The Beagle Channel was named for HMS Beagle, the ship in which Charles Darwin had sailed with Captain Fitzroy in the early 1800's, during the official British Admiralty survey of this part of the world. However, it was much earlier - in 1520 - that Magellan first sailed through this remote part of the globe, and it is for him that the Straits of Magellan are named. The scenery on both sides of the Channel and the Straits was spell binding, and many of us remained on the open deck, the better to see and appreciate the glaciers, long thin waterfalls and snow sprinkled peaks on every side.
On our previous cruise, the captain of Minerva II had been able to bring us within close range of the notorious Cape Horn, but on this occasion, barely a week later, the weather was far less amenable and Cape Horn remained but a distant sight before our ship moved to safer waters.
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