regnordman.com - Cape Horn.Feb 28
A new entry titled Cape Horn.Feb 28 has been posted to " Knights on the Road "
Cape Horn. Feb 28. We snuck up to the famous Cape, in a light sea and clear skies. I can only imagine my Grandfather Sven Nordman´s ordeal as his struggle to round the Cape took 48 days. We did it in a few hours, despite some last minute problems with Chilean pilots who did not have the correct boat to approach our garagantuan ship. Eventually we rounded the Cape, allowing us to be called ¨Seadogs¨, ¨Cape Horners¨ or perhaps just ¨horny¨. We are also allowed to wear one earring to signify we rounded the Cape from East to West, once. The Magellan Strait and the connecting Beagle Channel, is a fiord that cuts across Tierra Del Fuego, and it shortens the transit time for modern day sailors. (But the winds still howl down these Straits and Channels).
Imagine those prior to power vessels, having no Panama Canal until 1917, who were told to ¨sail aggressively against the prevailing winds, as hard as you could go, without breaking something.¨ Awesome as my sons say. These were tougher men, who fought the seas with fixed masts and booms unlike todays pampered sailors.
Feel free to take a look at the article here:
http://www.regnordman.com/2008/03/08/cape-hornfeb-28/
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