#9. Azores to Ireland | Post-passage

June 27 2024

During our final 24 hours of the trip a warm front approached. The wind picked up, we put 2 reefs into the mainsail and deeply furled the Yankee. Still in 28 knots apparent wind on a broad reach Falken flew along. Surfing faster and faster until Allison hit the record speed of the trip at 17.8 knots.
The front passed fairly quickly and with it the wind eased. The anticipated cold front brought little wind but a huge wind shift, so that we ended up sailing on a close reach for the final few hours of the trip.

We approached the channels between the Aran islands in the early morning hours and pushed on to make the lock to Galway harbor that only opens from 2 hours before high water to high water.

We tied up alongside the harbor wall and celebrated a fast and fun passage with a glass of Prosecco. 1285nm sailed in 6 days and 18 hours, with the last 4 days seeing daily runs of well over 200nm. For me this is the end of 3 month on FALKEN, all the way from Antigua to Jamaica to Cuba, Bermuda, the Azores and finally Ireland. It has been a blast and though I can’t wait to go home and see my family, I am already looking forward to my next passage on FALKEN from Plymouth to Lagos - the heavy weather Bay of Biscay crossing. Until then, fair winds and a following sea.

- Chris