03:00 UTC | 31°45.0N 117°30.8W
Training
The overnight hours were special for every watch. Under the dome of stars in a moon-less sky, each of us during our time at the helm used the most rudimentary celestial navigation, keeping a star or two lined up with the mast as a helper to following the heading range. Swells mixed with gusts to tug the rudder left and right. We have developed a feel for anticipating how both will affect Falken and are able to swing the wheel just so to keep her mostly heading where skipper wants us to go.
The midnight watch got the call to jibe at 0230. Those of us snug in our bunks heard footsteps thudding on the deck over our heads, calls of instruction and the swish of the lines pulling the boom to its new position. For that crew, it was an exciting and successful effort, pulling together to grind, pull and ease. The conditions throughout the night were likened to riding a horse over the waves, giving the boat its head and then reining it in. The sunrise crew were greeted with a compliment of flying fish.
With our new heading straight east, the wind changed, leaving us with great conditions to learn more seamanship from Alex, Ryan and Zoe. It was a whole crew event to set the spinnaker, reef the mainsail and practice the heave-to in case of man overboard. All stations, from preventer to halyard, handy-billy to guys, were handled to a tee due to great directions and encouragement. Alex stressed that the key to success in all of these crucial activities is preparation. Know where you’re starting and where you’re going, don’t rush but be efficient, and tidy up at the end. It was hugely satisfying to accomplish these tasks through teamwork.
With wind a bit dull, we stayed hove-to for a few hours through dinner time (which was Zoe’s expert Pad Thai), started off with a swim off the back. Even “idling” we were moving at one and half to two knots, so clinging to the buoy line and grasping hand over hand to get back to the stern was a challenge! After several hard working days and nights, the swim was a joyful celebration. Several of us commented how the following couple of hours on deck, reading, quietly chatting or even staring at the sea, left us with a feeling of content companionship. We share a constant good hearted back and forth full of stories, one-liners and comebacks that also means constant laughter.
We’ve planned a slower approach to Ensenada to hit tomorrow morning’s high tide, and then it will be customs by 0900. We’re all so happy for a last overnight of wave surfing together.
Lynn
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A last hurrah
Under the dome of stars in a moon-less sky, each of us during our time at the helm used the most rudimentary celestial navigation, keeping a star or two lined up with the mast as a helper to following the heading range. It was a whole crew event to set the spinnaker, reef the mainsail and practice the heave-to in case of man overboard. Alex stressed that the key to success in all of these crucial activities is preparation. It was hugely satisfying to accomplish these tasks through teamwork. We share a constant good hearted back and forth full of stories, one-liners and comebacks that also means constant laughter.
One little bird!
Falken has almost rounded the Channel Islands and is cruising along splendidly about 100 miles offshore. Though several models predicted some slightly fresher winds today, we were met with a consistent 18-20 kts of pure bliss. It seems that from the moment we left the dock in San Francisco, there has been much laughter and conversation amongst everyone. The plan is to gybe in a few hours and begin our approach to Ensenada. As much as I do appreciate the jokes and intellectual musings, I equally appreciate the natural, silent moments we share at night, all of us on watch gazing up above to the shooting stars, constellations, and planets putting on their quiet show.
Birds and glows
The sun brought new wind and we were soon putting up the Yankee (jib) and turning off the motor. During the evening tradition of sharing “glums and glows” that follows the crew dinner, our Mate Ryan proclaimed it a “champagne sailing” kind of day. As Alex noted this evening, life goes by so fast that one of the very best things about his line of work is enjoying the passage of time in the slow lane of an ocean passage. But by tomorrow, the green blobs in the weather sailing app indicate we’re going to pick up some significant northwesterly winds and we’ll take them ever further south to the Channel Islands latitude. We’re all super excited for the knots to climb and to see Falken really run.