00:27 UTC | 10º 00.97’S 123º 10.97’ W
Sailing
I stumbled out of my bunk this morning to a delectable smell wafting from the galley to find Mia pulling scones from the oven. After making myself a cup of tea and lathering my scone in strawberry jam, I enjoyed the cloud cover keeping the morning cool and the 15 kts of breeze keeping Falken chugging along. My peaceful morning was mildly interrupted by the squeaking the stove sings out every time it swings. No amount of WD-40 will silence its determination to drive us mad, but if that is the price of warm scones at sea, I will certainly pay.
It was a very mellow day on board, with no sail changes, steady wind, and plenty of naps. I even felt a little antsy this morning, yearning to move around on a wildly foreign thing called ‘land’. Not to worry, I distracted myself by poking fun at Adam and discussing guacamole with Kate and Phoebe. (Let the record state that it is a dip that should strictly be served chunky and cold.) Before I knew it, the urge to frolic in a meadow had dissipated and I found myself quite content with my current situation.
We’ve travelled nearly 2,200 nms and have just over 1000 more to go. All of us agree that the last thousand miles have gone far quicker than the first thousand, perhaps as we’ve settled into the groove of life onboard Falken and amongst each other. I’m a bit apprehensive of how fast the remaining thousand will feel, a statement that I realize sounds downright crazy given we’re talking about an entire thousand miles.
Alex has Bolognese simmering on the stove, and I’m keeping a semi-watchful eye as he’s on the foredeck taking some sights with the crew. A skipper with many talents—some might even call him a prodigy! Andy asked us to take a handful of sights for his celestial navigation workshop this weekend, that way attendees could have real-deal practice problems. We do hope they’ll inform us if we’re severely off course. Despite our fondness for life on the Pacific, I reckon we would all like to make landfall eventually.
The crew is in very jolly spirits and seem to enjoy each other’s company, as evidenced by our dinners becoming longer and longer ordeals. Dinner has many segments now, from Adam’s Analytics to Quinn’s philosophical queries to Alex’s weather briefings. Without fail, Ken enthusiastically volunteers to kick off our glums & glows every time. Thanks, Ken! The sunsets have been exquisite, the night skies clear, the cookies bountiful, and the laughter aplenty. Life is good!
Love to all,
Zoe Peach-Riley (Apprentice)
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!