44°46.3’N, 148°45.1’W
Thursday, July 17, 2025 | POS. 44°46.3’N 148°45.1’W
02:45 UTC / 16:45 Boat Time
More thoughts from the neophyte…
A few nights ago as we concluded our evening updates, I remarked, “So what should we do tomorrow?” It garnered a laugh, but as soon as I said it I realized that this, for me, unexpectedly and concisely captured the essence of an undertaking such as this. Once everyone knows the tasks that need to be undertaken and the watches have been set, you repeat—day in and day out—until the passage is completed. Clearly, there’s no way that you can NOT know this when you sign on, but for me, when the reality settled in, it was still a revelation.
One more day you stand your watches. You do your assigned tasks. You sleep. You read. You stare at the horizon. You marvel at the remoteness of your position in the world.
When you’re fortunate, as we are, to have great companions, the conversation is interesting and entertaining, but by no means continuous. Even with six or more people in the cockpit, there can be long periods of silence.
The bottom line is that it takes a long time to cross two or three thousand miles of ocean, even in a fast boat like FALKEN. But it’s never been tedious, never been boring, and even as we’re still underway, I’m in awe of the immensity of the undertaking.
Ken T. | FALKEN Crew
PS. If you read this blog and your loved ones are onboard, please write a comment here and we’ll send them over to FALKEN! - Mia (shore support)
crew@59-north.com
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Kärt barn har många namn
A dear child goes by many a name, or as we say in Swedish "kärt barn har många namn". This is the case for many a person, but also some species, not least the Mahi mahi, which also goes by dolphin fish, golden mackerel, and dorado, among others. Soon, we could see the fish jump, a hundred feet or so behind the boat, and as I kept reeling, a beautiful Mahi appeared under the surface. Manot showed us how to clean and fillet it, and after a complete team effort two large fillets are now in the freezer of Adrienne II.
Cast off the lines
When we awoke it was overcast but the Brazilian sun quickly burned the clouds away and we were left with blue skies. We reviewed some safety procedures, cleaned the boat and had an exciting Person Overboard (POB) recovery. Once we were underway spirits soared as we pointed the bow toward the Canary Islands. As I write this we are heading upwind and dealing with all that involves, and working into our first watches. It is hot, a bit bumpy but we are sailing!!
People Get Ready!
The last three days have been an intense (and intensely hot) period of discovery, practice, and planning. Because Adrienne II is not a 59N boat, there's been some extra setup and coordination needed including rigging all the sails that were out for repairs before we arrived. Its been a blast working alongside the 59N team getting to help them work things out on a less familiar boat in real time. Tomorrow morning we'll run through our Person Over Board training as the final pre-departure task, cast off and head out. Can't know all that it will be, but its going to be a great adventure out in the vast world with some pretty fantastic people.