Why is Drake Passage so rough?

With no land surrounding the latitudes of the Drake Passage to break it's flow, combined with strong winds and unpredictable weather, Drake Passage sea sickness is often an inevitability. The Drake Passage can experience up to 15m swells and winds reaching Beaufort scale 10 (hurricanes are scale 12) at its peak.



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Dealing with the Drake Passage You can help to minimise the effects of sea sickness with a few basic techniques: Staying hydrated is key, as is avoiding drinking alcohol. Eat light, regular meals. Stay active by going for a walk around the ship or venturing up to the deck.

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The choppy waters of the Drake Passage, named after English explorer Sir Francis Drake, who never actually traveled through the waterway but sailed close to the location in 1578, are believed to have caused more than 800 shipwrecks.

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Today, modern ships can cross the Drake Passage and its waves very reliably, as they handle the swells better and have much more advanced navigation systems. However, the Drake Passage may well also be calm, which some people refer to as the 'Drake Lake'.

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As they continue to drift north, icebergs are usually pushed east by the powerful Antarctic Circumpolar Current funneling through the Drake Passage. From that point, icebergs often whip north toward the equator and quickly melt in the area's warmer waters.

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No, a rogue wave cannot tip over a cruise ship like in the movie Poseidon. While it is true that rogue waves can reach heights of up to 30 meters and have been known to cause damage to ships, they are not powerful enough to flip an entire vessel upside down.

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Almost all Antarctica cruises have to traverse the infamously choppy Drake Passage, and Alaska cruises must emerge from the sheltered Inside Passage into the rougher waters of the Gulf of Alaska or the Pacific to reach their homeports.

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