An Orthodox Cross is expected to appear at the southern tip of the South American continent, Cape Horn in the memory of seamen who perished there. This was suggested by the well-known Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov, who is determined to implement the idea.
Cape Horn, which is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, is considered to be the largest ship graveyard in the world, with about 800 vessels which went to the bottom there. The Cape is the place where the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans meet, causing a strong current, accompanied by cyclonic whirlwinds and rains for 280 days per year. Seamen know numerous myths and legends about Cape Horn. Only those, who managed to sail round the cape and survive, were entitled to wear a golden earring in the left ear.
Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov has rounded the Cape five times. During the latest voyage, he decided to erect a cross there to commemorate all the sailors who were shipwrecked there.
"On February 12, 2009 we passed Cape Horn onboard our "Scarlet Sails" yacht and saw the hurricanes and winds which caused so many deaths here. The idea of erecting a cross came then to our minds, since no one has ever thought about this before. There weren't any memorial services for the seamen who died either".
A wooden cross has already been blessed and will be shipped to the South American continent, according to the priest from the Minsk Diocese Dmitry Barkar.
"The cross was produced in a college in the Belarusian town of Bobruisk, Mogilev region. The college is training children for the profession of wood carving and Fyodor Konyukhov was a student of this college in 1974".
At present, Fyodor Konyukhov and his crew are preparing for a flight to Chili. They will have to face numerous hardships in conquering the hostile Cape Horn, the traveler says.
"The yacht, which we are renting for two weeks, is the only one capable of sailing through the Straits of Magellan and rounding the cape. We will erect the cross at a height of 700 meters over the sea level for the sailors who died while passing Cape Horn".
According to Konyukhov, they hope that the seamen, who will pass the cape in future, pray for those who perished there.
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