Drake Passage

Attractions refers to the following countries:ArgentinaChile

Drake Passage is a waterway separating South America from Antarctica. Not so long ago, this circumpolar region was called the edge of the earth, it was incredibly difficult to get here. But now traveling to the Drake Passage has become a popular destination for international tourism. From the port cities of Argentina and Chile through the strait cruise liners deliver passengers to the icy shores of the Seventh Continent, to the Antarctic islands. The number of tourists who venture on such an exotic polar journey exceeds 100,000 people a year.

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Video: Drake Passage

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Highlights

Sailors who have sailed around the world consider the waters of Drake Passage to be the stormiest location in the world’s oceans. The mighty Arctic Current heads from west to east through the strait. The west vector is also characteristic of the prevailing winds in these parts. This phenomenon facilitates the passage of ships from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic, but hinders the movement of ships, especially sailing ships, in the opposite direction.

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Modern travelers can challenge the extreme strait by boarding reliable cruise ships heading from South America to Antarctica. The sea tours start in the Chilean port of Punta Arenas or in the harbor of Ushuaia, Argentina.

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Tourists get acquainted with the rugged beauty of the landscapes of Antarctic archipelagos located at the northern and southern limits of the Drake Passage, watch polar whales, view icebergs that broke away from Antarctic glaciers. Base camps are equipped on the islands, from where the rovers go to the habitats of seabirds, penguin colonies and seal rookeries.

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‘ A ship sails through the Drake Passage

History of Drake Passage

The epic of the discovery of the Drake Passage has a long prehistory. It can be said that this process continues to this day. Modern scientists study what was hidden from the eyes of previous generations of researchers: underwater mountain ranges, powerful ocean currents, a unique Antarctic ecosystem formed in the depths of the strait.

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In the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, the brave captains of European sea powers searched for a waterway that would allow them to circumnavigate South America and sail from the Atlantic to the vastness of the Pacific Ocean.

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In the late fall of 1520, the expedition of navigator Fernan Magellan, a Portuguese captain serving the Spanish crown, first approached the southern limits of the continent of South America. His small fleet of four caravels found a narrow strait named in honor of All Saints. It separated continental South America from the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. This passage is now called the Strait of Magellan.

After crossing 560 kilometers, the Spanish sailing ships entered the ocean waters on the opposite, western side of the continent. The weather there that day was so peaceful and windless that the astonished Magellan named this vast expanse Océano Pacífico – the Pacific Ocean.

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‘ Thames River in London.

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The offended Spaniards, who concealed their primacy in discovering the interoceanic passage, to this day refer to Drake’s Strait as the “Mar de Hoces” (Sea of Osis). This designation can be seen on nautical charts and in the geographical directories of all Spanish-speaking countries.

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In 1616, Dutch navigators Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire discovered the extensive southward-facing triangular protrusion of Tierra del Fuego Island in the Drake Passage. Le Maire mapped it under the name Cape Horn, in honor of one of the expedition’s ships that perished in these waters. The Dutch were looking for the fabled Southern Continent, as the undiscovered Antarctica was called in that era. But ice prevented the ships from discovering a new landmass, and the Dutch sailing ships headed into the Pacific Ocean, to the Tuamotu Islands.

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The southern tip of the strait remained unknown for over 200 more years, until 1819, when British Captain William Smith discovered the South Shetland Islands, which separate Drake Passage from the Antarctic Ocean.

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Despite the dangers of sailing and navigational difficulties, Drake Passage had already been an important part of maritime trade routes since the 16th century until the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, which shortened the passage from Pacific waters to the Atlantic by several thousand nautical miles.

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Along with the Strait of Magellan, the turbulent Drake Passage “duplicates” another shipping passage with calmer waters. This is the 240-kilometer-long Beagle Strait, which separates Isla Grande, the main island of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, from the many smaller islets lying in the northern waters of the Drake Passage. Beagle Strait was discovered during the circumnavigation of the globe by the eminent British naturalist Charles Darwin on the sailing ship Beagle in the 1820s. The strait is named after the expedition ship.

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‘ Adventurers from all over the world flocked to Tierra del Fuego – gold placers were discovered in the mountain river beds of the sub-Antarctic island. During this period, archaeological discoveries were also made on the islands of the Drake Passage. The artifacts found indicate that Indian tribes developed the region about 10,000 years ago.

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Deposits of the precious metal on the island of Tierra del Fuego were exhausted by the early 20th century, but the gold rush resulted in the formation of several port villages in the bays on the shores of the Beagle Channel. Among them stands out the Argentine city of Ushuaia, which grew up in the Bay of Enserrada and soon became a supply base for scientific expeditions, and in the XXI century – and the world center of Antarctic tourism.

Stormy Drake Passage is notorious among sea captains. Over the past 500 years, more than 800 ships have been wrecked in its turbulent waters, taking into the abyss about 20,000 sailors. There are no reefs in the deep-water passage, but ships run the risk of colliding with an iceberg or hitting a floating ice floe. Skippers of modern merchant ships prefer to pass through the longer but also calmer neighboring Strait of Magellan; small ships can access the shallow transoceanic Beagle Strait.

