TRACKER MAP WILL BE UPDATED FEB. 15, 2025
February 14, 2025
Antigua Yacht Club Marina | Pre-departure blog
The docks are filled with giants, and we are just passing through. In the beautiful marina of Antigua Yacht Club, you can find some of the biggest super-yachts you have seen. When walking along the dock looking left to right, you are surrounded by huge, shiny hulls all around you. But when you get a bit further out on the dock, the wall is interrupted, and if your eyes are staring up at the top decks of the super yachts, you might miss us. FALKEN is now located between two giants, and today we are planning to pass through to leave the harbor and head out to a mooring buoy for some man-overboard (MOB) training and a mellow evening and night to prepare for our passage the day after.
However, this plan got a bit of a twist. As we were heading out to the newly placed mooring buoy shown by the marina owner, we encountered a boat on anchor too close to the place we were supposed to tie up to. After a couple of tries in the blowing and rainy squalls, we were directed to change our plans and head back to the dock of Antigua Yacht Club to tie ourselves up again. We are now placed on the outer end of the long marina.
In the ten days since we arrived in Antigua from Las Palmas, we have done a successful handover to Mary and Manot from Emily & Mia. We’ve prepared the boat for the upcoming passage, done some maintenance work, and a bit of provisioning. The crew arrived to the boat yesterday, and after an introduction to the boat and our safety culture, FALKEN is now a home for the eleven people and ready for departure.
The conditions look promising for the passage. It seems now we will have a fast and fun downwind sail from Antigua to Colombia with wind strengths around 20 to 25 knots in the first couple of days, so HOLD FAST!
- The Apprentice, Vilgot
59ºNorthApprentice
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Shooting Stars & Turtle Logs
Day three out of Ketchikan and FALKEN is running wing on wing down the outside of Vancouver Island. The temptation is to lie back in the cockpit and spend the night watching for shooting stars, but a diligent watch is always the first priority. So we keep a sharp eye out while the shooting stars keep us company through the night. The wildlife keeps coming: humpback and minke whales, five mola molas, dolphins, and a black-footed albatross. We are all feeling lucky for such conditions!
Pot dodging and whale watching
Duncan got us up to eleven knots at one point! The Ferriers also logged our first Orca sighting on their 3am-6am watch! This morning is a gift as the temps are just right and we finally have some blue sky and plenty of sunshine. It was a glorious few hours sailing before it inevitably died as forecast. I live in hope that by sunset tonight we’ll be back sailing as we emerge out of the lee of the island and the wind will be more westerly which lends itself to a better sailing angle.
We are off!
After two days of introductions, safety briefings and boat procedures we have departed Ketchikan. We are currently making a whopping 3.3 knots as there is very little wind in Nichols Passage. Adam fed us well last night with a delicious shrimp curry and Duncan was the winner of a sporty game of the card version Monopoly. With the scenic views and light wind it's quite peaceful out here.