Kingfisher at anchor off Isla Herschel.

ISLA HERSCHEL, CHILE — Ellen MacArthur is taking a bit of a breather on her 11,000-mile passage from New Zealand to the UK. Last reports had the Open 60 Kingfisher anchored with the sailing vessel Pelagic in a small bay on Isla Herschel near Cape Horn. Kingfisher met with the other vessel in the isolated area to allow the three accompanying crewmembers-team co-ordinator and system guru Martin Carter, Whitbread navigator Andrew Cape, and Bruno Dubois from North Sails Europe-to disembark and let MacArthur have a "practice" solo sail to Europe. The vessel has seen a fast two-week passage from New Zealand to Cape Horn, posting 17-knot averages for consecutive hours, and the team has been able to make small improvements in its handling. Now the 22-year-old MacArthur is poised to become the youngest female to round Cape Horn and will set off without her crew for a 35 to 40 day passage up the South American coast and across the Atlantic, a distance of 7,200 miles. The skipper will face a variety of conditions, bashing upwind, tradewind sailing, and the doldrums. Even though alone, MacArthur wants to adhere to the maritime tradition in which seasoned salts indoctrinate newbies crossing the equator with typically degrading ceremonies. "Apparently I'm meant to do my own ceremony," she said. For more information: www.kingfisher challenges.com