23°33.9' N 021°13.3' W
October 16, 2025 | 13:30 UTC | 23°33.9' N 021°13.3' W | Morning swim
Moonlight, stars, sunrise and sunset—imagine this... every day for two weeks! Officially, 15 days at sea! Ten people on a boat and more than 2,700 nm have passed underneath the keel. We are living a “normal life,” creating our own water, eating fish from the sea, or mustering up random recipes with ingredients from the freezer box. Lunches and dinners are as if we were in a restaurant—amazing! It is quite impressive.
We have our routines—our daily reflections during dinner followed by the evening shifts, which involve four hours of sailing. At 10 pm, we sign off and head to our bunks. My bunk is warmed due to sharing sheets with Seattle Lance. After our designated 3 1/2 hours of sleep, we are routinely awakened by Team B to take on the middle-of-the-night four-hour shift. Then back to the early mornings of brushing teeth, contact lenses out, and sleep for a few hours before we have lunch together, noon sharp. Then the afternoon session begins with six hours of sailing before dinner. And we begin again... new day, same routine.
During the last two weeks, I have seen a sky full of stars or darkened by the clouds. Every night we are greeted by a new moon phase, followed by the sunrise and closing the day with a beautiful sunset. The views are spectacular, with ocean views 360 degrees and a distinct horizon wherever you look. It is quite an amazing experience.
The last 24 hours have pushed the experiences even further. The night shift was full of stars, no clouds in sight, just the vastness of the night. After a few hours of sleep, we experienced a sunrise on the starboard side that was unbelievable. All colors painted the sky. It was a breathtaking experience for two hours. For the first time, we were gliding through a windless morning with no waves in sight. Everyone onboard experienced a “morgon dopp”—a morning swim in 5,000 meters depth, 27°C warm, and with great visibility. Wow! And yes, we had shark watch at all times. And of course, this beautiful day ended with an amazing sunset, once again.
The nature experience on this trip is, in other words, unbelievable. And I am also blown away with the experience of being together with nine “random” people whom you have never met. We help each other, dive into deep talks, and sometimes just sit in the quiet for a couple of hours. I am so grateful for everyone on this boat. Of course, we all love sailing and the ocean—but what impresses me the most is that it all just seems to work. Imagine being with ten strangers in an apartment of 20 square meters and not leaving it for two weeks... this is what we experience daily.
A few days ago, we passed Cape Verde, one of my favorite holiday spots due to strong winds, good weather, and amazing memories with my wonderful family. This time a bit different—the same waves and wind, but now we are 100 nm from the islands on a boat going upwind towards my friendly kitesurfing waves.
This trip is amazing in so many ways—but next time I would like to experience it with my lovely wife and wonderful kids. To Pia, Alma, and Gustav—I love you so much and can’t wait to see you again!
Jim | Adrienne II Crew
crew@59-north.com
View more passage logs
Ketch us if you Kan
Falken is soon to carry on our preferred route of South, back to (hopefully) warmer climates. We’re all excited to set off and see more of this wild landscape as we head down to Victoria. A thermal trough over Vancouver combined with an offshore high pressure creating funneling NW’ly winds means it is due to be pretty fruity on the 9th. This passage is just under 600 miles, relatively short for Falken, but I’m sure we’ll be kept entertained with dramatic scenery, wildlife and weather!
Final Blog
Falken and her crew arrived safely into port last night around 8pm boat time, 10pm Prince Rupert time. Some spicy weather was anticipated, but luckily the 35kt gusts and 2.5 meter waves were no match for this expert crew. We had an exceptionally smooth docking, despite it being Alex's first time parking this year (!). We all agreed that this was a very special group of people—I for one am so impressed with how everyone stayed so positive, helpful, and appreciative of humor despite an arguably challenging passage. We'll all return home significantly saltier than we were when we left, a mark of a passage properly sailed.
Lessons and a Gift
The biggest lesson is the helm. The lesson here is that even if you don't think you can do it over and over again with no sleep, cold and damp, it has to be done and so it can be done. Flying fish are cool, dolphins are really really cool, but the coolest of them all are the whales. And most of all Alex: "Find your center Carla. Always know where your center is so you can come back to it". He means the helm but it applies to life as well.