Day 6 At-Sea
12º 54’ N, 041º 36’ W
11 February 2024
2041 Ship’s Time
12º 54’ N, 041º 36’ W
Steering 275 at 9-10 knots
The sky is as dark and as full of stars as it has been yet. This is very likely the result of the passage of a front further north early this morning, which came with a backing and freshening of the wind. We had around 20 knots for the better part of the day. The whole crew is well experienced by now, and steered our vessel playfully and with confidence. As the waves picked up, the surfs kept getting better and better, regularly hitting 12-13 knots. The fun factor was and still is undeniable.
At 1357 Ship’s time, we crossed the bar of 1,000 miles sailed. We celebrated this little milestone with a big shout and a fruit salad, after which we all freshened up with a shower for the second time on this trip. The smell of fresh soap onboard is a gentle reminder of our lives ashore and puts our experience onboard into perspective.
As if to top off the day with one last highlight, Jen and Rene served up a lovely couscous at sunset, with spices that Rene brought us straight from Morocco. This was our first true sunset, after the northeasterlies finally managed to clear the dusty haze that has clouded the horizon for days. As the day merged into the moonless night, the stars appeared brighter than ever before, revealing our Milky Way. Of course, I couldn’t resist the temptation to bring out the binoculars for a quick glance at the Orion nebula and the Andromeda galaxy, both visible to the naked eye. Seeing our sister galaxy and the brightly lit gas cloud always seems to awaken deep philosophical thoughts. I am left with a profound feeling of voyaging—over sea, and on another scale, through the universe.
ManotBerger
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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.