Gathering of “Cap Horniers” in France to celebrate Christmas

The International Association of Cape Hornes (IACH), an association dedicated to “Cap Horniers,” i.e., professional skippers who have rounded the legendary Cape Horn, gathered last Dec. 10 in Les Sables D’Olonne in an evening of festivities and celebrations.

If there is one holiday that most of all symbolizes unity and brotherhood, that is Christmas. And it also applies to ocean sailors, especially those who engage in ocean racing and world tours. Among them, a very special bond is the one that unites the so-called “Cap Horniers,” or professional skippers who have rounded the mythical Cape Horn during a non-stop passage of at least 3,000 miles. A special association is dedicated to them, theInternational Association of Cape Hornes (IACH), based in Les Sables D’Olonne, France, which precisely to celebrate the Christmas holiday and honor all members met last December 10 in the French city. It was a highly anticipated and particularly exciting event attended by sailors who came from all corners of the world-Australia, China, France, Italy, New Zealand, South America, Sweden. United Kingdom and the United States. Read also: Today, 400 years ago the myth of Cape Horn was born: we tell you the story

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Those who Cape Horn has it in their hearts

The Cape Horn gathering in December was a good time of celebration, meeting old friends and telling tales of memorable Cape Horn dubbings. The first sailor to be honored was Jean-Luc Van Den Heede who has rounded Cape Horn more than any other sailor and received the first “Pindar Cape Horners Lifetime Achievement Award.” The French skipper has sailed past the mythical “rock” in the Southern Ocean 12 times during his 10-year sailing career: six times solo from the East, four times from the West, once as a member of a two-person crew, and once while cruising in 2014.

For Mike Goldin “the most incredible place” on Earth.

Also honored was Frenchman Loïck Peyron, former record holder of the Jules Verne Challenge, followed by two French sailing heroes, Jean Le Cam and current circumnavigation record holder Francis Joyon. British skipper Mike Golding, on the other hand, attended the ceremony via video link from the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean, where he was staying with his family. And it was Golding, perhaps, who summed up the sentiment of all members of the association, saying, “It is a fantastic honor to be nominated and inducted into the Cape Horn Hall of Fame. There is no finer award than the one created by your peers. I can’t believe that my name is next to many great names of the past and present.” For Golding, who has made 6 passes of Cape Horn, 3 to the West and 3 to the East, his most indelible memory of this infamous Cape is the smell: “The smell of the earth à he explained-the smell of heather and the smell of peat, all combined with the sound of the ocean. To me it is the most incredible place on Earth.”

A valuable record, a source of stories and curiosities

Recall that the International Association of Cape Hornes (IACH) has as its president the great British navigator Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, while the vice president is Jean-Luc Van Den Heede. The association’s official website publishes a register of solo navigators who have completed round-the-world voyages in Australian latitudes. The list currently gathers a total of 300 navigators who can be searched according to category (solo non-stop, solo non-stop and crewed) by entering the name, the event in which they took part, for example the Vendée Globe, but also by entering the year, the name of the boat and the country of origin or finally by the sailing time.

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The Italian “Cap Horniers”

Beyond its practical and historical function, the IACH registry also allows for stories, anecdotes and curious data for all Cape Horn enthusiasts. For example, that among the non-stop solo “Cap Horniers” there are also five Italian sailors: Ambrogio Fogar, Giovanni Soldini, Simone Bianchetti, Pasquale De Gregorio, Andrea Mura, Riccardo Tosetto and Alessandro di Benedetto.