The first to sail around Cape Horn were Le Maire and Van Schouten who chose this route to avoid paying navigation fees in the Strait of Magellan. They named it after their home town in the Netherlands, Hoorn. Cape Horn is the southern tip of Isla Hornos and it is in Chilean territory. There is a small manned weather station that is occupied by navy personnel.

The strong westerlies that originate in the Pacific Ocean make it quite difficult to sail around Cape Horn from the East. This was especially true in the early days of exploration in the large sail-driven ships. For instance, in 1914 it took 67 days for the Edward Sewall to round the cape due to strong winds.