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In the last month of 2019, a dramatic event occurred in the skies above Drake Passage. On the evening of December 9, a Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane took off from a military airfield near the Chilean city of Magallanes, setting a course for a scientific base in Antarctica. On board the airliner were 17 crew members and 21 passengers, as well as various cargoes intended for polar explorers. After 1 hour 18 minutes, radio communication with the board was interrupted. Only on the third day of the search in the waters of the strait were found the wreckage of the plane and several bodies of the dead, but the cause of the disaster could not be found.

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On December 28, 2019, world news agencies reported that for the first time in history, a team of athletes from 4 countries crossed the treacherous Drake Passage by paddleboat, without the aid of a motor or sails. Six sturdy men on a 9-meter Ohana dinghy crossed the Drake Passage in 12 days, sailing more than 1,000 kilometers in rough seas. They rowed for 24 hours a day, changing to rest in a tiny cabin with room for only two people. The dinghy was accompanied by a motorboat hired by Discovery Channel journalists. They made a dramatic TV movie about this incredible voyage. The record was registered in the Guinness Book of World Records.

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‘ Tierra del Fuego Archipelago
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Geography

https://trevaladvisor.com/” alt=””/>‘ Antarctica and the wet, cool sub-polar weather conditions formed on the island of Tierra del Fuego, which terminates the tip of the continent of South America.

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Chaotic storm waves up to 12 meters high are formed not only by the wind, but also by the temperature difference inherent in the waters of the strait. The average annual water temperature near the shores of Tierra del Fuego is +8…+12 ° C, and closer to the Southern Ocean, which washes Antarctica, the water in the strait is cooled by ice to +1…+2 ° C.

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Travel portals claim that the best time for cruises along the Drake Passage comes at the height of summer in the Southern Hemisphere, that is, in January. For example, in Ushuaia during this period is warm by local standards, the air warms up to +10…+15 ° C, and on the northern shores of Antarctica – only +3…+5 ° C.

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However, even short-term weather forecasts are often wrong, and instead of the expected light excitement in the Drake Passage, a fierce storm with hurricane wind plays out. However, meteorologists studying this circumpolar region unanimously believe that local weather conditions are unpredictable at any time of year.

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‘ The shores of Antarctica
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Drake Passage cruises

For travelers, crossing the Drake Passage becomes an exhilarating adventure and a real initiation into polar exploration. A special ice-class passenger fleet was built exclusively for sailing in its subarctic waters. The hull structures of all cruise ships have been reinforced and the vessels are ready for possible collisions with floating ice floes. Tour operators offer more than 80 cruise routes with visiting the Antarctic islands. The cruises start from Punta Arenas or Ushuaia. Ships cross the Drake Passage in 48 hours and drift near the islands. Tourists get there by motorboat.

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‘ Antarctica with visits to scientific stations.

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The 23-day sea voyages cost up to $36,000 per person.

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There are 14-day cruises to the shores of Antarctica, starting in Punta Arenas and ending in Ushuaia. Prices start at $16,195.

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Where to Stay

Cruise ships crossing the Drake Passage are often delayed due to storms and difficult weather conditions. Tourists stay in hotels in port cities while waiting for their voyage.

Ushuaia offers a choice of about 60 accommodations. Among the most luxurious hotels in the city is Los Cauquenes Resort 5*, located on the northern shore of the Beagle Strait. Rooms here cost $247-530 per night. A pleasant bonus for guests is meeting at the airport and free transfer to the hotel. A cup of hot chocolate is offered during check-in.

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‘ Ushuaia.

Beautiful views of Ushuaia, the sea harbor and the rocky landscape of Tierra del Fuego can be enjoyed from the rooms at Las Hayas Ushuaia Resort 5*, built on a mountainside high above the city. The price range for a daily stay is $165-$286.

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Cheaper you can rent a room at La Casa Del Mono ($55-85), Bagu Ushuaia Hotel ($65-95), Aires Del Beagle Apartments (from $89). Not far from the seaport is the Antartida Argentina Hotel. Here they ask $60-92 per room.

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How to get there

‘ Antarctica via the Drake Passage usually begins in either the Argentine port city of Ushuaia or the Chilean port of Punta Arenas. Only regional airports are located there, so international tourists will first have to get to the capitals of these countries – Buenos Aires (Argentina) or Santiago (Chile).

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Buenos Aires International Airport receives airliners from European destinations from Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, London, as well as Zurich, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam. The schedule includes flights connecting the capital of Argentina with the cities of the USA, Middle East, Africa, Latin America. From here there are 10 daily domestic flights to Ushuaia. The flight lasts 3 hours and 38 minutes and the ticket price is $79-117.

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Santiago International Air Harbor is connected by flights to major airports in Europe, Australia, Asia, North and South America. Delta Air Lines operates 10 flights daily from Santiago to Punta Arenas. The flight takes 3 hours and 40 minutes, and tickets cost $32-$58.

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