January 20, 2025, 20:26 UTC | 20º 41.5’ N / 020º 17.6’ W | The Apprentice
Good evening! We are still heading south to get down to 20º N as I write this. We have light winds of 8-13 knots and the engine is on to help us get away from the high pressure over us. We are doing a consistent 7 knots and since we started this passage in Las Palmas, we have done 553 nautical miles.
Jillian is at the helm, Kevin, Janette, and Paulo are sitting in the cockpit watching the mesmerizing sky of stars, and the other watch team (Scott, Sarah, Derek, and Brandon) are hopefully able to get some sleep before waking up at 21:45 local boat time to get ready for the watch switch!
The person writing this blog for you is Vilgot, the apprentice on FALKEN, and I thought it would be interesting for you to get to know me—a 19-year-old guy from Sweden on his first gap year after high school, ending up crossing the Atlantic with 59º North on NORDIC FALKEN.
I met Mia and Andy at a local boat show in Sweden approximately one year after I saw FALKEN in Isafjordur, one of the most northern villages in Iceland. Seeing FALKEN in Isafjordur was during one of my two passages with the training tall ship T/S GUNILLA, a high school training vessel that takes students around the world while they are studying regular subjects like science or social studies. It was during these two trips that I got totally obsessed with ocean passages.
I was introduced to the apprentice program at the boat show that 59º North started a couple of years before and knew that this was something I had to apply for. After sailing on FALKEN from Ellös to Marstrand, I submitted my application and ended up on this Atlantic passage from Las Palmas to Antigua. I could not be more excited and grateful to learn from the professional staff working for 59º North and meet all of the amazing crew for this passage—it is truly a dream come true!
Enough about me! The day has been amazing, loads of sun, and with a warm day, the first shower for the entire crew couldn’t have fit any better. Right after the showers, the crew gathered in the cockpit for dinner and, as usual, had our “Glums and Glow” list for the day. There were almost zero “Glumps.” At the end of dinner, we had our first switch of the local boat time to adapt to the sunrise and sunset as well as the local time in Antigua, so we are now one hour behind UTC.
Everyone seems to be settling in well after these few days, and I heard that crew had started to read some books off watch. Seems like a few habits from home are settling in on the boat!
That’s it for today! Hold Fast!
From Vilgot the Apprentice and the entire crew!
P.S. We read the comments from the blog at dinner and the crew loved them, so keep the comments coming and we’ll read them again at dinner time!
59ºNorthApprentice
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The Penultimate Blog from Adrienne II
After 20 days, and 3000+ nautical miles, we're back on land. The motley crew of Adrienne II, consisting of 7 happy amateurs supported by 3 professionals, have completed an epic journey many dream of but few realize. So much of this trip has been about being present - with nature, with each other, with this boat. My biggest takeaway from this trip is the amazing crossing of the ITCZ (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone). We all hope you've enjoyed the blog as much as we've enjoyed creating it.
Mother Nature, you’ve outdone yourself!
It’s been a great experience to have a non-traditional trans-Atlantic, as it’s been packed with genuinely cool features. The Doldrums!! A place sailors have been talking about for centuries. The unpredictability is what made it such an exhilarating experience. While some might be frightened or alarmed by this kind of weather, I was embodied with a sense of calm and awe. There’s something wildly beautiful about being reminded how small you are, while feeling so incredibly alive.
A Heavenly High
As you have probably figured out at this point, the drug of choice on board is, of course, celestial navigation- an art which has hooked offshore sailors for centuries. Once addicted, navigators will emerge from down below only to get their fixes two times per day, and spend the rest of their days and nights down below doing complex spherical mathematics. On Adrienne II, our skipper is our dealer. I must confess that I myself gave in to the strange urge which I’ve felt witnessing my crewmates practice this fine art, and yesterday felt an amazing sensation as I was able to wield the sextant for the first time and with it, bring down the tip of our starboard spreader to the top of our front sprayhood, presicely measuring the angle between the two (35deg, 38,8’ min). This afternoon, Naxo then showed me how to get my fix from the very sun itself - and I now fear there is no turning back.