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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Birds and glows
The sun brought new wind and we were soon putting up the Yankee (jib) and turning off the motor. During the evening tradition of sharing “glums and glows” that follows the crew dinner, our Mate Ryan proclaimed it a “champagne sailing” kind of day. As Alex noted this evening, life goes by so fast that one of the very best things about his line of work is enjoying the passage of time in the slow lane of an ocean passage. But by tomorrow, the green blobs in the weather sailing app indicate we’re going to pick up some significant northwesterly winds and we’ll take them ever further south to the Channel Islands latitude. We’re all super excited for the knots to climb and to see Falken really run.
Golden Day
The Pacific is giving us “the shimmer” - with a still flat sea seven hours out of San Francisco Bay, we’re motoring south along the shipping channel, with an hour to go to what teases now as a stunning sunset against wispy clouds. Throughout this first day of Falken 11 the sails have unfurled and been furled again as skipper Alex tries to fill them a meager breeze indeed. We’ve seen a few whales traveling along the route, and an otter that was sadly just a buoy. It’s the first open ocean sail for many of us and it’s a thrill to anticipate all the new experiences we’ll have.
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.