#7. Bermuda to Azores | Day 4

May 29, 2024

With 223 nm sailed in the last 24 hours, sailing has been fun and exciting. FALKEN is powered up nicely, and the crew are doing an amazing job helming, keeping her as if she were sailing on rails. Sailors often have their ways to mimic that sensation of the boat flying through the waves, underlined by their eyes brightening up in excitement. I am sure that these days spent together on FALKEN will be referred to under those terms more than once.

But sailing is not just all fun and games, and crossing an ocean can be a serious challenge. Be it technical, or personal. Changing your sleep patterns accommodating a watch system, being in a new environment with new people, sleeping on a constantly moving bed, in a noisy environment, sometimes dealing with seasickness, and continue to be ready on the hour, for a new watch, watch after watch. It’s no easy feat. And it is always beautiful to witness how people deal with these challenges, most often building strong bonds, looking out and caring for each other.

By now, everyone seems to have taken their bearings in this strange environment, redefining a new comfort zone. This change of perspective can bring great insight into one’s life. And this, on its own, can give meaning to the whole experience, and to the challenge.

- Manot