‘Like going to the moon’: Why this is the world’s most terrifying ocean crossing | CNN

The Drake Passage connects the southern tip of South America with the northernmost point of the Antarctic Peninsula .

Winds can hurtle around the globe, gathering pace and smashing into ships.

The ocean is surging through the gap between the continents, squeezing the water between the two land masses.

Waves can reach up to 49 feet , but the mean wave height on the Drake is less than double that of the Atlantic .

The Drake is home to what he calls “underwater mountains” below the surface.

The enormous current squeezing through the (relatively) narrow passage causes waves to break against them underwater.

There’s even a monument at the tip of Cape Horn in memorial of the more than 10,000 sailors who are believed to have died traveling through.

The unusually calm “Drake lake” effect happens once in every 10 crossings, with particularly rough conditions (that Drake shake’) once or twice in every ten journeys.

The safety margin is to be sure that the guests will enjoy being in Antarctica , and that we won’t turn around because we have a problem like injured people.

Some guests are drawn to Antarctica trips because of the tough journey.