23:27 UTC
19° 45.899’ N 068° 18.695’W
Sailing
The first 24h of sailing are past us.
We crossed the draw bridge at 4pm yesterday local time, to the cheers of a group of people watching from the sidewalk. I wonder if they knew that we’re about to cross the Atlantic and not just hopping to the next island over.
And then it was straight to sailing. We tacked between St. Martin and St. Barts and have been on that tack ever since, sailing upwind. If we’re to trust the forecast (which we do, there isn’t a lot of variance between the models) conditions will be stable like that for at least the next few days. We might not be able to cross over to the north of the Azores high.
On board all is well, the crew settled in to their watches. A few of us (me included) struggled with sea sickness on the first evening/night, but by now everyone has gotten their sea legs.
Adrienne II is doing well too, cutting through waves cleanly. Unfortunately on leaky hatch in the saloon roof got tested when we took a bigger wave over the bow and it dumped quite a bit of salt water on our cushions, pillows and our dear skipper Erik. That’s going to take some time and effort to dry out.
// Bartek, Adrienne Crew
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HMS Night Watch Party
Wing on wing worked well until the wind shifted then the helm became the cone of despair for our night watch crew of three (H, M and S) Alex made the decision to drop the pole, shifting wing on wing to a close reach. Wind increased to low teens and speed picked up to a flying pace. Day spent wandering toward Ensenada. Alex, Adam and David got us into port under another starry night.
No Kitemares Today
After a night marked by sudden wind accelerations peeling off Point Conception, and a vibrant, pulsating sky blistered with shooting stars, the off-watch woke to commotion on the foredeck. The wind had gone light and the swell had tapered just enough to raise the spinnaker. The sail filled with an urgent pop, the sheet strained and Falken charged down the face of the next wave. By mid-day, we doused the spinnaker and set our minds to the more precise task of safely punching through a gap in the notorious Cortez Bank. The border to Mexico looms ahead.
The California coast
We had a very lively first day of sailing with steady winds between 25 and 30 kn gusting to mid 30s. All of the crew got experience at difficult downwind helming as we covered 200 nautical miles in the first 24 hours. This morning brings winds in the teens and calmer seas. The sun is still shining, and the green monster has been slayed by those afflicted!