56° WORLDWIDE CONGRESS OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF CAPTAINS CAPE- HORNERS (CHILE-2001).
This international event was held in Chile between 29 October and 7 November of 2001 with the attendance of 94 foreign participants of 12 countries throughout the world.

A welcome reception was held in Santiago at the beginning of this Congress at the NERUDA Hotel, in which the participants of other countries stayed.

On 30 October, the attendants traveled to Valparaíso, where the official traditional ceremonies were developed:

Having concluded such events, the participants returned to Santiago in order to attend that evening to a typical Chilean Dinner in "Los Adobes de Argomedo" Restaurant.

On 31 October, the delegations traveled by plane to Punta Arenas to embark on the AP-41 AQUILES bound to Puerto Williams and Cape Horn.

On 1st November morning, the AQUILES navigated in front of the glaciers of the northwest arm of the Beagle Channel, calling at Puerto Williams at dusk 16:30 hrs. Together with the collaboration of the Naval District’s Commander, the participants visited the "Martín Gusinde" Museum and the Etno-Botanical Park, which were very much admired by its visitors. The visit ended with a "micalvitón" in the Officer’s Mess Room, a splendid dinner in which the main course is the well-known king crab of Beagle Channel.

The AQUILES, escorted by the PSG MICALVI, sailed away to Cape Horn at midnight, calling at Santander Cove at dawn on 2 November. The severe weather conditions – NW wind of force 6 and rough seas – improved a little bit later on that day, which permitted to disembark 35 persons in the helicopter of the ship, having the opportunity to visit the monuments built by the Chilean Brotherhood in Hornos Island, the lighthouse and the family living there, and the Monumental Lighthouse Cape Horn. Captain Rudolf Wittenhagen, representative of the German Brotherhood, gave a replica of the "Madonna der Seefahrt" – sculpture dedicated to the seaman’s woman, which is also in Hamburg. This gift was made by the Blohm and Voss Shipyards, and placed in the "Stella Maris" chapel, near the lighthouse. The replica is made of strong bronze of 40 cm. high and 32 kg. of weight.

Once the visit ended, the AQUILES sailed off to the South and then changed its course to the West. Once approaching the Cape Horn meridian, the ship stopped her engines and sounded the marine siren and whistle in honor of those seamen who died in the attempt to cross the "fearful" Cape Horn. The ceremony was enhanced throwing two beautiful wreaths of manila rope to the sea, which were made in Puerto Williams, one on behalf of Amicale Internationale and the other on behalf of the Chilean Section of the AICH.

Further on that day, under the direction of Captain Roger Ghys, Acting President of the International Brotherhood, the Confederal Congress was developed – for the first time in AMICALE’s history – navigating in the surroundings of Cape Horn. During that meeting the decision about holding the penultimate AICH Congress in Nyborg, Denmark, was ratified, which will be held in July 2002; and the last one in Saint Malo, France, in May 2003, place in which the International Brotherhood have decided to disband. It was also agreed that after this date, the national brotherhoods will continue to operate in accordance with their own standards and laws.

On 4 November, the delegations disembarked the AQUILES, travelling by bus from Punta Arenas to the National Park Torres del Paine. During that journey, the participants had the opportunity to witness how people sheared a flock of sheep, and also to enjoy an excellent country lunch in the "Cerro Negro" Farm.

The stay in "Las Torres" Inn and the excellent weather conditions made a positive contribution to the visit to the National Park, in order to admire the beauty of the "Horns of Paine", the Big and Small Falls and Glacier Grey.

On our way back to Punta Arenas we also had an interesting visit to the Milodon’s Cave and a lunch in the "Costaustralis" Hotel of Puerto Natales. The stay in Punta Arenas was in the "Cabo de Hornos" Hotel.

We returned to Santiago by plane and stayed once again in the NERUDA Hotel, which is of high quality and located in a privileged area of our capital city.

On 7 November, a Farewell Dinner was prepared in the Military Club of "Lo Curro", specially arranged for this occasion. Once the dinner ended, the Chilean Brotherhood received several gifts by the participating Sections. At the same time, our Brotherhood gave a small wooden albatross to each of the foreign participants and a larger albatross to the Presidents of each Section or to their official representatives, which were donated by our Extraordinary Member Mr. Lucien Burquier L.

In this opportunity, Medals of Merit were given by the International Brotherhood. Among those who obtained such distinction was Admiral Jorge Patricio Arancibia, in recognition for giving the authorization – as Commander in Chief of the Navy in 1998 –to use the AQUILES in order to perform such trip to Cape Horn.

The natural beauty of our country, its geographical diversity, its kind weather and the hospitality of its people, were widely appreciated by all the attendants to our Congress. All the above mentioned has undoubtedly implied the stay of a group of 30 foreign members in Chile aiming to visit the North, Central and South Regions of our country, as well as the mythical Easter Island.

The success achieved has been accomplished thanks to the dedication and effort of the members of the Chilean Brotherhood, reason for which we feel very proud. However, we do recognize that the participation of the Chilean Navy played a significant role in order to place this Congress in the memory of those participants as a unique activity developed throughout AMICALE INTERNATIONALE.