Mr. Francis Drake, after whom the widest strait in the world is named, was incredibly lucky. He was a great explorer, a real pirate and adventurer. Drake managed to get a full right to privateering from the hands of Elizabeth - the Queen of England herself, and later he was awarded the honorary title for his service in the name of Britain and became a vice admiral.
How did Francis Drake discover the widest strait on the planet?
In 1578, Drake's ship raced through the waves of the sea during a huge storm. The purpose of the trip was the Strait of Magellan, but nature had other plans. A stormy hurricane carried the pirate's ship into the open sea, past the place where he was heading, in order to subsequently circumnavigate the world. Although in fact this trip was an aggressive raid on the Spanish colonies on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
Great geographical discoveries are often made involuntarily,mainly in search of countless treasures, precious metals and stones, as well as slave labor and overseas delicacies. It was in this way that the widest intercontinental strait was opened, named after the titled pirate.
Only one ship out of six managed to stay afloat, and the surviving ship, called the Pelican, was swept south by the current straight into the Pacific Ocean. On the occasion of the rescue, Drake changed the ship's name to the Golden Hind, and it arrived safely after a robbery and looting on the Pacific coast, loaded with treasure.
Drake Passage: a brief description
The strait connects the waters of the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean and is called the Drake Passage on all maps. It reaches a width of 820 km (and this is at its narrowest point), in some places a distance of 1120 km is noted. Compared to the width, the length of the strait looks a little more modest and is 460 km. Depth ranges from 276 to 5250 meters.
The border of the strait conditionally runs from Cape Horn, related to Tierra del Fuego, and to the island of Snow (South Shetland Islands), related to Antarctica. The proximity to this cold mainland affects the climatic features. Even in summer, the water temperature does not rise above 6°C, although in winter it is about 3°C. This means that the widest strait remains navigable for a whole year, since it freezes through no more than25%.
Drake Passage: customs and traditions
Several traditions and customs are associated with the Drake Passage and Horn Island. The most popular of them is the order of the Queen of England, according to which, after the first successful overcoming of this route, the sailors were supposed to have an earring made of copper, after the second - of silver, and if the strait was conquered three times, then a gold earring already flaunted in the navigator's ear. Along with the many privileges that en title them to free drinks, they also came to be called "Sea Wolves", which was considered quite prestigious at the time.
Since then, this water barrier has been overcome more than a dozen times. For example, the famous traveler from Russia Fedor Konyukhov successfully crossed this dangerous area as many as 6 times, the last of which he made in 2010. Following ancient customs, he would have been en titled to 2 gold earrings and an honorary title for this.
Insidious water barrier
During the Great Discoveries, ships on their way from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic had to repeatedly cross the widest strait in the world. At the same time, sailors always took a justified risk, since this insidious water barrier was not for everyone. To this day, sailing along the strait is estimated as the conquest of Mount Chomolungma.
The widest strait of the planet is considered very dangerous and impassable. Often on the waythere are huge icebergs, whirlpools, sometimes there are unprecedented storms with waves up to 15 meters, and the incident wind reaches 35 meters per second in places. Difficulties in passing the strait are also due to the strong current.
Although the Drake Passage is the widest strait, it is the narrowest point in the Southern Ocean. Since 1993, regular surveys and measurements have been carried out, since this boundary between two vast oceans is the most important site for hydrological research of the Antarctic circumpolar current.
