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
The Penultimate Blog from Adrienne II
After 20 days, and 3000+ nautical miles, we're back on land. The motley crew of Adrienne II, consisting of 7 happy amateurs supported by 3 professionals, have completed an epic journey many dream of but few realize. So much of this trip has been about being present - with nature, with each other, with this boat. My biggest takeaway from this trip is the amazing crossing of the ITCZ (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone). We all hope you've enjoyed the blog as much as we've enjoyed creating it.
Mother Nature, you’ve outdone yourself!
It’s been a great experience to have a non-traditional trans-Atlantic, as it’s been packed with genuinely cool features. The Doldrums!! A place sailors have been talking about for centuries. The unpredictability is what made it such an exhilarating experience. While some might be frightened or alarmed by this kind of weather, I was embodied with a sense of calm and awe. There’s something wildly beautiful about being reminded how small you are, while feeling so incredibly alive.
A Heavenly High
As you have probably figured out at this point, the drug of choice on board is, of course, celestial navigation- an art which has hooked offshore sailors for centuries. Once addicted, navigators will emerge from down below only to get their fixes two times per day, and spend the rest of their days and nights down below doing complex spherical mathematics. On Adrienne II, our skipper is our dealer. I must confess that I myself gave in to the strange urge which I’ve felt witnessing my crewmates practice this fine art, and yesterday felt an amazing sensation as I was able to wield the sextant for the first time and with it, bring down the tip of our starboard spreader to the top of our front sprayhood, presicely measuring the angle between the two (35deg, 38,8’ min). This afternoon, Naxo then showed me how to get my fix from the very sun itself - and I now fear there is no turning back.