Latitude: 3°26.5' S
Longitude: 029°05.7' W
October 5, 2025 | 20:00 UTC | 3°26.5' S 029°05.7' W
Nausea is no joke. I am not sure if I will make it through this blog, but I will attempt it. Seasickness is the real deal. Just when you start to feel better, a new fresh wave of it comes. All I want to do is tip my head out the side of the boat and just wait for whatever wants to come up.
Speaking of which, while I spent the morning in that hunched-over, head-sideways position, I noticed dark blue, clouded-over morning rise waves, seemingly traveling upward. In other words, I felt like huge swells of waves were moving up the walls of mountains. Now, it could be that I was in a dazed state, half there, half nowhere. To say the least, my sickness over the past few days has been intense.
On a dreamier note, WE SHOWERED!! Mahalo Tim for recognizing we were all in need of not just a physical shower but a spiritual one too. It worked! Sitting on the benches at the helm with fresh water dousing my forever hair was the ultimate miracle. It changed everything! One after the other, rotating the hose, passing conditioners—it was a team bond and team refresher. Back to life.
Waves and wind have been consistent. Coming in a bit caddywampus, but at least consistent, with a constant heel and 8-9 kts. It’s absolutely breathtaking out here. Just absolute vastness. Being on the helm has been the biggest joy. Some of us have different ways of tracking our position: Pete to two stars in between the shrouds, Vilgot, The Hero, in the lightness of his fingertips, Jim knows in his body when we are dropping a few kts, Tim in his casualness just knows, and myself through my left hand and fingers.
As for the rest of the crew—Britney, Lance, David, and Andrew—their generosity in the kitchen is mind-blowing. They made the most amazing potato soup with green onion garnish tonight, each taking a role.
TO MY FAMILY: I THINK ABOUT YOU ALL MORE NOW THAN EVER. Maria, Maddox, Makai, Nixon, and Penny—I am so honored and blessed to be your mamabear. I can’t thank you enough for supporting me while I take on this passage. I have had plenty of moments of, “What the hell was I thinking! There’s no way I will last!” Mahalo Ry, Dad, and Mom for encouraging me and making sure I have everything I need, which in the end is just LOVE. Love you all so, so much. Ry, you were right, there is no way I could have done my classes on this voyage. Nausea is no joke. LOVE YOU.
THANK GOODNESS CAPTAIN ERIK IS A WEATHER EXPERT!
Nicole Kalaiwaa | ADRIENNE II Crew
crew@59-north.com
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A last hurrah
Under the dome of stars in a moon-less sky, each of us during our time at the helm used the most rudimentary celestial navigation, keeping a star or two lined up with the mast as a helper to following the heading range. It was a whole crew event to set the spinnaker, reef the mainsail and practice the heave-to in case of man overboard. Alex stressed that the key to success in all of these crucial activities is preparation. It was hugely satisfying to accomplish these tasks through teamwork. We share a constant good hearted back and forth full of stories, one-liners and comebacks that also means constant laughter.
One little bird!
Falken has almost rounded the Channel Islands and is cruising along splendidly about 100 miles offshore. Though several models predicted some slightly fresher winds today, we were met with a consistent 18-20 kts of pure bliss. It seems that from the moment we left the dock in San Francisco, there has been much laughter and conversation amongst everyone. The plan is to gybe in a few hours and begin our approach to Ensenada. As much as I do appreciate the jokes and intellectual musings, I equally appreciate the natural, silent moments we share at night, all of us on watch gazing up above to the shooting stars, constellations, and planets putting on their quiet show.
Birds and glows
The sun brought new wind and we were soon putting up the Yankee (jib) and turning off the motor. During the evening tradition of sharing “glums and glows” that follows the crew dinner, our Mate Ryan proclaimed it a “champagne sailing” kind of day. As Alex noted this evening, life goes by so fast that one of the very best things about his line of work is enjoying the passage of time in the slow lane of an ocean passage. But by tomorrow, the green blobs in the weather sailing app indicate we’re going to pick up some significant northwesterly winds and we’ll take them ever further south to the Channel Islands latitude. We’re all super excited for the knots to climb and to see Falken really run.