#2. ADRIENNE II | Brazil To Gran Canaria | First week offshore!
October 8, 2025 | 18:20 UTC | 4°55.5' N 027°00.2' W | First week offshore!
Wow, first week offshore!
Let's take this from the start. We departed from Salvador, after a great skipper meeting, during the afternoon in beautiful and great conditions. Nice wind and some waves (according to Tim not more than a 1m…). After a fantastic pasta carbonara, made by David, we started the night shift. Around 10 pm I started to feel a bit sick even though I had taken the medication. I know that could be an issue but was not sure. Tried to contribute but could never go below deck and I just realised that that has always been my wonderful mother being downstairs when we were out sailing during my youth. Unfortunately, we were three people out of four in “Team A” that felt sea sickness. However, everything's just fine when you work together and especially when you have Vilgot on your team! A big thank you to Vilgot and everyone else that worked so hard for us underneath the deck! You literally saved us! A person once told me about sea sickness - “first it feels like you are going to die, then you want to die and then suddenly it's gone”. After 20 hours it was gone and life onboard started!
Life on a sailing boat is about trust and taking care of each other. On this boat we all have the same goal to come safely to Gran Canaria and at the same time sail fast forward in an enjoyable way. And it is therefore amazing to be on the water around the clock with people you have never met before and building up this happy ship with positive momentum and a high level of knowledge. Imagine doing yoga on the after deck or sailing downwind in perfect conditions of sun, temperature and wind listening to your daughter's offline playlist on Spotify. That’s our amazing reality - every day! A fantastic constellation of people.
From a sailing perspective, this first week has been great. I was prepared for 20 days of upwind but after two days we eased our sails and bared away. A great feeling to work with this mature lady, Adrianne, and see how much she loves the wind of 20 knots. We have had an average speed around 9 knots which is quite good for a boat with a weight of 35.000 kg! Today we hoisted the gennaker. A 230 square meter sail and she is moving forward as on rails. Happy ship!!
I am also impressed with Eric and Tim, our skipper and first mate. Eric with a fantastic knowledge of weather (taking us safely across the Atlantic) but also his modern leadership of communication, engagement and involvement. Tim is the reason why I selected this trip and I am certain that everyone that has been sailing within him knows what I mean. If you haven’t- you should because he is just fantastic! A huge thank you to everyone on the ship contributing and making this trip as good as it really is!
Last but not least… the feeling of being disconnected. This is the first time I sit in-front of a computer (been tricky before…). It is so good to be only “here” without disturbing electronic notices-something I will bring back home.
Now I need to continue to do what I do every day - sail, eat and sleep….
To my family back home - LYA ❤️♥️💜
Jim | ADRIENNE II Skipper
Boat Yoga on the aft deck
