gCaptain brought my attention to cruise ship rather unfortunate encounter with the Drake Passage. For those who don’t know, the Drake Passage is the hell hole between the tip of South America and the Antarctica Peninsula infamous for the roughest seas in the world. Go ahead type “roughest seas in the world” into Google, 9 out of 10 will refer to the Drake Passage.
Obviously, the Drake Passage is not something to take lightly. It requires an experienced captain, crew, and a hardy (and preferably large…that’s what she said) ship. Tackling the Drake Passage for tourism…well… add this to a growing list why tourism to the Southern Continent is a bad idea.
The Drake Passage is known to be one of the world’s most treacherous bodies of water and the Clelia 2 is definitely not the ship to be caught in a Drake Passage storm. It is a small ship unlike QM2, M/S Queen Elizabeth, Carnival Pride etc. etc.
if you read the book by Alfred Lansing on Shackleton’s Epic Voyage back to South Georgia you will appreciate the voyage he made through parts of the Drake Passage. What you see in this film clip is what he and his five men encountered for 16 days,and how beyond all odds they survived. Worsely, his navigator was a genius and he was he only one who could have done what he did. It is a most riveting story by a man of the sea{Shackleton} for what he did to prepare the boat for this body of water, and what Worsely did with only four sightings of the sun. Tom Bragen Bayonne, NJ. USA
And don’t forget Shackleton, Worsley and his men made it in a 22 foot boat!!