DAY 7 Weather Update
February 15, Day 7 | ‘Bonus’ Weather Blog — Balancing Between Highs and Lows
Sailing across an ocean normally requires a bit of slaloming; you’re likely to abandon your great circle route searching for more favorable conditions. This specific passage with ADRIENNE from Sint Maarten to the Canaries is no different. This is NOT a route where we can simply follow the great circle route. While drawing a straight line from Sint Maarten to Gran Canaria, we end up with two very different weather patterns on either side of this line.
To the south, we find the NE’ly trade winds. This is where you want to be, sailing from the Canaries to the Caribbean to enjoy a nice downwind passage. ADRIENNE is heading the opposite direction. As much as I love upwind sailing, I’m afraid that three weeks of it, in 25+ knots of wind, wouldn’t necessarily improve the morale onboard.
The other option is to go north of this line. On that side, we find the semi-stationary ‘Azores High,’ also known as the Horse Latitudes. Known to sailors as an area of no wind and a burning sun—a place where you can be stuck for days on end, perhaps even weeks, if you don’t have an engine. Luckily, we have one onboard ADRIENNE. But we are sailors, not here to be motoring.
So, it stands between a bone-breaking upwind or no wind at all? Well, there is a joker involved. At this time of year—the northern hemisphere winter—deep low pressures regularly form further north in the Atlantic. From time to time, the cold fronts connected to these lows stretch far enough south to disturb the Azores High, bringing W’ly winds right down into the Horse Latitudes.
We have been monitoring the weather closely since leaving Sint Maarten, keeping our fingers crossed that such a low would be forming. For that reason, our course has been very much N’ly up until now. We really haven’t gained much distance at all towards our next port of call. Instead, we have invested our miles sailed to move north, to reach ‘The Low’ which hopefully would give ADRIENNE a good push towards Gran Canaria.
And we got it! As I’m writing this, a cold front has just passed by. Some beautiful squalls gave ADRIENNE and her crew a healthy shower. And now we’re pointing directly towards Gran Canaria in winds from astern. During the last hour, we averaged over 11 knots. The routing tells us we have approximately 13 days before landfall. We still have a lot of slaloming to do until then. New highs and developing lows are on the horizon. But for the time being, ADRIENNE is very happy. And so are the crew!
Love,
Erik, Skipper onboard ADRIENNE
ErikNordborg
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Ketch us if you Kan
Falken is soon to carry on our preferred route of South, back to (hopefully) warmer climates. We’re all excited to set off and see more of this wild landscape as we head down to Victoria. A thermal trough over Vancouver combined with an offshore high pressure creating funneling NW’ly winds means it is due to be pretty fruity on the 9th. This passage is just under 600 miles, relatively short for Falken, but I’m sure we’ll be kept entertained with dramatic scenery, wildlife and weather!
Final Blog
Falken and her crew arrived safely into port last night around 8pm boat time, 10pm Prince Rupert time. Some spicy weather was anticipated, but luckily the 35kt gusts and 2.5 meter waves were no match for this expert crew. We had an exceptionally smooth docking, despite it being Alex's first time parking this year (!). We all agreed that this was a very special group of people—I for one am so impressed with how everyone stayed so positive, helpful, and appreciative of humor despite an arguably challenging passage. We'll all return home significantly saltier than we were when we left, a mark of a passage properly sailed.
Lessons and a Gift
The biggest lesson is the helm. The lesson here is that even if you don't think you can do it over and over again with no sleep, cold and damp, it has to be done and so it can be done. Flying fish are cool, dolphins are really really cool, but the coolest of them all are the whales. And most of all Alex: "Find your center Carla. Always know where your center is so you can come back to it". He means the helm but it applies to life as well.