February 20, Day 12 | Star Gazing and Sugar Withdrawal
The trade winds held steady at a perfect 15 to 20 knots, propelling Adrienne II smoothly across the Atlantic under a sun-soaked sky. The only real inconvenience was steering into the blinding sunrise, making us all appreciate our sunglasses and questionable hat choices. Despite the nearly ideal conditions, morale took a hit as we realized our candy stash had been reduced to a few sad wrappers and a couple of melted leftovers.
The universe, however, must have sensed our plight, because during the night watch, we spotted a cruise ship glowing like a beacon of temptation on the horizon. Briefly, we entertained the idea of an impromptu boarding mission—just a quick sprint up the gangway to refresh our chocolate supply, maybe even try our luck at the casino before security caught on. But alas, common sense prevailed, and we stayed the course, compensating for our sugar withdrawal with the usual barrage of terrible jokes and puns that would make even the ocean groan.
Early in the day, we crossed the Mid Atlantic Ridge, marking another milestone on our journey—one more invisible yet significant line on the chart conquered. As night fell, we turned our attention skyward, where the stars put on their usual mesmerizing display. After weeks of speculation, we finally solved the mystery of the bright triangular formation we’d been puzzling over—turns out, Mars, Pollux, and Castor had been winking at us all along.
Later in the night, as the clouds rolled in and obscured our trusted steering star, we decided to get creative. Enter the experimental "reverse steering" technique, in which I faced aft and used Venus as my guiding light. It was unconventional, slightly ridiculous, and surprisingly effective—a perfect summary of life aboard Adrienne II.
Ken Cascio, Adrienne Crew
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.