End of the season | PORTUGAL SAIL TRAINING | DAY 6
59º North Blog
by Alex Laline
4M ago
November 17, 2023 Lagos, Portugal I am writing this as the sun is slowly setting in Lagos. FALKEN has now been washed, scrubbed, emptied and re-stored following her post-passage checklist that we thoroughly follow. There is an aura of accomplishment, relive and just general awesomeness feeling onboard and not just for the successful trip that we’ve just ran but because this marks FALKEN’s first successful season in the Atlantic, sailing an astonishing 16.112nm. I am lucky enough to have sailed on her first and last passages and to see how well she has performed and how far she has come is insp ..read more
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The Big Pink Kite | PORTUGAL SAIL TRAINING | DAY 4
59º North Blog
by Andy Schell
4M ago
Spinnaker day! After an extremely peaceful night ghosting along the southern coast of Portugal amongst electric dolphins and under a blanket of stars, FALKEN enjoyed a day of building breezes and a chance to stretch our legs downwind. Shortly after sunrise we jibed the ship onto starboard tack and headed SSW. I was conscious of not heading too far west and towards Gibraltar where all the recent orca encounters have been. In fact, if I’d have had a choice, we’d have sailed west and out into the Atlantic from Sagres, not going anywhere near Gibraltar at all. Alas, that elongated ridge of high pr ..read more
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Big Glows & Small Glums | PORTUGAL SAIL TRAINING | DAY 3
59º North Blog
by Alex Laline
4M ago
Another day has gone by and another day of Big Glows and Small Glums.  The crew woke up to a stunning sunrise this morning followed by the mandatory morning swim. It is one of my absolute favourites moments of anchoring, waking up in the morning, jump in, get out, fresh water rinse and sit with a coffee while seeing the sun slowly rise.  After breakfast Andy gave a magnificent weather lesson, it is so nice to see someone teach their passion to other people, it really is contagious!! After that everyone got briefed on their duties for their watches and we proceeded to hoist anchor and ..read more
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Fog & Light Wind in Portugal | Portugal Sail Training | Day 1
59º North Blog
by Andy Schell
4M ago
Foggy morning in Lagos on Portugal’s Algarve coast. Mia, Alex and mate-in-training Manot are onboard FALKEN this morning getting started with the standard safety & pre-depature briefings. I’m writing from the hotel adjacent to J Dock where I stayed last night in an attempt to sleep off the last lingering effects of a cold I picked up back in the USA. This afternoon we’ll sail. Well, hope to sail anyway. Lagos is sitting smack in the middle of the end of a long axis of high-pressure, so there’s not much air moving around in the marina anyway. The ‘Azores' High’ is stretched out and has reac ..read more
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After 1,000 miles on ICEBEAR across the Atlantic
59º North Blog
by Andy Schell
2y ago
After 1,000 Miles 1,077 miles sailed since departing Rockland, Maine on a Tuesday morning. Today marks the start of the 8th day at sea aboard ICEBEAR, another Tuesday morning, but in a very different place. The passage has been both uneventful and eventful, tiring and restful, fantastic sailing and frustrating calms. I’ve asked Mia to post this on the QDECK as kind of an analysis of the first 1,000 miles of our route, why we chose to sail the way we did, what we’ve done right and wrong so far, and what’s over the horizon in the next 1,500 or so miles towards Crookhaven. SLOW START We depar ..read more
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Mia’s Birthday on ICEBEAR
59º North Blog
by Emma Garschagen
2y ago
June 24, 2021 As the sun rose on Mia Karlsson’s birthday, the crew aboard ICEBEAR had just turned off the engine and raised the sails. What a wonderful sound, the water rushing by the hull again. As the new starboard tack tacked me across my bunk, I looked at my phone and saw a calendar notification: ‘Mia’s Birthday!’. Hooray! On this passage from Bermuda to Maine, Mia is not aboard the ICEBEAR. She is in Sweden getting SPICA spiffed up for a summer of sailing, and of course hanging out with Andy, Axel, friends, and family. But as I have learned this year, Mia is always onboard the 59 North ..read more
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COVID 19 // April 7 Update
59º North Blog
by Andy Schell
3y ago
Ahoy Sailors! Another week living in a COVID-19 world, and another week of storm clouds on the horizon and uncertainty in the future. These weekly corona updates are becoming a habit!  Before we dive into it, I want to acknowledge and thank everyone who has emailed a reply - I have only responded to a few of you, but trust that I have read ALL of them, and will respond where necessary in due time. So thanks for your patience. Northbound? Time is ticking on ISBJORN and ICEBEAR leaving the Caribbean safely before hurricane season. It's not looking good, I'll be hone ..read more
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CHESAPEAKE TO ANTIGUA, by Kitty and David
59º North Blog
by Isbjorn Crew
3y ago
Kitty and David at the watch handover We just can't stay away from Isbjorn! Or is it that we just can't get to our own boat??? Either way, on November 7-21 we made a very cool 14 day 1904 mile passage from Annapolis to Antigua on Isbjorn, 59-North's 48 foot Swan. It was the longest passage ever for David and second longest for Kitty after her 2019 Atlantic crossing. Sean Westoby, who we had previously sailed with in the BVI, skippered the boat along with mate Liz and 5 crew: Frederick, a 20-something Danish cargo trader currently living in Washington DC; Marilyn, a retired trauma nurse practi ..read more
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ISBJORN & ICEBEAR update // November 19
59º North Blog
by Andy Schell
3y ago
Here is another update from the boats, this time I decided to make a combined post from both of the boats. ICEBEAR is within 100 miles from Antigua with and ETA this evening, not sure if they can make it before sunset. ISBJORN is about a day behind, and will arrive sometime Friday evening / night. It has been great sailing the last stretch since they turned the corner after Bermuda. Lots of squalls to dodge, but also some fantastic sailing and clear skys in between. On ISBJORN they have been busy celebrating Frederik’s birthday a few days ago, and yesterday they had the smell of fresh baked b ..read more
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ICEBEAR Update, November 17 // Blog from Emma
59º North Blog
by Andy Schell
3y ago
Hi everyone, A new blog here from ICEBEAR, this time Emma behind the pen. Enjoy! Mia ICEBEAR Update November 17, 09.30 It’s 0930 and we’re sailing upwind again, making 8.5 knots and pointing for our destination. I didn’t think our crew would see any downwind sailing this passage, with all the forecasts showing week after week of headwinds. They had gotten used to life at an angle, and the “low side” was much better rested than the “high side”. But on the 15th of November we watched the cold front pass to the north west, taking extra-tropical storm ETA with it, and our week of persistent headwi ..read more
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