.
The ship and our
cabin is very comfortable, including large multiple lounge areas complimented
by large sink into leather lounges and a dedicated dining room. We will be on board for 3 nights.
The overnight
journey was very smooth as was the soft voice over the intercom waking us up at
6:30am requesting us to be fully dressed, including life jackets, in the
briefing room by 7am.
The plan was to
land by zodiacs on Cape Horn itself!
The ship manoeuvred
into a small bay about 300 mtrs from the landing spot below the 160 stairs we
would need to climb in order to reach the lighthouse constantly warning all
ships of the dangers of ‘The Horn’.
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| The 160 steps and lost seaman memorial above them |
Another briefing
the night before on Cape Horn shared there is believed to be almost 10,000
sailors who have met their ends whilst trying to ‘round the Horn’ in the days
of sail. Sometimes it has taken some
sailing ships due to very bad weather, almost 3 months, just to get around this
spot.
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| Cape Horn and lighthouse |
So we waited and
waited and waited, all 83 passengers on board keen to actually step foot on
Cape Horn and meet the Chilean family of 3 and a dog, ensuring the lighthouse
is always working.
Unfortunately due
to the prevailing winds and rough seas, the Captain took the decision that safe
zodiac landings were not possible. Damm!
So the ship backed away from this little bay and moved back out to sea,
despondent passengers returning to their cabins to stow all their gear.
The ship had
approached Cape Horn from the north side and would normally return back again
into Patagonia via the same route but the Captain made another decision and one
that does not usually occur as we found later.
He headed south
briefly and we actually ‘rounded the Horn’!
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| the proof! |
Fantastic… as this
is an opportunity that doesn’t happen very often anymore once the Panama Canal opened. So our first breakfast on board was enjoyed
in the knowledge of what had just occurred.
Our ship was now
heading back north and past Ushuaia, bound for the narrower waterways of
southern Patagonia and hopefully, weather dependant, zodiac landings
ashore. The MV Australis is a very
comfortable way to go sailing around these waters and the service aboard is
excellent.
So during our trip
over the next few days, apart from enjoying great food, Calafate Sours and
multiple educational briefings, we made 3 zodiac landings at:
Wulaia Bay – here we visited a site Charles Darwin also spent time in,
studying the local aborigines known as the Yaghan who were not well treated
once the Europeans arrived. We chose to
climb a small mountain to get great views of the bay. Joining us on this climb was a very sprightly
80 yr. old call Anne, quite inspirational, considering how wet and slippery the
track was.
Aguila Glacier – with the ship anchored in a fairly narrow
channel with small pieces of floating ice in it, surrounded by tall snow capped
mountains. Once ashore we walked the
shoreline whilst light rain and mist kept us company, following an inlet to the
foot of the glacier. The glacier whilst
quite small had the classic blue colour scattered within its jagged face. Some of the plants along the shoreline also looked
like an assortment miniature bonsai.
Magdalena Island – Magellanic penguin time again after a
pre-sunrise landing and here there were thousands of penguins to enjoy either
lining their burrows with plant matter, squabbling with each other or getting
ready to head to sea whilst keep a wary eye open for the lion seals from a
nearby island. The sunrise over the
island helped finish off the MV Australis experience for us.
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| early landing ashore |
For more photos of Sailing Southern Patagonia just click on the link below:
CLICK HERE for more photos of - Sailing Southern Patagonia 2014
Stunning scenery!
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