23:24 UTC | 31°46.953’ N 047°50.57’ W
Sailing
In my usual world of racing, if we see a wind shift up ahead we might wait 2 minutes before it reaches us. On this passage, we have sailed upwind for seven days and 1,200 nautical miles to find our wind shift. Our reward is to finally point towards the Canary Islands. Still sailing upwind though!
Today, seven days into our trip, my seasickness is finally gone and the memory of it is fading too. The first 2–3 days my body and mind were fighting it out and I could do nothing other than lie down, throw up, or curse the person who signed me up for 21 days of this. Today I’m happy I’m here!
Morale is high aboard Adrienne! Today we deep-cleaned the whole boat. Everybody is sleeping well, we sail well, and we eat well. Thanks to our meteorologist/skipper, we even understand how the weather works and why we were unable to get above the Azores High for those nice downwind angles.
I look forward to the remaining 14 days of total immersion in nature. All the day-to-day stressors of work, the internet, and just the general state of world affairs can’t reach me here. I still really miss home though!
// Knut, Adrienne II Crew
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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.
Adios Ensenada!
Around 9am this morning, we slipped lines and made our way out of Todos Los Santos Bay with a pre-arranged escort pod of dolphins. After a few hours of motoring through very calm, very blue, very kelpy seas, we clicked the engine off and off we went. After some delicious frittata and not-new potatoes a-la Adam, we executed our first of many tacks. With only 5-10 kts of wind, our close haul has been nothing but pleasant so far. After a lovely week in Ensenada for me, Alex, and Adam, we’re stoked to finally head out and begin our upwind journey back up the coast.