18º 20.7’ N / 052º 35.4’ W
January 30, 2025 | 15:35 UTC | 11:35 Ship’s Time | 18º 20.7’ N / 052º 35.4’ W
Hello, this is Sarah. We’ve sailed 2,470 nautical miles and finally the air feels warmer. We have sunrises of lemon yellow, pink fluffy clouds, deep golden sunsets, and the sea is a dark aquamarine blue rather than grey. The rain squalls with gusty winds seem to be behind us, although maybe this is too early to say. The size of the waves has also now reduced from about 4 to 2 meters (I may be exaggerating), and the movement of the boat is much less erratic, so we have all had a chance to catch up on sleep while off watch.
We’ve seen very little wildlife on the ocean. The highlight was the group of sperm whales—probably females with calves—a couple of times. Some dolphins, probably Atlantic spotted dolphins, followed the bow when we were off the coast of the Cape Verde Islands. A few white birds with long tail feathers circled us when we were 1,000 miles out from Antigua. Last night, a single big bird with grey feathers flew close back and forth as if inspecting us to see if we would be a good perching point. Occasionally, a flying fish has had the misfortune to land on the deck. Once, in the middle of the night, one caught Emily (our long-suffering skipper) across the forehead when she was in mid-conversation. A real-life ‘slap in the eye with a wet fish.’
On board, we are a very content group. Time on watch together, particularly in darkness, has led to shared stories, discussions, reflections, and laughter. I’m aware of how lucky we are to have experienced something unique in this slow journey under sail we’ve undertaken together.
- Sarah
crew@59-north.com
View more passage logs
Seasickness
But maybe, I thought, with some drugs I could stay ahead of it. The first 48 hours I felt horrible. But luckily with 3 health care professionals on board and in a very encouraging environment, my body found its way. Anyway, someone offered me a patch (unavailable in Canada) and someone else gave me some pills for nausea and now I feel much, much better.
Dolphins and Bioluminescence
We had a good run with the sails but weather has changed and we are once again chasing the wind. Everyone is getting a chance to practice helming in big swell; starting to get a feel of the wind and water and how it pushes and pulls the hull. A pod of dolphins came to visit at night, splashing in the bioluminescent water, and again in the day, dancing in the bow wake. For now enjoying the calmer sea state and falling asleep to the rumble of the engine and the gentle whooshing of the water on the hull.
Greetings from Lala Lemonshark
The brave crew is toughing it out and staying cheerful despite being tossed around. The engine is off and we are true sailing-main and jib. In the first 12 hours we saw two pods of Orca and four humpback whales, two of which were 20 yards off the starboard beam!