|
Cape Horn. A Place of Myth and Modern Legend.
In the 30 odd years I have been involved in marine art and the painting of both Clipper ships and Tall ships it has been difficult not to be drawn to indeed, fascinated, by Cape Horn. This tiny mark on a chart has gained a notoriety that is well deserved as it is the graveyard of so many fine Clipper Ships smashed and pounded by the ferocious seas that are the hallmark of this terrible place. No wonder then that it was approached by crews of Tall Ships with trepidation and Cape Horn fever was invented to describe those seamen who would refuse to sign on for a Clipper destined to round the Horn.
In maritime art the adventures of ships rounding the Horn has provided the marine artist with a wealth of subject matter as there have been almost unbelievable acts of courage by the Clipper crews as men and ship battled against the elements in a non stop contest that could easily last months. There are also the weird and wonderful stories which strain belief. But more of these later.
At the very tip of South America separated from the mainland by the Straits of Magellan lies the island of Tierra del Fuego. The southern tip of this desolate land is a premonotory of rock named Cape Horn rearing its malevolent head above storm lashed seas.
So why Cape Horn? The first known people to round the Cape were two venture mariners Schouten and Le Maire searching for a way into the Pacific to circumvent the Dutch East Indies Company ban on free trade ships using the Straits of Magellan. On the 31st January 1616 these two intrepid adventurers rounded a cape and quickly realized that the way to the Pacific was open to all. They called the cape ‘Horn’ after the Dutch village which was the home of Schouten and most of the crew. Their achievement had demanded the ability of ships to weather the most atrocious of seas and men to conquer their fear of the unknown. Under a rag of canvas they had shown the way for ships to enter the Pacific.
While Cape Horn may have relented to allow Schouten and LeMaire to pass it was not so kindly to the many hundreds of ships attempting this most dangerous of passages after them. In 1741 Admiral Anson with his squadron of six ships attempted it and lost two ships to shipwreck and one other which was forced to return to England. As for the number of merchant ships, whalers and ships looking for fortune lost in these waters we can only guess. The rage of Cape Horn could only be partially quelled by those Clipper Ships built especially for the voyage and aptly named Cape Horners.
Read more of the courage of the crews off the Cape and some strange happenings
|
