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January 4, 2025, 10:00 UTC | Pre-Departure
It is a new year and a new season is about to start on FALKEN! I came down to Lagos with the family before the new year to have a quick vacation before the season started. We have enjoyed playing on the beaches, exploring the side streets of Lagos, shopping at the farmers market on Saturday, and getting a few small projects done on FALKEN in between. Lagos has been a frequent stop, and I first came here back in 2012 when Andy and I sailed a Saga 43, KINSHIP, with ARC Europe. We also sailed in here with ISBJORN after our summer up in Svalbard, and both FALKEN and ICEBEAR have been here multiple times.
Emily, who is the skipper for this leg, arrived late on the 1st, and since then we switched into work mode and are prepping FALKEN for her next passage. I thought I was smart to get the major provisioning done before Emily arrived, but didn't realize until I stepped into Pingo Doce (the supermarket closest to the marina) that it was New Year's Eve and the store was packed. Anyhow, lots of good food is now added to FALKEN for the next leg.
Crew will arrive today at 1 pm. We have been monitoring the weather and it looks like we'll sit out some weather on Sunday and depart after that. We are kicking off the 2025 season with an all-female crew, eager to jump onboard and make our way towards Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. Bethany and Jeana came down the docks yesterday to check out FALKEN and I am sure the rest of the crew have been spying on us from the shore.
Our aim is to send in daily blogs to the website, so check back to hear about our adventures as we head south!
HOLD FAST!
Mia
mia@59-north.com
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Kärt barn har många namn
A dear child goes by many a name, or as we say in Swedish "kärt barn har många namn". This is the case for many a person, but also some species, not least the Mahi mahi, which also goes by dolphin fish, golden mackerel, and dorado, among others. Soon, we could see the fish jump, a hundred feet or so behind the boat, and as I kept reeling, a beautiful Mahi appeared under the surface. Manot showed us how to clean and fillet it, and after a complete team effort two large fillets are now in the freezer of Adrienne II.
Cast off the lines
When we awoke it was overcast but the Brazilian sun quickly burned the clouds away and we were left with blue skies. We reviewed some safety procedures, cleaned the boat and had an exciting Person Overboard (POB) recovery. Once we were underway spirits soared as we pointed the bow toward the Canary Islands. As I write this we are heading upwind and dealing with all that involves, and working into our first watches. It is hot, a bit bumpy but we are sailing!!
People Get Ready!
The last three days have been an intense (and intensely hot) period of discovery, practice, and planning. Because Adrienne II is not a 59N boat, there's been some extra setup and coordination needed including rigging all the sails that were out for repairs before we arrived. Its been a blast working alongside the 59N team getting to help them work things out on a less familiar boat in real time. Tomorrow morning we'll run through our Person Over Board training as the final pre-departure task, cast off and head out. Can't know all that it will be, but its going to be a great adventure out in the vast world with some pretty fantastic people.