January 23, 2025, 18:35 UTC | 18º 35.1’ N / 029º 35.6’ W | Shift 33 | Log 21
The Team
It’s the seventh day since we embarked on our voyage, with the simple stabilities and securities of land a distant memory. The sea is now our master, and the wind our courier. We battle to stand, concede to fall, and settle for the rhythmic rocking and rolling motion as Nordic FALKEN traverses the unending, undulating Atlantic Sea, carrying us towards land, liquor, and loved ones.
Yet, we no longer stand on shaky legs or see through weary eyes. We walk in strides, with the creases of smiles littering our eyes. Supporting each other, fighting for the whole, being a team, working our way home.
This casts me away into this log, setting my course not for the thoughts of home, but for the ones that sail with me today. For the ones I work with, sweat with, and fear with. The ones I’ll remember when I share our story of cunning, bravery, and a splattering of jovial humor.
Our skipper is Emily, a brave sailor with knowledge to rival the eldest of veterans. Yet, she isn’t doom and gloom, her way or the highway, but has enough charisma to make even Davy Jones chuckle with glee. Her first mate, Mia, continues this trend, bringing smiles aplenty, mirth of the merry, and stories—stories of heroism, endurance, and humor—passing the time as we dawdle away in mother nature.
This leads me to the youngest of the group, the apprentice, Vilgot, who shouldn’t be considered any less wise because of his age. For he too brings experience in bundles, stories in droves, and enthusiasm in spades.
Next on our list is us, the crew, divided into two teams: Team A and Team B. Team A holds Jillian the bold, who’s letting her dreams come true; Paolo the speedy, flying to master every task; Janette the brave, turning her fears into memories; and Kevin the conundrum, the American who can dream of more than a large house with a big garage.
The better team, my team, Team B, has Derick the jovial, a lawyer that can laugh the real laugh; Scott the cheerful, always smiling, no matter the challenge; Sarah the unexpected, a gentle voice with a history of mischief; and then there is me—the least experienced of the lot, but perhaps the one with the most ambition.
And that is us: the crew, the team, the family aboard NORDIC FALKEN, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in 2025. Sharing stories, laughter, knowledge, and just having a cracker of a time.
B.P. Ryan
crew@59-north.com
View more passage logs
Seasickness
But maybe, I thought, with some drugs I could stay ahead of it. The first 48 hours I felt horrible. But luckily with 3 health care professionals on board and in a very encouraging environment, my body found its way. Anyway, someone offered me a patch (unavailable in Canada) and someone else gave me some pills for nausea and now I feel much, much better.
Dolphins and Bioluminescence
We had a good run with the sails but weather has changed and we are once again chasing the wind. Everyone is getting a chance to practice helming in big swell; starting to get a feel of the wind and water and how it pushes and pulls the hull. A pod of dolphins came to visit at night, splashing in the bioluminescent water, and again in the day, dancing in the bow wake. For now enjoying the calmer sea state and falling asleep to the rumble of the engine and the gentle whooshing of the water on the hull.
Greetings from Lala Lemonshark
The brave crew is toughing it out and staying cheerful despite being tossed around. The engine is off and we are true sailing-main and jib. In the first 12 hours we saw two pods of Orca and four humpback whales, two of which were 20 yards off the starboard beam!