8°36.571' S 033°47.203' W
October 3, 2025 | 20:05 UTC | 8°36.571' S 033°47.203' W | Pancakes!
Another day at sea comes to an end, and boy, what a beautiful day it was. We flew along in the steady easterly trades with 15-18 kts of strength. Adrienne has been really happy all day, and 8.5 kts SOG is basically what you see every time you check the digits. The sun has been shining, and we are getting to know each other better and better. Those who have been feeling seasick are all getting back on track.
This blog is an ode to my colleague and shipmate Vilgot. This superb young man has just spent the summer skippering charter boats in Croatia, back-to-back weeks with guests onboard, sleeping on a sail bag whenever there was a break. That and his many other experiences truly make him a delight to be sailing with. Today he whipped up and fried some pancakes for lunch, much to the crew’s delight. With jam and Nutella on top, there wasn’t a happier boat in sight.
- David, 59º North Apprentice
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.