Ghosts of Cape Horn

 

Prior to the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, Ghosts of Cape Horn a 1980 documentary, retraces the journey made by sailing ships during the days when it was necessary to travel 18,000 miles around Cape Horn in order to travel from the East Coast to the West Coast of the U.S ... 

Cape Horn: A Mariner’s Nightmare Cape Horn

The film, shot in 1929 is silent, but narrated by Captain Irving Johnson in 1980, who was aboard "Peking" during this voyage and took all of the film footage with a camera he had brought with him. He was only 24 at the time. Johnson continued a career as a sailor, and met his wife, Electa "Exy" Johnson while working aboard a schooner bound for France. They married in 1932 and went on to circumnavigate the globe together, teaching young sailors, and writing several books, articles, and producing several films based on their adventures.

The Last Cape Horners

Gustaf Erikson of Finland owned the last great fleet of sailing ships the world would ever see. We have rare first hand accounts from men who sailed from Europe to Australia to load grain and return to Europe by way of the treacherous Cape Horn. These sailings were known world wide as The Last Grain Races.