To navigate the Straits of Magellan is no small matter.

There are always more or less storms in that region, and I wish I was well through it." "Then we're liable to have a hard passage ?" "More than likely." The captain's fears were verified.

A few days later, when they were within a hundred miles of the dreaded Straits, it began to blow.

There was a steady increase to the wind, and Captain Spark wore an anxious look as he paced the quarterdeck.
Still there seemed to be nothing more than a heavy blow, and Bob was beginning to hope they might get through with less trouble than the commander anticipated.

The captain had decided to try the passage of the Straits rather than to actually go around Cape Horn.
But it was not to be.