Rounding the Horn

by Dallas Murphy

"Literally, Cape Horn is a buttressed pyramid of crumbly rock standing 425 meters above sea level at the very bottom of South America - 55 degrees 59 minutes south by 67 degrees 16 minutes west. Metaphorically, however, Cape Horn stands for the ultimate in ocean violence. There is no other land to the east, none to the west - all the way around the world. To the south, there is only Antarctica. The water in between rises up in chaos when Force 10 storms roll in from the west. For centuries, to round the Horn stood as the supreme test of sailors and ships. It still does." "While treacherous conditions were enough to secure its place in legend, a geographical accident secured its place in history. From the Arctic Circle to the sub-Antarctic, there is no natural break in the continental coastlines through which big ships could sail, except at Cape Horn. Western explorers and merchants, daredevils and missionaries, long sought to master the Cape, their will for profit and dominance wreakin