February 19, Day 10 | Fun sailing and a speedy passage!
The ten-man crew of Adrienne have had about ten days at sea and maybe a week more before we arrive in the Canaries. Life revolves around the winds and watch schedule to sail the best through those winds. Those winds not only propel the yacht forward but also supply the energy for the waves. Higher winds here or somewhere make bigger waves. Waves come in all shapes as well, with some friendly and others troublesome. We have had it all, making steering at times arduous as you muscle your way down a narrow path to control the boat. Do it right and it is marvelous; do it wrong and it can cause havoc.
We are lucky to have a skilled crew who have learned how Adrienne handles in all the varied conditions coming our way. Especially skilled are the Captain and First Mate. They know their sailing. They have gently kept us sailing efficiently and taught us the skills necessary to manage a big boat at sea. Especially critical on this voyage is navigating amongst the constant passing of cold fronts and warm fronts. Catch the fronts right and it is "smooth" sailing. Catch them wrong and it makes for prolonged misery. Our Captain, with his computers and land-based help, has led us through the maze to get the best results for fun sailing and a speedy passage. I hope for the same during the remaining week.
- Tom Coan, ADRIENNE crew
crew@59-north.com
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Quadruple digits!
We are still headed north away from Hawaii, though today we have started to veer ever so slightly east. Speaking of miles, we hit quadruple digits today and are currently 1051 nms into our journey to Alaska. The sea state continues to calm down, and the famous North Pacific high is just out of our reach. The next few days will be a delicate dance of riding the outskirts of the high while avoiding the pesky low pressure systems that are dancing nearby. In his very wise words, we need to get north but not too far north, stay south but not too far south, continue heading east but not too far east, and avoid going west but also stay west.
The basics
Nordic Falken and her crew have been in a steady course of NNW since the departure of Hawaii. But! The good thing of all of this is that the promised land on which the high pressure lies has been getting closer and closer, meaning in a couple of days we're gonna see the wind slowly veer all the way to the South, which finally should see us easing the sails and remembering the basics of human nature all over again. The crew have been amazing and we've had everyone come around to push through fatigue, seasickness and soaking wet clothes. On another note we left the tropics a while ago and we can really feel the shift of temperature, long gone are the shorts and foulies have been the norm. Not much more apart from this, my intolerance to upwind sailing still pretty much alive but doing it with a bunch of such amazing human beings makes it worth it worthwhile.
Pacific pace
After some initial adversity, we untied our lines and left the beautiful island of O'ahu behind as we set sail north on an adventure of a lifetime. And that is exactly what we are - a family of strangers brought together by a passion for sailing and a love for the sea. The passage, while at its infancy, has delivered. The wind and seas, stars and sails all set the stage for a fantastic journey. We will see you on the other side with many stories to tell.