46 great names from the history of Cape Horn passages have already been inducted into this Hall of Fame of the International Association of Cape Horners (IACH), which was only opened four years ago. Sailing fans are particularly familiar with the more recent inductees.
Boris Herrmann: ready for the Hall of Fame with seven Cape Horn passages?
Included in the Hall of Fame of Hoorn conquerors are, for example, Vendée Globe winner Charlie Dalin and perennial favourite Samantha Davies, Franck Cammas, Jean Le Cam and Loïck Peyron. And of course Dame Ellen MacArthur, older warhorses such as Eric Tabarly, Grant Dalton and Michel "Le Professeur" Desjoyeaux and all-time stars such as Sir Peter Blake.
The first Ocean Race winner Ramon Carlin, the "Flying Dutchman" Cornelis Van Rietschoten and historic Hoorn conquerors such as the Dutch Captain Willem Schouten, the Belgian Jacob Le Maire and the British Vice Admiral Robert Fitzroy will also be there. The overview shows all already recorded and successful "Kap-Hoorner".
There is not yet a German member of the Hall of Fame. However, there is one candidate who has already passed the legendary landmark an impressive seven times. The penultimate time he did so was as the stage leader in The Ocean Race 2023, when Team Malizia also won the Cape Horn stage. We are talking about Boris Herrmann, who has passed the Everest of sailing more times than many other members already inducted into the Hall of Fame. Here an overview of the seven Cape Horn passages by Boris Herrmannwhich we presented last year.
Remarkable research work by the IACH
On its pages, the IACH also shows elaborately researched overviews of solo and team circumnavigations - non-stop or in stages - that passed the Hoorn. Here are all solo non-stop circumnavigators to be found. Among them is Wilfried Erdmann, who sailed around the world in 271 days until 1985 with "Kathena Nui" and repeated the German feat in 2001 from east to west in 343 days. The list shows 226 soloists.
A further overview shows the solo circumnavigators who have made stopovers and passed the Hoorn. The IACH did an impressive job with the Overview of all Cape Horn passages by teams achieved. All individual sailors are listed! The list is up to date and even includes the achievements of the recently celebrated Winner of the Jules Verne Trophy with skipper Thomas Coville and the women's crew from The Famous Projectwhich Cape Horn like no crew had ever done before.
In addition to the official inclusion of all Hoorn champions in the lists, the IACH has regularly inducted particularly deserving Hoorn conquerors into the Hall of Fame once a year for the past four years. Sailors can be nominated by anyone. Click here for the nomination form. The current nomination period ends this year on 30 April. The independent jury is chaired by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is the symbolic figure
This is particularly remarkable because, as the British symbol of solo circumnavigation, it was he who won the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in 1969 after 313 days with an average speed of 4.02 knots. Almost 57 years ago, Knox-Johnston set the benchmark for all those who followed him. The jury includes ten-time solo circumnavigator Jean-Luc van den Heede, seven-time circumnavigator Dee Caffari (Great Britain), Stan Honey (USA) and Captain Dilip Donde, the first Indian sailor to achieve a single-handed circumnavigation.
The jury will shortlist 15 nominations from outside the organisation, which will then be voted on by all IACH members. The best six candidates will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The award ceremony is expected to take place in September during the start week of the 2026/2027 Golden Globe Solo Non-Stop circumnavigation in Les Sables-d'Olonne.
Goosebump memories! A look back at the Cape Horn Passage by Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia, who were first at Cape Horn and first in the next harbour in 2023:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
