Western Atlantic High Sea

In the far southern Atlantic, the sea near South America's island and channel region required navigators to think in terms of weather, shelter, and supplies as much as direction. Strong winds could aid a passage or force a vessel away from its intended course. Land offered possible refuge but could be hazardous to approach. A voyage depended on the ability to recognize changing opportunities without exhausting the crew or provisions.

In the wider Tierra del Fuego region, Yaghan communities travelled by canoe and used the marine resources of the channels. British survey voyages aboard Adventure and Beagle examined the southern coasts between 1826 and 1836. In 1830 Robert FitzRoy took four Yaghan people to Britain as hostages; three returned on the Beagle's later voyage. These events belong to the wider region.