05 32.812 N 087 03.790 W
After a good night’s rest on a mooring in Chatham Bay, we had a visit from one of the park rangers to give us an overview of the island’s rules and regulations. His visit turned into more of a tour than an official visit, which we appreciated. All our passports were stamped with the coolest stamp ever, a graphic of a hammerhead shark.
We split into two groups: one went to do a hike up to the ranger station, and one went snorkeling around the bay, switching the groups after lunch.
Hiking up to the ranger station on the zig-zag trail gave us stunning views of the clear waters of Chatham Bay. The pristine forest was something to experience; it seems like it has not been touched for hundreds of years. The trail starts and ends at the mouth of the Lievre River, which has a small waterfall and a pool to cool down in, which was welcomed by all after the long hike. Rock carvings along the river left by ship captains and explorers dating back to the 18th century were very interesting and started many conversations about treasures being left on the island.
The park ranger referred us to two different spots for snorkeling: one at Manuelita Rock, famous for hammerhead and tiger sharks. The second spot was a reef close to Chatham Bay Beach. No hammerhead or tiger sharks were spotted, but many other species were enjoyed during the snorkeling sessions. Lots of sea life around the reefs with great visibility. Everyone enjoyed the snorkeling sessions, even being a bit nervous about the predators this island is known for.
We moved FALKEN to a mooring in Wafer Bay late in the afternoon. Once moored, we enjoyed another evening of good food and conversation.
This was truly a remarkable day in a remarkable place. Cocos Island touched all of our souls today, and will stay with us forever.
// Jakes (Johann Koekemoer)
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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.