01:59 UTC | 12°59.243’N 093°00.673’W
Sailing
Apprentice Jake here. It’s been about a week since writing about sipping morning coffee and hearing about Robert’s wild stories working at the surf shop, and a lot has changed over the last days on the high seas. The first couple days were easy, breezy, fun-filled days getting to know everyone. I never would have expected everyone to form such tight bonds so fast.
I am absolutely loving the Woodwind x 59º North mash-up. A lot of the time on Woodwind, the guests will ask about what it’s like to work on a boat, and of course it’s amazing! I wanted to work on the Woodwind to hone my sailing skills. The unexpected bonus was how much I’ve enjoyed getting to know the guests on the boat. We get everyone under the sun on the boat, and everyone has a story to share, and I eat it up. The only downside is when they have to get off the boat and we’ve only scratched the surface of each other’s story. I tell the guests that while I love the Woodwind, I want to try longer charters so that I can get to know the guests on a deeper level. I had a feeling more time with guests would be more rewarding, and I could not have been more right. It’s been nine days at sea with only one person that I knew before getting on Falken, and it feels like I’ve known everyone for years.
The first couple days, while everyone was getting to know each other, it felt very similar to working on the Woodwind, with great, mostly surface-level conversation. I hope the crew doesn’t mind me speaking for them, but right around day four it felt like the offshore switch was turned on and everyone stopped caring about superficial landlubber things like wearing clean clothes or brushing your hair. There’s something about seeing someone moments after they wake up, with sleep in their eyes and wild hair, that allows you to freely open up to those around you.
During one of our regularly scheduled afternoon watches, I was chatting with the crew about life and how this trip has filled holes of camaraderie that have been vacant for years. My regular spiel about my time traveling around the states in my camper van came up, and something about Offshore Jake came into play. After hundreds of iterations of the story being told on Woodwind, I was remembering aspects of the story that would be inappropriate to bring up on a two-hour day cruise but are completely welcomed by new family. As I start my offshore career, it has driven home the importance of sharing your adventures with people because, as Capt. Delaney always says, “joy shared is double joy.”
Happy Sailing
// Jake
View more passage logs
Snag it or sweat it! Rolls Royce bunks, watches and fans
Today marks day 6 of one of the most epic passages I've decided to take on. There is something wildly exciting and equally calming about being surrounded by nothing but ocean. I get to watch the entire rhythm of the world shrink down to wind, weather, watches, and 10 humans trying to get a sailboat to another continent. I'm not sure if former bloggers have noted, but this passage is HOT as balls. We continue to laugh, learn, and sweat.
She’s a big ship on a much bigger ocean2335
We also have faced the fact that although Adrienne is a very big ship, she sails over a much, much bigger sea. We all recommitted to being more attentive - treating our watch as a verb not a noun. We might feel comfortable handling Adrienne, but we're not on cruise control and this is no highway. I had not realized to what degree sailing the open ocean requires a daily commitment to awareness, intention, and vigilance. I'm glad for all of us my tutorial was clear but relatively mild.
Day Four: The boat has figured us out
By day 4, things start to get into a rhythm that starts to look like a small community onboard. It’s when personalities start to flourish, when people start losing themselves and start to realize that they don’t really care about a lot of things! I’m pretty sure the disconnection from the internet starts aligning our inner selves. Clearly everyone has gotten their sea legs by now, and even the boat seems to have understood the type of crew she has now. I love to see how people start fitting into different roles with their peers and the boat itself.
