19°36.4' N 026°43.2' W
October 13, 2025 | 20:10 UTC | 19°36.4' N 026°43.2' W | Our First Tack
Storms and headwinds continue to dissipate in front of Adrienne! Despite an active doldrums, we darted through and missed all major weather. With the doldrums behind us, the northeasterly trade winds have built and carried us through the night and all of today on a close reach. The sea state is quite gentle, so we sail with the full main and genoa in 10-15 knots of wind. However, we get regular wind shifts to the east that allow us to point to the east or north, sometimes as much as 15-20 degrees! With our last waypoint set for Gran Canaria, we focus on one number to rule them all: the Velocity Made Good (VMG)! Cheers sound from the rear cockpit whenever the VMG exceeds 6 knots.
We continue to be well fed, well rested, and happy. Today we had pizza for lunch and Nicole made a big oatmeal cookie! There is no more fresh food, but the freezer is packed and treats keep showing up that keep things interesting and boost morale. Unfortunately, a fish shook the hook this evening right before dinner, so we will have to wait another day for fresh fish.
At 19 degrees north, the temperature has finally dropped. Cool evenings mean light jackets and much more comfortable sleeping. The biggest treat today was a pod of dolphins that swam with us for 20 minutes! They showed up on the port side and then swam several circles around Adrienne. Everyone woke up or stopped what they were doing to enjoy the visit. The pod was clearly having a blast swimming with Adrienne and seemed to enjoy hearing the crew’s whoops and cheers when they porpoised out of the water.
As we near the end of our passage, we are having a friendly competition to see who can most closely predict our arrival time. You can play along from home! We have 790 miles to go! We were on a starboard tack since leaving Salvador, Brazil, 2,270 nautical miles! After dinner tonight we made our first tack, and since Gran Canaria is located at a bearing of approximately 45 degrees, we will likely tack many more times in the coming days. As we learned this evening, it might be possible to hold a VMG close to 5 knots on each tack. Winds are predicted to be 10-15 knots along our path, but possibly much lower near the end of the passage. All arrival predictions were made onboard this evening! The winner gets to buy the first round of beers in Gran Canaria!
Andrew | ADRIENNE II crew
crew@59-north.com
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Kärt barn har många namn
A dear child goes by many a name, or as we say in Swedish "kärt barn har många namn". This is the case for many a person, but also some species, not least the Mahi mahi, which also goes by dolphin fish, golden mackerel, and dorado, among others. Soon, we could see the fish jump, a hundred feet or so behind the boat, and as I kept reeling, a beautiful Mahi appeared under the surface. Manot showed us how to clean and fillet it, and after a complete team effort two large fillets are now in the freezer of Adrienne II.
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.