Adventures at the end of the world
Ushuaia is a name that has a special magnetism for people all over the world.
As it constitutes the south of the south of the planet, many people dream about visiting it. And the most adventurous spirits prefer to challenge its extreme terrain; hence, different kinds of adventures have been organized. Below, we will describe one of them: the crossing of the difficult Cape Horn on watercrafts.
A nautical adventure from French television
In a show that happened too fast for the local people, Cape Horn was crossed by watercrafts for the first time.
In Autumn 2000, a group of French people embarked on a nautical excursion from Ushuaia to Cape Horn. Navigating on two inflatable boats that they had rented in the Fuegan capital city, plus three state-of-the-art two-seater Sea Doo watercrafts, they managed to sail around the fearful cape in just a few minutes, while French TV crews filmed the event from an helicopter. Below, almost seven meters high waves rocked the three watercrafts as these crossed the cape. The delegation was led by triple ski world champion Luc Alphand, the famous French television presenter Vincent Lagaff, and Alexandre De Banne, host of a travel and adventure TV show.
Taking advantage of the promises of highly favorable weather conditions, a group of French men accepted the challenge of trying to go round Cape Horn on modern watercrafts only. If they succeeded, it would be the first time in history that the journey was done on these kinds of crafts. And they succeeded.
With no intention of minimizing the importance of their achievement, we should mention that it was not the lack of daring mariners what prevented the experience from taking place earlier (in fact, some local people have performed the same “brave deed” on kayaks). The point is that years ago this kind of boating hybrids did not exist or, if they existed, they were incapable of riding on this type of waves.
However, the cape's bare rocks remained immutable to the French trio and their motorboats, just as they have been for centuries. These rocks have seen vessels of every size, and from every nation, pass by... And they have remained impassive even as they witnessed the sinking of many of them.
Nevertheless, the event must be recorded as a landmark in the history of regional navigation.
Towards the south, three Sea-Doo Bombardiers and two local inflatable boats
For this adventure, three two-seater Sea-Doo GTX RFI Bombardier watercrafts were used, with a 950 cc direct injection engine, thus implying a much lower consumption than that of any other boat of this sort. That was a key detail for the expedition, as it was obviously difficult to refuel during the journey.
The watercrafts were adequately chosen, and they could also perform well in the event of adverse sea conditions, thanks to their autonomy and the available power.
As support boats, the French decided to take two inflatable boats from Ushuaia that were rented in the city from their respective owners: one belonged to Jorge Greco and the other to Iván Sarachu, and they were called “Ignacio” (8.50 meters long, with a 140-horsepower engine) and “Pato I” (6.40 meters long and a 90 HP).
The ambitious plan was eventually carried out in only four days, though at first they thought it would take longer. They set sail from the quay of the Asociación Fueguina de Actividades Subacuáticas y Náuticas (AFASyN, Fuegan Association of Underwater and Nautical Activities). From the departure until they crossed to the Chilean sector, they were escorted by the coastward vessel GC-67 “Río Uruguay”, property of the Argentine Coast Guard. Before the end of the day, the five vessels had managed to get to Puerto Williams, on Navarino Island, Chile.
Riding on seven meter waves
The almost twenty people that formed the team reached Cape Horn under meteorological conditions that were suitable for the watercrafts but no for the boats. That day, the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans beat against each other as they met, forming waves that reached a height of seven meters.
Despite the choppy waters, it was possible to carry out the navigation in front of the cape as planned, thanks to the maneuverability of the Sea Doos. It only lasted a few minutes and was done in a west-east direction, while the two inflatable boats waited on the coast, quiet, but on the alert, until the daring sailors successfully completed the lap around the cape.
Two vessels belonging to the Chilean Navy, the patrol vessel “Hallef”, and the general services vessel “Aspirante Isaza”, had departed from Puerto Williams with the mission of escorting the nautical adventure. They did so, remaining at every moment near the watercrafts and trying, at the same time, not to interfere with the video shooting that a couple of French cameramen were doing from an helicopter.
French TV stars, at the "bout du monde"
On board of the three powerful Sea-Doos (called "Cap Horn" I, II y III) were long-standing public French figures, from the show business and the sports world. They were Luc Alphand (35 years old), triple ski world champion, Vincent Lagaff (41), top entertainment presenter in French TV, and Alexandre De Banne (38), of a travel and adventure TV show, also French. Let's remember that for Europe in general and for France in particular, the whole area of Cape Horn has a unique magnetism for risk activities in natural environments. In fact, the name “Ushuaia” was taken as a synthesis of extreme adventure and thus used to name the most famous broadcast of French TV in the world ( "Ushuaïa, le magazine de l'Extrême") , conceived and presented by the adventurous Nicolás Hulot.
The intrepid sportsmen made a triumphant return to the point from where they had left in Ushuaia. Somewhat reserved in relation to the objective they were trying to achieve, the French did not fraternize very much with the local sailors, nor made any effort to spread the news of their achievement (*). In silence, the team went immediately back to Europe, where warm applause and camera flashes were waiting for them, undoubtedly more comforting than the gelid Autumn waters of Cape Horn.
(*) Sources that made possible this article: Rolando Martínez, correspondent of "El Mercurio" in Punta Arenas; Gonzalo Yanzi, President of AFASyN; Iván Sarachu, owner of the inflatable boat "Pato I"; and the always ready-to-serve Ushuaia Coast Guard.