Wednesday, June 18, 2025 | Sun, Squall, Boobies and All
We often find comfort in constants. Those wonders of each day that don’t let us down, those relentless events that create the cadence of our lives. I reached a degree of comfort here in the doldrums, due in large part to three constants—sun, sea, and soup. Yep! Plenty of each of those to be found.
The sun and I don’t always get along, but as the crew glummed and glowed at dinner time, I had to concede that we were enjoying wondrous sunsets, some pretty fine sailing, and the weather that makes it all possible because of the sun. Thank you, Sun!
The sea keeps on giving—everchanging vistas, constant mesmerizing motion, and vast power manifest in the grace of gentle rolling swells. We did see some more dolphins in the distance, and the flying fish continue to entertain. Thank you, sea!
And now we come to the soup. Although not as vast as the sea, there may be enough to constitute a body of liquid visible on Google Earth. Fortunate for us, it is delicious, nourishing, and a beautiful shade of green not otherwise seen in our current environment. There has been some chatter about mandatory soup ingestion to mitigate the situation, but we continue to be fed wonderful dinners and are grateful that the soup is there for us, constant and plentiful. Thank you, soup!
What about the boobies, you may ask? They have accompanied us on our voyage and are more frequently taking the opportunity to rest and preen on the anchor (to the bosun’s delight). This is in contrast to the boobie that took a bit of a ride on the wobbly Windex the other day. Fortunately, it did not tolerate the raucous ride for long, and the Windex was not damaged. The boobies add a little beauty and action to our day. Thank you, boobies!
We have experienced a lot of fun on the trip thus far, but the doldrums did strip some of the spice from our day. But never fear, Tara is here. She produced some of the finest tasting cold Coca Cola I’ve ever had, and shared this precious resource with the entire crew. Thank you, Tara!
Oh, the squall… Yeah, everything was feeling pretty predictable and plain until the dark clouds rallied on our flank and swallowed us up. This is the longest sustained squall yet and is appreciated as the temperature has dropped by a few degrees. Although, I do think it is appreciated most by those not on watch. Thank you, squall!
Grateful to be here with this marvelous crew! Cheers!
- Orie
Write your comments below and I’ll forward them to the boat with the daily update :) - Mia (shore support)
crew@59-north.com
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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.
Among the Channel Islands
In the wind shadow of SoCal we had a restful night with calm conditions ghosting through smooth seas. We’re getting ourselves in position for spicy weather tonight once we round Cape Conception, the seas build and the breeze freshens. It will be an upwind sail into an acceleration zone along a formable coast with few bailout points, Morro Bay being one. The crew is really gelling with lots of smiles and laughter on deck. Monterey is in our sights!
Day Two Delights
The seas were completely glassy with a gentle swell as we approached San Clemente Island, the southernmost of the Channel Islands. Everyone jumped in and marvelled at the lovely temperature and crystal clear, indigo-colored water. Before long the wind started to pick up, and we happily unfurled the jib and were sailing again. The afternoon has been gorgeous, cruising along at 5-6 kts, close hauled on a port tack in a gentle breeze, Catalina Island in the distance on our starboard side, and everyone is happy.