37°35.5’N 154°02.4’W
Monday, July 14, 2025 | Mid-ocean, 360 and 1000nm at sea
37°35.5’N 154°02.4’W
05:00 UTC / 19:00 Local time
Upon taking the helm at noon today, the NYC watch team noticed steering issues: looseness in the wheel accompanied by a tremor. Mate Mary quickly diagnosed and fixed one of the issues by adjusting the steering cables; however, the tremor remained. By this time, Skipper Alex was up, having been awakened by the fixing and remaining tremor. They quickly diagnosed a likely tag-along on the rudder, but what was it, and how to dislodge it? They decided to inspect the rudder with the Insta360 with an underwater housing, mounted to a long carbon (aka weak plastic) arm. The Insta360 is now at sea, the arm broken, its secrets untold.
Without the images, an idea took hold—to sail a 360 circle to see if the offending item would come loose. The crew made the maneuver, and like magic, a large brightly colored bucket dislodged and floated away. Alex and Mary and a 360, heroes.
A couple of hours after the “360 incident,” at 15:03 local time, the crew logged 1000nm into our journey! Apprentice Lovis was at the helm, and a celebratory cheer was raised by the crew on deck. Congratulations to all!
We will update more along the way.
Tasha | FALKEN Crew
crew@59-north.com
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Cast off the lines
When we awoke it was overcast but the Brazilian sun quickly burned the clouds away and we were left with blue skies. We reviewed some safety procedures, cleaned the boat and had an exciting Person Overboard (POB) recovery. Once we were underway spirits soared as we pointed the bow toward the Canary Islands. As I write this we are heading upwind and dealing with all that involves, and working into our first watches. It is hot, a bit bumpy but we are sailing!!
People Get Ready!
The last three days have been an intense (and intensely hot) period of discovery, practice, and planning. Because Adrienne II is not a 59N boat, there's been some extra setup and coordination needed including rigging all the sails that were out for repairs before we arrived. Its been a blast working alongside the 59N team getting to help them work things out on a less familiar boat in real time. Tomorrow morning we'll run through our Person Over Board training as the final pre-departure task, cast off and head out. Can't know all that it will be, but its going to be a great adventure out in the vast world with some pretty fantastic people.
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!