Monday, November 30th
Latitude 55 degrees 59 minutes South
Longitude 067 degrees 16 minutes West
Seas calm, Winds light, Cold and cloudy
The Horn was discovered by the two sons of the Dutch explorer Isaac LaMaire and the Schouten brothers. This quartet organized the expedition that consisted of two ships that searched for a sea route to the Pacific, south of the Magellan Straits. The evening of January 29, 1616, the group sighted land in “the shape of a crouching lion” and it was unanimously proclaimed “Cape Horn”, after the city of Hoorn in the Netherlands. The world’s southern most lighthouse is on Cape Horn along with a statue of an albatross to honor all of the sailors who have died rounding the horn.
At 06:00 we approached and rounded Cape Horn. Everyone aboard MS Amsterdam was awarded a “Tradition of Excellence” certificate, and are now entitled to wear a shackle in their left ear, have a tattoo of a ship on their forearm, and to put their left foot upon the dinner table if they so desire.
