26° 2' N, 58° 55' W
February 12 | 26° 2' N, 58° 55' W | Day 3
We’re getting into the groove. It’s our fourth day at sea, and we’re still on our high side, sailing upwind toward the north. By now, we’re all getting used to living in a world that’s constantly tilted. Cooking, cleaning, and even using the bathroom in a space that feels like a ski slope has become part of the adventure. Sailing “the wrong way” across the Atlantic has its challenges, but the only one completely unbothered is Adrienne. She’s loving it, stretching her legs a few times close to 10 knots—not bad for a 42-year-old lady.
Today, the first showers were taken after one crew member remarked, "I smell like a diesel engine." Not exactly sure what he meant, but we were definitely due for a cleanup. We also tested our luck with fishing, but with no success—unless you count the seaweed we caught, which, unfortunately, wasn’t edible. Better luck next time.
A few sail changes were made during the night—furling in the jib, deploying the genoa, taking reefs in, and shaking them out again—all under the bright light of the moon and a sky full of stars. Sometimes, it really makes you wonder if we’re all living in a simulation.
All of the crew impresses, both with their sailing skills and their care for the boat. It’s almost as clean and tidy as when we left the docks.
Dinner is now almost ready—chicken stew with rice. Looking forward to a full stomach and some much-needed rest in a few hours.
See you on the high side!
- Tim Danielson
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.