Sailing “Round the Horn,” or the southern tip of South America (Patagonia), continues to be one of the most challenging yet rewarding sailing journeys there is—whether it’s on a tall ship, crewing on a personal yacht, or venturing it solo as a small (but growing!) number have successfully done, inspired perhaps by Joshua Slocum and Sir Francis Chichester. Rounding the Horn from east to west, or against the prevailing westerly trade winds, is the greater challenge, one that even fewer have tried or successfully accomplished.
What makes sailing round the Horn so challenging is its location in the high Southern latitudes, 55 degrees South (think icebergs if you go much further south), and although it’s possible to experience relatively mild conditions especially in the summer season, a storm can arrive with astonishing speed and almost out of nowhere, bringing with it screaming winds and most dangerous of all, enormous swells topped by breaking seas that have taken many an unfortunate soul to their demise.
In such a storm, even when running with the wind under “bare poles” (no sails up at all), the wind and waves can be powerful enough to push a boat at speeds in excess of what the hull was designed to do and there are well known accounts of yachts rushing down the face of an enormous wave at such speed and force that the bow was buried in the trough of the wave causing them to pitch-pole or flip completely upside down. In such cases survival depends on whether the weight of the keel will be enough to pull the boat upright.
Venturing a trip around the Horn obviously requires serious planning, especially focused on expecting the worst conditions, significant experience in managing a boat in the open sea under all conditions, a clear idea of what to do when a storm hits and executing what needs to be done in anticipation of the storm, not after it hits when it may be too late, and lastly, demonstrating the courage to trust in your boat and your skills to see you through.
Cape Horn Advisors understands that starting, building, managing or selling your business may seem, and at times perhaps is, like sailing round the Horn in bad weather. But for all the challenge it represents, many have made it successfully, and delivered themselves and their crew to their destination safe, sound, and amply rewarded by the journey.
Our goal, simply stated, is to help you achieve the same outcome.
.