20°04.9' N 024°43.7' W
October 14, 2025 | 17:20 UTC | 20°04.9' N 024°43.7' W
The Life Onboard as an Apprentice
One year ago, I met Andy and Mia at a boat show in Ellös, Sweden—a first encounter with NORDIC FALKEN and 59° North. After a long and interesting conversation for both parties, I applied to the apprentice program that 59° North started a few years prior. Half a year later, I took a flight down to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, and my first apprentice passage started. This was half a year ago, and today I am doing my second apprentice passage with 59 North.
As a 19-year-old guy dreaming of one day working with ocean sailing, the life on both FALEKN and now ADRIENNE II is so much more than having the constant view of an endless horizon, magical sunrises and sunsets, good sailing, and meeting amazing people that you grow so close to during the passage. The skilled skippers and mates bring you excitement and knowledge about the world I am dreaming of working in. To learn about the weather from Erik, and Tim's knowledge about ADRIENNE II and different sailing stories, is amazing to listen to. As well as new experiences from the crew, such as Nicole's yoga and spirituality, Jim's experience in competition and the constant look for more speed when sailing, and listening to everyone's life stories!
Today is the 14th of October and the 14th day at sea. The sky is starting to turn blue and small cloud banks cover small parts of the blue ocean above us. The ocean beneath us has calmed down the last couple of days, and the comforting waves rock the boat while we make our way upwind towards our destination. With us now being in the last third of the passage, it is still important to take your reflections of life outside this 70ft boat and still take in the surroundings and enjoy every minute of what the ocean has to offer!
Dinner time is soon here for us, so I better get back to the galley to finish the Chili Con Carne that I am cooking!
Fair winds,
Apprentice/Chef Vilgot
Love to Mom and Dad!
crew@59-north.com
View more passage logs
Ladies who reef
The trade winds have been kind, rolling the boat toward Hawaii in a steady, hypnotic rhythm—until last night, when a squall hit without warning and the wind jumped to 28 knots, slamming everything sideways. With rain driving down and the boat lurching underfoot, the crew had minutes to wrestle two reefs into the mainsail and get things back under control. What followed was a masterclass in wet, unglamorous, deeply satisfying teamwork—with less than 250 miles left to go.
Yankee Doodle Died at Sea, Riding on a FALKEN
A thin, foot-long tear in the yankee sail—50,000 miles of ocean behind it—and suddenly the final stretch to Hawaii just got a lot more interesting. The crew of FALKEN had been running a tight ship through the trades, reefing in squalls like clockwork, when the last dance finally caught up with them. How a skipper handles the moment everything goes sideways says everything about the voyage itself.
A Gen Z Perspective
At 31, the crew thought they were reasonably fluent in the English language—then they met Kip. Today, the crew's self-appointed Gen Z correspondent takes over the log from somewhere in the middle of the Pacific, delivering dispatches on Milky Way night sails, focaccia-induced visions, and the singular mission of getting eleven people's "badonkadonks" to Hawaii. Consider this your glossary.