The Great Capes

Join us as we launch our miniboats off the world’s three greatest capes: Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope, and Cape Leeuwin.  This will test our miniboat’s seaworthiness and capabilities in the world’s strongest winds and roughest seas. It will also help us prepare for Magellan’s 500th Year Celebration Festivities where we will join many other Maritime organizations and see if we can get a miniboat to circumnavigate the world.

“One sight of such a coast is enough to make a landsman dream for a week about shipwrecks, peril, and death.” ~ Charles Darwin on Cape Horn

Capes, large headlands extending into the sea, present a challenge to Educational Passages. Cape Horn lies in southern Chile, where the Atlantic and Pacific meet.  Historically threatening international shipping, the cape has become a significant cultural icon. Recreational sailors from around the world test their skills against the extreme winds, waves, and currents around this headland.

“It was here at this Cape, over three centuries ago, that there began the fateful convergence of the peoples of Africa, Europe, and Asia on these shores.” ~ Nelson Mandela on the Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope, originally called the Cape of Storms, presents another opportunity. The oceans near this South African headland connected African, European, and Asian sailors and continue to provide a venue for contemporary international regattas. By connecting students around the world to this cape, we hope to perpetuate the “fateful convergence of peoples” as expressed by Nelson Mandela. Students will join Chilean, South African, and Australian schools as they track the Great Cape Launches. We hope this event will result in the largest transoceanic classroom ever created, with schools around the world engaging in these voyages.