The basics
16:00 UTC | 33°42.0N 158°37.4W
Sailing
Nordic Falken and her crew have been in a steady course of NNW since the departure of Hawaii. A course that has seen us mainly close reaching with the occasional close hauled. For those who don’t understand what sailing to this angles with the wind we’ve had means it’s basically a constant battle of the basics. Brushing your teeth, putting your shoes on, changing clothes or even just eating become extremely complicated, you forget the basics you learned when you were a toddler and find yourself questioning your existence for most of your watch.
But! The good thing of all of this is that the promised land on which the high pressure lies has been getting closer and closer, meaning in a couple of days we’re gonna see the wind slowly veer all the way to the South, which finally should see us easing the sails and remembering the basics of human nature all over again.
The crew have been amazing and we’ve had everyone come around to push through fatigue, seasickness and soaking wet clothes. The waves have died off over-night and we’ve had the first bit of dry deck since we departed, a pleasure to our butts which have been sitting on the damp since then!
On another note we left the tropics a while ago and we can really feel the shift of temperature, long gone are the shorts and foulies have been the norm. I keep pushing for bare-feet to make me feel like I’m still in Hawaii but the sleeping bag and greyness keeps reminding me that perhaps it is time to realize that the tropics indeed, are long gone.
Not much more apart from this, my intolerance to upwind sailing still pretty much alive but doing it with a bunch of such amazing human beings makes it worth it worthwhile.
Mahalo
Alex
Alex
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The Human Factor
Thus our existence slowly reverted to a much simpler form of being. We start to notice the smaller things, we start looking up and around, we start observing our thoughts. Sailing can be a great social accelerator. Sharing hardship and milestones, friendships are born and evolve at a speed that would seem impossible from land. And after those three weeks spent with you, I am getting ready to leave our vessel with the profound conviction that those bonds will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
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.