Crew & Sail Offshore

“Voyaging belongs to seaman, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in...”
— Sterling Hayden, Wanderer

59º North Sailing sets an ambitious schedule, sailing 10,000 miles per year making landfall in ports from the Caribbean to the Arctic, Bermuda, Europe, Cuba, Canada & beyond. So if you've dreamed of seeing stars down to the horizon, if you yearn to lose sight of land for days on end, if you want to unplug from the world ashore, then join us for the offshore sailing adventure of a lifetime. 

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Introducing ICE BEAR

Featured
ICEBEAR Offshore // Back to the North!
ICEBEAR Offshore // Back to the North!

I hadn’t given a thought to the fact that we’re headed north again. Not just north, like from the Caribbean to Bermuda is a ‘northerly’ course, but north, as in towards THE north. We’ve only just crossed the 40th parallel, but it feels like an altogether different ocean here. The water is darker, colder. The air crisper. The sunrises and sunsets linger longer.

ICEBEAR Offshore // The Boat Comes First
ICEBEAR Offshore // The Boat Comes First

Which brings me to today’s topic. Mistakes. We’re at sea again, heading towards home waters on the Chesapeake, motor-boating through a completely flat sea and trying to get out ahead of the seasons first tropical disturbance, which we’re hoping doesn’t turn into a tropical depression. We’re only going 5.8 knots, with full sail up and the engine ticking over at 1,400 RPMs, because we didn’t fill up diesel in Bermuda. Mistake.

ICE BEAR // Crew Letter Announcing the Swan 59
ICE BEAR // Crew Letter Announcing the Swan 59

Here’s the letter that went out to all former and future Isbjorn crew when we made the announcement about the new Swan 59! Photos courtesy Rob Clarke, her former skipper.

"You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat" // 59 North Gets a Swan 59
"You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat" // 59 North Gets a Swan 59

Chief Brody was right - we ARE going to need a bigger boat! Read on to hear how getting a new Swan 59, christened ICE BEAR, is the most exciting news Andy & Mia have had since first starting the business with Isbjorn, their Swan 48.

ICE BEAR // Swan 59 Q&A With Isbjorn Crewmember Dan
ICE BEAR // Swan 59 Q&A With Isbjorn Crewmember Dan

Note: Dan is Isbjorn's oldest and most loyal crew. He was aboard for our first-ever passage to Lunenburg in 2015, and has sailed with us many times since, and is signed up for several more trips in 2019 & 2020. He was one of the first to hear the news about the new boat, and had a lot of questions for us! I've published our answers here:

Click on the maps below for specifics on that year's passages. Scroll down for the Airtable list of full bunk availability for all upcoming passages & our complete list of available expeditions.

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“The goal is not to sail the boat, but rather to help the boat sail herself.”
— John Rousmaniere

Bunk Availability - ALL

 
 

All Upcoming Passages

2019

Featured
10. ICE BEAR: Lunenburg-Annapolis // 850 Miles & 8 Days // $3,400 // WAITLIST
Jul 16
10. ICE BEAR: Lunenburg-Annapolis // 850 Miles & 8 Days // $3,400 // WAITLIST

$3,400 // 8 Days// 6 Crew Spaces. Join Ice Bear in historic Lunenburg, Nova Scotia for the final leg home following our voyage north to Newfoundland. An 850-mile, nonstop ocean passage.

11. ICE BEAR: Annapolis-Caribbean // 1,500 Miles & 18 Days // $5,500 // WAITLIST
Nov 7
11. ICE BEAR: Annapolis-Caribbean // 1,500 Miles & 18 Days // $5,500 // WAITLIST

$5,500 // 18 Days // 6 Crew Spaces. Ice Bear is heading south! Join the boat in Annapolis, MD and cruise down the Bay, either going nonstop and offshore, or stopping near the mouth of the Chesapeake to wait for a weather window. Once offshore, it's 1,400 miles of serious ocean sailing, finishing in the tropical Caribbean! (Finish port TBD). 

11. ISBJORN: Annapolis-Caribbean // 1,500 Miles & 18 Days // $5,000 // 2 AVAILABLE
Nov 7
11. ISBJORN: Annapolis-Caribbean // 1,500 Miles & 18 Days // $5,000 // 2 AVAILABLE

$5,000 // 18 Days // 4 Crew Spaces. ISBJORN, alongside ICE BEAR, is heading south! Join the boat in Annapolis, MD and cruise down the Bay, either going nonstop and offshore, or stopping near the mouth of the Chesapeake to wait for a weather window. Once offshore, it's 1,400 miles of serious ocean sailing, finishing in the tropical Caribbean! (Finish port TBD). 

12. ICEBEAR: Tortola (BVI)-St. Bart's-Antigua // 250 Miles // WAITLIST
Nov 30
12. ICEBEAR: Tortola (BVI)-St. Bart's-Antigua // 250 Miles // WAITLIST

$3,400 // 8 Days // 6 Crew Spaces. Join ICEBEAR in Tortola for the passage south and east to Antigua. We'll sail to Ile Fourche & St Bart’s on the way, so it will be a combination of island exploration and proper, Caribbean ocean sailing!

12. ISBJORN: Tortola (BVI)-St. Bart's-Antigua // 250 Miles // 3 Available
Nov 30
12. ISBJORN: Tortola (BVI)-St. Bart's-Antigua // 250 Miles // 3 Available

$3,400 // 8 Days // 4 Crew Spaces. Join ISBJORN in Tortola for the passage south and east to Antigua. We'll sail to Ile Fourche & St Bart’s on the way, so it will be a combination of island exploration and proper, Caribbean ocean sailing!

