11°32.9' N 025°46.2' W
October 10, 2025 | 21:53 UTC | 11°32.9' N 025°46.2' W | Life on the Heel
This day started with another calm morning motoring through the doldrums. We’ve been very lucky to be spared from many squalls during our passage through these latitudes. Life onboard has been quite luxurious some of these days with good food, great company, and time to rest before the next part of our trip.
We got a nice morning shower when a cute rain cloud flew by, continued by oven pancakes made by Lance, and ended our morning shift with seeing some whale spouts in the distance. During the day, headwinds picked up and at one point a squall hit us (for the first time?), which made us put in a second reef in the main. Everyone was just happy to get some action after the calm days. Morale onboard was further boosted when Vilgot the legend made fish tacos for dinner from the Wahoo we caught yesterday. Many cheers all around!
Now we are trying to make as much way north as possible to avoid a weather system building, which Erik is following closely and briefs us about daily. Squalls pop up from nowhere here and some can grow quite big. We want to stay as far away as possible. In the meantime, we have 220M left as the crow flies to Cape Verde, planning to sweep by before starting our last leg of this passage up to the Canary Islands.
We are back to a life on the heel – but like Brittany says, you just got to lean into it!
David | ADRIENNE II Apprentice
crew@59-north.com
View more passage logs
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.
Dolphins and Bioluminescence
We had a good run with the sails but weather has changed and we are once again chasing the wind. Everyone is getting a chance to practice helming in big swell; starting to get a feel of the wind and water and how it pushes and pulls the hull. A pod of dolphins came to visit at night, splashing in the bioluminescent water, and again in the day, dancing in the bow wake. For now enjoying the calmer sea state and falling asleep to the rumble of the engine and the gentle whooshing of the water on the hull.
Greetings from Lala Lemonshark
The brave crew is toughing it out and staying cheerful despite being tossed around. The engine is off and we are true sailing-main and jib. In the first 12 hours we saw two pods of Orca and four humpback whales, two of which were 20 yards off the starboard beam!