At Sea, Drake Passage
The Dreaded Drake Passage! That body of water that lies between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands, roughly 500 miles towards Antarctica. The Drake encompasses three different oceans, as the South Atlantic (Scotia Sea), South Pacific, and the Southern Ocean all converge within this passage. Heading north from Antarctica places the National Geographic Explorer firmly in the screaming 60’s, heading into the furious 50’s…latitudes that give even seasoned sailors a serious pause. Sometimes the Drake is a lake, but on this run north we encountered the Drake shake! What a ride!
The first recorded sighting by Europeans of this passage came in 1525, as Spanish navigator Francisco de Hoces missed the entrance to the Strait of Magellan in a gale, and was blown south to what his crew thought was land’s end, thus inferring the passage. To this day some Spanish and many Latin American sources label this passage as Mar de Hoces.
In September 1578 a similar event befell English privateer Sir Francis Drake; after having successfully passed through the Strait of Magellan a gale forced his last remaining ship deep to the south. Drake surmised that the open water he found was a southern connection of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and this passage bears his name for English speakers to this day.
The first recorded passage through the Drake was by Dutchman Willem Schouten in 1616 aboard the Eendracht. During his passage he also gave the name of Cape Horn to that southernmost island he encountered (though we now know that the Diego Ramirez Islands actually lie further south than Cape Horn).
For all on board the National Geographic Explorer in this fabled passage there was ample time to reflect on the wonders of the seventh continent that lies in our wake. Utilizing all of our abilities we are almost drunk with the sensory overload that is Antarctica. Indeed, we only live once, but if we live right, once is enough.
