February 22, Day 14 | Atlantic Crossing Update
Out here in the vast blue, the ocean has been eerily still—so still, in fact, that we’ve been motoring for yet another day. The sails hang limp, waiting for the wind to return, while the hum of the engine fills the void. In the meantime, life aboard Adrienne II continues in its own rhythm. The crew has settled into the routine of ocean passage—washing clothes, showering, squeezing in workouts on the aft deck, and turning mealtime into an art form with increasingly gourmet creations. Books are being devoured, music drifts through the air, and moments of quiet reflection come naturally in this endless seascape.
Yesterday, we had an unexpected visitor—a Bermuda Longtail, clearly exhausted, trying to rest atop our mast. Unfortunately, our windex thwarted its landing attempt, and it was forced to find another perch. The encounter was a stark reminder of how remote we are, yet still connected to the natural world in the most unexpected ways.
With about 670 nautical miles left to go, we’re gearing up for the final stretch, hoping for a breeze to carry us home.
- Lars Vegard Guttormsen, Crew
crew@59-north.com
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A last hurrah
Under the dome of stars in a moon-less sky, each of us during our time at the helm used the most rudimentary celestial navigation, keeping a star or two lined up with the mast as a helper to following the heading range. It was a whole crew event to set the spinnaker, reef the mainsail and practice the heave-to in case of man overboard. Alex stressed that the key to success in all of these crucial activities is preparation. It was hugely satisfying to accomplish these tasks through teamwork. We share a constant good hearted back and forth full of stories, one-liners and comebacks that also means constant laughter.
One little bird!
Falken has almost rounded the Channel Islands and is cruising along splendidly about 100 miles offshore. Though several models predicted some slightly fresher winds today, we were met with a consistent 18-20 kts of pure bliss. It seems that from the moment we left the dock in San Francisco, there has been much laughter and conversation amongst everyone. The plan is to gybe in a few hours and begin our approach to Ensenada. As much as I do appreciate the jokes and intellectual musings, I equally appreciate the natural, silent moments we share at night, all of us on watch gazing up above to the shooting stars, constellations, and planets putting on their quiet show.
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.