8°21.5' N 026°17.2' W
October 9, 2025 | 8°21.5' N 026°17.2' W | Halfway mark and Wahoo Sashimi!
Joining Adrienne, I didn’t know what to expect, having no experience offshore and very little sailing experience overall, but after 9 days and over 1500 nautical miles all my expectations have been exceeded. Both in tough ways, experiencing a lot of seasickness for the first few days; and in happy ones, like full days of exceptional downwind sailing. Led by skipper Eric and mate Tim, the crew, and our home-away-from-home, Adrienne, take it all in stride. We support and look out for each other every day to make sure everyone is as happy and healthy as can be.
For the last few days we’ve been in the doldrums, which means lack of wind and rain squalls popping up left and right (or based on our current winds, windward and leeward). Adrienne seems to be immune to them, even at times when a bit of rain would be a welcomed respite from the tropical heat.
Life onboard can be a little bit different than on land, so here is a snapshot from this morning on Adrienne:
5:30 AM: I get woken up by the off-coming watch to get ready for my 6 AM start. Living on land, I’d be dreading this early start, but on Adrienne, we all live in a different reality.
6:00 AM: I pop my head out of the hatch and see the smiling faces of my shipmates David, Lance, Andrew, and Brittany. They’ve been up for the last 4 hours keeping Adrienne on course and looking out for squalls, but now is the time for them to sleep and team A to take over. Vilgot is up already, with Jim, Nicole, and I following close behind.
6:15 AM: We witnessed the most beautiful sunrise of the trip so far.
7:00 AM: We opt for the luxury breakfast, prepared by chef Vilgot, with pancakes and lingonberry jam and Nutella to keep us happy.
7:45 AM: Coffee time.
8:30 AM: We planned a busy schedule for ourselves this morning starting with a workout circuit. On the bow, core exercises; lower body amidship; upper body on the stern deck, with the last station being the helm, as someone needs to steer Adrienne after all.
8:50 AM: Rolled out the Genoa.
9:00 AM: Avoid a couple big squalls that we’ve watched develop over the last few hours.
10:30 AM: Start preparing lunch. Today, we’re having couscous with aubergines and sausages.
12:00 PM: Lunch time. Rest of the crew has woken up and we're ready to eat like a big happy family. This also marks the end of the watch, so after lunch team B takes over again and we slowly rinse off the salt, sweat, and sunscreen, and rest.
Overall, every day is filled with kindness, fun, and beauty, and I am grateful to be part of this amazing crew. To Chloe, I love you. Thank you for supporting me in this wild idea, and give Lou a belly scratch from me.
Pete, Crew
PS. I have to go now as Andrew just caught a huge beautiful fish, so we’re changing tonight’s menu from halloumi stroganoff to Wahoo sashimi on rice!
PPS. From David, this was the best day ever! We celebrated our halfway mark for this passage together in the forward cockpit eating the sashimi fish. Just as we did, a rain squall blew over us, and left us with beautiful pink sunset clouds. Tears in eyes.
ADRIENNE II Skipper
crew@59-north.com
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Shooting Stars & Turtle Logs
Day three out of Ketchikan and FALKEN is running wing on wing down the outside of Vancouver Island. The temptation is to lie back in the cockpit and spend the night watching for shooting stars, but a diligent watch is always the first priority. So we keep a sharp eye out while the shooting stars keep us company through the night. The wildlife keeps coming: humpback and minke whales, five mola molas, dolphins, and a black-footed albatross. We are all feeling lucky for such conditions!
Pot dodging and whale watching
Duncan got us up to eleven knots at one point! The Ferriers also logged our first Orca sighting on their 3am-6am watch! This morning is a gift as the temps are just right and we finally have some blue sky and plenty of sunshine. It was a glorious few hours sailing before it inevitably died as forecast. I live in hope that by sunset tonight we’ll be back sailing as we emerge out of the lee of the island and the wind will be more westerly which lends itself to a better sailing angle.
We are off!
After two days of introductions, safety briefings and boat procedures we have departed Ketchikan. We are currently making a whopping 3.3 knots as there is very little wind in Nichols Passage. Adam fed us well last night with a delicious shrimp curry and Duncan was the winner of a sporty game of the card version Monopoly. With the scenic views and light wind it's quite peaceful out here.