Featured
1 // ICEBEAR: Antigua-Grenada-BVI // 800 Miles & 10 Days // $4,250 // WAITLIST
Dec 30
1 // ICEBEAR: Antigua-Grenada-BVI // 800 Miles & 10 Days // $4,250 // WAITLIST

$4,250 // 10 Days // 6 Crew. Join Mia & Andy and visit some of their favorite Caribbean islands that they got to know so well during their Broadreach days. This trip will be a combination of offshore passagemaking & exploration ashore, including hiking ashore, lobster cookouts in the Grenadines, & swimming with sea turtles. If we have the opportunity, we'll hire a local guide ashore for some hiking and exploring.

1 // ISBJORN: BVI-Grenada // 500nm // 7 Days // 2 AVAILABLE
Feb 1
1 // ISBJORN: BVI-Grenada // 500nm // 7 Days // 2 AVAILABLE

$3,400.00 // 7 Days // 4 Crew Spaces. Join ISBJORN in Tortola and sail 500 miles south to Grenada! Make landfall in historic St. Georges, explore the island if you want to spend a few extra days ashore. Grenada is a true Caribbean island and unique!

2 // ISBJORN: Grenada-BVI // 500nm // 7 Days // WAITLIST
Feb 12
2 // ISBJORN: Grenada-BVI // 500nm // 7 Days // WAITLIST

$3,400.00 // 7 Days // 4 Crew Spaces. The return trip from St. George’s, Grenada to Tortola in the BVI! If time allows, we’ll stop off in St. Croix en route too, a former Danish island, now part of the USVI, and one of our favorite Caribbean islands!

2 // ICEBEAR: Caribbean-Bermuda Offshore // 900 Miles & 10 Days // $4,500 // 1 Available
Apr 28
2 // ICEBEAR: Caribbean-Bermuda Offshore // 900 Miles & 10 Days // $4,500 // 1 Available

$4,500 // 10 Days // 6 Crew. Re-trace the route we sailed in 2017 on Isbjorn, from the Caribbean to Bermuda, one of the nicest, warmest and most reliable-breeze open ocean passages we've had!

3 // ISBJORN: BVI-Bermuda // 900nm // 10 Days // 2 AVAILABLE
Apr 28
3 // ISBJORN: BVI-Bermuda // 900nm // 10 Days // 2 AVAILABLE

$4,500.00 // 10 Days // 4 Crew Spaces. Retracing our steps from 2017, ISBJORN will cross the Atlantic for the 3rd time via Bermuda and the Azores. Join the boat for the first leg in Tortola and sail due north to one of the Atlantic’s classic landfalls in Bermuda!

3 // ICEBEAR: Bermuda-Annapolis Offshore // 750 Miles & 10 Days // $4,500 // 6 Available
May 13
3 // ICEBEAR: Bermuda-Annapolis Offshore // 750 Miles & 10 Days // $4,500 // 6 Available

$4,500 // 10 Days // 6 Crew. The classic route home to the east coast from Bermuda. Enjoy lovely St Georges, check the weather, then we’ll head west and across the Gulf Stream before finishing the trip up the Chesapeake Bay and into Isbjorn’s home waters.

4 // ISBJORN: Trans-Atlantic Bermuda-Azores (ARC Europe) // 1,900nm // 18 Days // WAITLIST
May 14
4 // ISBJORN: Trans-Atlantic Bermuda-Azores (ARC Europe) // 1,900nm // 18 Days // WAITLIST

$7,000.00 // 18 Days // 4 Crew Spaces. Retracing our steps from 2017, ISBJORN will cross the Atlantic for the 3rd time via Bermuda and the Azores. Join the boat in historic St Georges Bermuda, then set sail for a 1,900 mile passage across the pond to the east! Ride the Azores high across the 40th parallel and make landfall in Horta, one of the classic sailors hangouts in the world.

4 // ICEBEAR: OCEAN RACE: Annapolis-Bermuda Race // 750 Miles & 11 Days // $4,500 // 2 Available
Jun 3
4 // ICEBEAR: OCEAN RACE: Annapolis-Bermuda Race // 750 Miles & 11 Days // $4,500 // 2 Available

$4,500 // 11 Days // 8 Crew. Race down the Chesapeake and across the Gulf Stream to Bermuda! We try to get in one big ocean race per year, and this will be our first point-to-point race after having completed the RORC 600 a few times. Racing offshore takes ocean sailing to another level, and the teamwork element of it makes it a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

5 // ISBJORN: Azores-Scotland // 1,500nm // 14 Days // 3 AVAILABLE
Jun 7
5 // ISBJORN: Azores-Scotland // 1,500nm // 14 Days // 3 AVAILABLE

$5,600.00 // 14 Days // 4 Crew Spaces. Two amazing destinations, 1,500 miles apart! Join ISBJORN in Horta in the Azores and head north towards Scotland and one of our favorite harbors at Oban, the gateway to Scotland’s wild west coast. In 2017 we did the passage in 8 days, stopping off in Galway, Ireland en route and had a wonderful downwind sail.

5 // ICEBEAR: Bermuda-Lunenburg Offshore // 750 Miles & 10 Days // $4,250 // 1 Available
Jun 20
5 // ICEBEAR: Bermuda-Lunenburg Offshore // 750 Miles & 10 Days // $4,250 // 1 Available

$4,250 // 10 Days // 6 Crew. It's deep Atlantic all the way from Bermuda to Nova Scotia. Join IceBear in beautiful St. Georges, Bermuda, one of the famous landfalls in the Atlantic for boats coming and going to the Caribbean & Europe. We'll spend a day or two rigging IceBear for heavy weather, then set out due north for a 750-mile passage to Canada.