For nearly his entire life, Paul Hawran (below, right) has focused on cruising around Cape Horn. The southernmost tip of Chile, Cape Horn is where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet. The waters aren’t for the faint of heart. That’s why Hawran took several years to plan the proper boat to tackle the trip. And just this past February, Hawran “rounded the Horn,” as the saying goes, aboard Argo, his Outer Reef 880 Cockpit Motoryacht.
Harwin took delivery of Argo just last year. From day one of the build, he discussed his goal of setting off from Alaska, rounding Cape Horn, and continuing on for at least another year with Jeff Druek (below, left), Outer Reef’s CEO and president. Druek says he was so inspired by Hawran that he decided to join him for the Horn leg.
Argo wasn’t built to any different standard due to Druek’s decision to join the trip. In fact, each Outer Reef 880 complies with CE Certification standard Category A – Ocean. This designates self-sufficient yachts meant for extended voyages, including on open ocean, where winds can exceed 40 knots and waves 13 feet. Cape Horn certainly presents those possibilities, as did the plan to visit the Galapagos en route from Alaska. Furthermore, Argo reportedly benefits from a 3,500-nautica-mile range at 10 knots, her cruising displacement speed. Power comes from twin 1,001-hp Caterpillar C-18 ACERTs.
Funny enough, Hawran says, “My near-lifetime ambition of getting to Cape Horn didn’t really strike me until several days after circling and stepping on Cape Horn.” It had been challenging and, at times, even felt “insurmountable.” However, he and Argo did surmount it, as the photos attest. “I know many other boaters have traveled here, but this was my Mount Everest,” he adds.
“‘Rounding of the Horn’ was a culmination of what I attempted to achieve many years ago as I built this company,” Druek comments. It underscores the “robustness” of Outer Reef yachts, he explains. But that was not the only crowning achievement for Druek. “Personally, it was an even more fulfilling moment to see the sense of joy and accomplishment on the face of my client and friend.”
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