After
leaving Rio de Janeiro, few California-bound vessels touched at any
port until Cape Horn had been doubled. In theory, time could be saved
by avoiding the passage around the Cape and sailing through, either the
Straits of Le Maire south of Tierra del Fuego, or the much more
difficult Straits of Magellan. It was generally believed, however,
that ships of any size would be better advised to go around the Horn.
For all the moans and groans of scared and seasick gold hunters,
miserable in their bunks, the days of storm and stress off the Cape
were to be preferred to the adverse winds and erratic currents
encountered in a passage of the Straits from east to west.
A typical clipper log-book entry describes the rounding of Cape Horn as follows:
"July
12. Latitude 55° 27' 00" Longitude 65° 15' 00" Winds, south Wore ship
to SE at noon & wind died away gradually & at 10 P M hauled to
SW & Midnight to West. At 2 A M calm and remained so till 8AM
we took a wind from NW which came on very fiery & we furled Royal
staysails and topgallant sails & at noon put 2 reefs in the
topsails. We saw 1 Ship and 2 Barques this forenoon bound to NE. The
sea was quite smooth at 8 A M but a large sea on at noon. Cape Horn at
noon bore true North of us. 47 days 16 hours from New York."
The picture below of an unidentified ship rounding Cape Horn in a squall was another popular subject "done on stone" by Currier and Ives.
