14:00 UTC | 46°16.4N 148°28.1W
Sailing
For the ancient Hawaiians, O’ahu was the gathering place. Souls no longer tied to a body made their way to the western most peninsula of O’ahu and jumped off into their next existence; or perhaps it was to non-existence.
They called this place Ka’ena. My family’s home was on the opposite end of the island. On day one of Falken’s passage to British Columbia, we were to pass this headland. It started out gently. We motored off the dock adjacent the Hawaii Yacht Club exited the Ala Wai Harbor and turned westward. A new main sail and new yankee unfurled to the trades for the first time. We were underway in building winds and just as the main was reefed the winds died off.
Falken was in the lee of O’ahu’s western mountains; the Wai’a’nae range. It is taller than the island’s other range called Ko’olau and geologists say each is a remnant of two distinct volcanos. We were in the wind shadow of the taller range. The engine restarted.
Passing to the starboard were some communities where many residents are of Hawaiian ancestry: Maile, Nanakuli, and Makaha. The road ends at a long sandy beach. I bodysurfed there a few times but never ventured further. Many decades ago I dreamed of an attempt to drive around the point, but was overcome by huge surf. Today I’d get a photo.
It was known to the captain and mate that once we exited the wind shadow the pressure of the diverted winds, together with the regular flow would be strong. Many of the crew are experienced sailors. Others such as myself, not so much.
In short order, the winds built to well over 30 knots on the beam. Falken heeled sharply. The waves pitched up over two meters. This sea state was real. I tried to snap a photo of the point, but only one. I needed to focus on holding fast and being mindful of my every movement. The captain set a course of due north and we sailed a close reach.
Below deck I took a seat on the low side and became drenched in sweat. I’ve known toil but not never quite like this. Fear does not capture the feeling, it was more of shock and awe. My aft had been kicked and the attending hierarchy of needs reduced to a bare minimum.
I had finally rounded Ka’ena point. Ultimately it was not a religious experience nor metaphysical; just the first day of a twenty five hundred mile sail.
Cheers.
Daniel
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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.