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There are those who have been there, and those that merely dream of it. In any case, Cape Horn continues to fascinate readers and writers. Fictional and factual works, from novels to short stories and travel essays, there are many who have tried to evoke the magic of the Horn.
 

If we're going to talk about Cape Horn, we must begin with "The Long Way" by Bernard Moitessier. The solo sailor who incited many others to become round the world sailors, is one writer who best conveyed the fascination and anticipation of those approaching the rocky headland. Of course, sailing conditions are very different today from the time when boats had drag ropes behind them to slow them down. From the time of the “Joshua”, where communications were limited to the absolute basics, to today's 60-foot Open boats filled with computers and electronics, there is a world of difference. However, Bernard Moitessier is the master for all those who have dreamt of sailing in the Southern Ocean.

In his wake, we must also mention the two adventurers, Gérard Janichon and Jérôme Poncet: two students from Grenoble, who decided one day to build their own boat, “Damien”, to sail the seven seas. What was original about their feat was they sailed around the Horn from east to west: coming from Spitsbergen via the Caribbean, the Amazon and the Patagonian canals, the pair tackled the famous rock from the east on a calm day. So calm in fact that they were afraid they would be dragged along from west to east by the current… Since then, the two adventures have followed their own route. Gérard Janichon lives on the Isle of Ré (off France's Atlantic coast), while Jérôme Poncet preferred to go and live in the Falklands.
While considering Cape Horn, we should also remember those who rounded it and saw their dreams come true: Sir Francis Chichester talked of the hours spent waiting for the right moment to get around the headland. Eric Loizeau, who was in the first crewed races around the world on board the venerable Pen Duick III has since moved up in the world... by becoming a mountaineer, who has tackled Everest and since tried to compare the two worlds he has known, which in the end in fact appear to resemble each other.

From trade routes to Chilean whale-boats
Other writers have evoked the epic sea voyages of the past: the Gold Route linking the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. with San Francisco, the Tea Route between SE Asia and London, the mineral ships sailing between Australia and the old continent. Jack London wrote about the mutiny of the Elseneur set against the backdrop of the Horn. Roger Vercel, the author of "Remorques", took us back to life on board these sailing vessels, four-masted barks, which right up until the 1930s were the pride of the European fleets. It was a time when rounding the Horn rarely meant passing the famous rock. With their cathedrals of sail, these heavy ships went on a long detour. Usually at the longitude of the Horn they were sailing right out in the middle of Drake Passage, sixty miles or so from the black rock marking the extreme tip of Tierra del Fuego. A book by Jean Randier, who was one of the first captains on the Belem after her reconstruction, “Men and boats of Cape Horn” remains the essential reference work to appreciate the legend and dangerous existence of the sailors on these epic voyages.
Few have presented the Horn, and the men who lived there, than Francisco Coloane. The Chilean writer, who used to be a shepherd before becoming a crewman on a whale ship, and then captain of a small coaster in the Magellan Straits, came up with some real gems bringing together harsh reality and incredible fiction with some powerful writing and a detailed knowledge of these regions. In his collection of short stories “Cape Horn”, Francisco Coloane wrote: “Sailors claim that within a mile of this tragic headland, which witnesses the never-ending duel between the two oceans as they come together at the Horn, the Devil himself is held prisoner, and on stormy nights, you can hear him rattling his chains, as the seas attack the shadows...”

PF Bonneau
 

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