MEXICO-COSTA RICA: T-MINUS 1 DAY & COUNTING
Dockside Cabo San Lucas
After the most punctual arrival of a full crew ever yesterday, we’ve managed to get our comprehensive safety briefings done in a very efficient manner. Within a couple of hours we will have slipped lines and will be heading south to Costa Rica!
As always with 59º North, we seem to have an excellent crew, playful ribbing has already started and they’re all ready to cheerfully wave goodbye to Cabo Wabo.
Delaney did a great job of finding a nice joint for dinner last night, made even better when we saw they had mezcal flambé cheese on the menu.
The weather is looking pretty light for the first 24 hours before filling in for hopefully some kite weather. The Tehuantepec winds are the big navigational hazard on this trip. Cold fronts in the Caribbean cross over the isthmus of land south of Oaxaca, funneled through the mountain range before blowing at full force into the Pacific. This can create 40-50 knot constant winds, with even stronger gusts, and an unpleasant sea state of high waves with short intervals. Marvelously for us it looks like we’ll arrive at the gulf of Tehuantepec just as one of these periods ebbs and should be able to make the crossing without being too much of a vomit comet. Keep your fingers crossed that it keeps this way! If not we have plenty of time to loiter waiting for a weather window.
Past there it’s looking light again, before possibly increasing to upwind conditions in 20-25+ knots as we approach Costa Rica due the Papagayo winds - a similar, but slightly less volatile, weather phenomenon as the Tehuano winds. As always, that’s a long range forecast so things may change but always good to be prepared.
If anything I don’t think we’ll be bored this trip!
That said, strict instructions have been left for Mission Control to keep us updated on the Super Bowl and Rugby Six Nations results.
Nos vemos México!!
// Mary
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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.