Cruising And The Drake Passage
Just within the last year we’ve come across a few articles discussing heavy seas in Drake Passage and the problems encountered by cruise ships under way to Antarctica. It’s not really clear what the message being sent is attempting to convey but we’re left with the likely message being that some regions are just too dangerous for recreational cruising.
Is the Drake Passage crossings really too dangerous for cruise itineraries? Perhaps they are attempting to warn potential passengers that this is a cruise that shouldn’t be taken. Whatever the intent of the reporting it is misplaced.
It is true that the currents circling Antarctica make for one of the world’s most treacherous cruise itineraries. The Drake Passage is the gap between the tip of South America and Antarctica .Generally the currents circling Antarctica meets very little resistance from landmass until they are squeezed into the Drake Passage. The waves can often top 40 feet giving it the reputation as “the most powerful convergence of seas” on Earth.
The real question that needs to be answered is how serious can the waves be, how dangerous is the crossing and is the trip really worth the risks?
The memorial to lost mariners stands above the Drake Passage near to the End of the World lighthouse.
How Dangerous Is Cruising?
First, everyone should understand that the world is unpredictable and at times a dangerous place. Getting into your car or even staying at home come with a level of risk. Last year about 32,000 people died in automobile accidents in the United States alone. Another 9,500 people died in the their bathrooms (slip and fall in the shower or bath being the most common). Everyone needs to accept the fact that life does not come with any guarantees.
Recently, there have been about 200 annual deaths involving cruise ships at sea, If that seems bad consider that that’s out of 30,000,000 yearly passengers. That equates to 1 death in 150,000 passengers. To put that into perspective, consider a large majority (72% to 77%) of onboard cruise deaths are actually from natural causes. We people of that certain age love to cruise. Over the past five years an average of 244 people have died in airplane accidents per year and an average 25,000 Americans per year are taken to ER’s for amusement park accidents. Airplanes experience turbulence, road trips encounter dangerous weather, people have accidents in their homes and cruise ships at sea have fires break out, have collisions with piers and yes ships experience occasional heavy seas can even be hit by rogue waves.
In our lives we are often faced with serious decisions regarding safety and how much risk we are willing to accept and weighed against the potential benefit. Each of these choices is a personal one and everyone comes with their own set of things that make them nervous, including heights, closed spaces, air travel, disease or being at sea. The biggest choice becomes how hard do we want to overcome a fear in order to have a desired experience? Some people have serious issues with seasickness or have a real fear of the ocean to the point that they won’t take any cruise. Others are nervous but occasionally take a cruise. While it seems that the farther you cruise from home, weather conditions, political unrest and more have impact in you deciding to cruise. It’s all risk versus reward.
Is Antarctica Worth The Risk Of High Seas?
On average there are about twenty four, large cruise ship itineraries into Antarctica each year with a much larger number of much smaller “expedition” ship itineraries. So even the opportunity to go is very limited. Our short answer is a resounding yes! While there is actually a chance of just gliding across a calm Drake Passage, the likely situation you’ll encounter is twenty to thirty foot seas. The crossing normally takes eight to twelve hours and most modern cruise ships are actually in very little danger. You may experience a period where the best policy is to sit or lay down for awhile but don’t let the risk prevent experiencing a day or two sailing through the waters of the frozen continent. Heck, bragging rights alone are worth taking the trip.
We have taken over sixty cruises on every one of the world’s major bodies of water, We have experienced heavy seas perhaps a dozen times and never have they caused us to give up cruising. By far the one cruise that sits at the top of our list is that cruise to Antarctica – period, full stop.
“A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.”
The Intentional Travelers 