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They round Cape Horn using their ACTION for guidance

CAP HORN PROJECT

Sail to Cape Horn in a sea kayak, without assistance. That's the crazy challenge 6 kayakers set themselves last winter. 40 years after the first expedition, they were paddling in the wake of the pioneers and tackling a mythical cape in extreme weather conditions - storms, icebergs, wave trains several meters high, strong winds sometimes blowing at over 180km/h, sub-zero temperatures.

The six kayakers made a film of the 500 km they covered in 17 days of total autonomy: "Projet Cap Horn". Kayaker and videographer Boris Doye tells us all about the adventure, and how they used their CROSSCALL ACTION smartphone to brave this dangerous cape.

BORIS, TELL US ABOUT THE "CAPE HORN PROJECT" EXPEDITION

Cape Horn is the mythical cape that fascinates all sailors with its particular landscapes and conditions. Six of us kayakers set off in December 2017 with the project of circumnavigating Cape Horn from island to island. We paddled in the footsteps of the first American expedition in 1977, but this time with little or no assistance. The Chilean army required us to have a boat following us, but we pretended it wasn't there.

We took 17 days and paddled 500 km in total autonomy with boats weighing up to 80kg. It's fair to say we've had it rough! The weather conditions were really rough, and it was hard on the morale. In addition to the icebergs, we had storms with waves that could reach several meters in height, strong currents, temperatures between -5°C and 5°C, winds averaging 50km/h, at 180 km/h at their strongest. In short, it was a blast!

HOW DID YOU USE THEACTION DURING SHIPPING?

In addition to a router that guided us by satellite phone and our paper charts, we had downloaded all the nautical charts from the Navionics app before setting off. We guided ourselves by activating only the GPS mode. We made regular checkpoints throughout the day to cross-check information and see where we were in relation to our routes. Over there, the weather changes in 10 minutes and there are phenomena that you can't predict, which is why it's so useful to have a high-performance GPS to be able to spot you in the middle of a fog or take shelter in a cove when the squall arrives. This has happened on more than one occasion.

The phone was always in our vest pocket, constantly in the sea water, and never flinched. We fitted it with a floating hull, which is very practical for sea kayaking, and we're very happy with it. In terms of autonomy, we charged it every two days with our solar panels.

We had a few problems with the Chilean army, who kept coming to check us. As a result, we stored all our papers on the Drive application to show them at random checkpoints...

I also used theACTION extensively in the making of the film. I recorded the sounds and voices of the kayakers with a microphone connected to the telephone in their vests.

For aerial shots, I used to pilot my drone [DJI Mavic Air] with the phone. Its big screen is super handy, its battery level lasts longer and the fact that it's waterproof is really cool.