Wednesday, June 18, 2025 | Sun, Squall, Boobies and All
We often find comfort in constants. Those wonders of each day that don’t let us down, those relentless events that create the cadence of our lives. I reached a degree of comfort here in the doldrums, due in large part to three constants—sun, sea, and soup. Yep! Plenty of each of those to be found.
The sun and I don’t always get along, but as the crew glummed and glowed at dinner time, I had to concede that we were enjoying wondrous sunsets, some pretty fine sailing, and the weather that makes it all possible because of the sun. Thank you, Sun!
The sea keeps on giving—everchanging vistas, constant mesmerizing motion, and vast power manifest in the grace of gentle rolling swells. We did see some more dolphins in the distance, and the flying fish continue to entertain. Thank you, sea!
And now we come to the soup. Although not as vast as the sea, there may be enough to constitute a body of liquid visible on Google Earth. Fortunate for us, it is delicious, nourishing, and a beautiful shade of green not otherwise seen in our current environment. There has been some chatter about mandatory soup ingestion to mitigate the situation, but we continue to be fed wonderful dinners and are grateful that the soup is there for us, constant and plentiful. Thank you, soup!
What about the boobies, you may ask? They have accompanied us on our voyage and are more frequently taking the opportunity to rest and preen on the anchor (to the bosun’s delight). This is in contrast to the boobie that took a bit of a ride on the wobbly Windex the other day. Fortunately, it did not tolerate the raucous ride for long, and the Windex was not damaged. The boobies add a little beauty and action to our day. Thank you, boobies!
We have experienced a lot of fun on the trip thus far, but the doldrums did strip some of the spice from our day. But never fear, Tara is here. She produced some of the finest tasting cold Coca Cola I’ve ever had, and shared this precious resource with the entire crew. Thank you, Tara!
Oh, the squall… Yeah, everything was feeling pretty predictable and plain until the dark clouds rallied on our flank and swallowed us up. This is the longest sustained squall yet and is appreciated as the temperature has dropped by a few degrees. Although, I do think it is appreciated most by those not on watch. Thank you, squall!
Grateful to be here with this marvelous crew! Cheers!
- Orie
Write your comments below and I’ll forward them to the boat with the daily update :) - Mia (shore support)
crew@59-north.com
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Ketch us if you Kan
Falken is soon to carry on our preferred route of South, back to (hopefully) warmer climates. We’re all excited to set off and see more of this wild landscape as we head down to Victoria. A thermal trough over Vancouver combined with an offshore high pressure creating funneling NW’ly winds means it is due to be pretty fruity on the 9th. This passage is just under 600 miles, relatively short for Falken, but I’m sure we’ll be kept entertained with dramatic scenery, wildlife and weather!
Final Blog
Falken and her crew arrived safely into port last night around 8pm boat time, 10pm Prince Rupert time. Some spicy weather was anticipated, but luckily the 35kt gusts and 2.5 meter waves were no match for this expert crew. We had an exceptionally smooth docking, despite it being Alex's first time parking this year (!). We all agreed that this was a very special group of people—I for one am so impressed with how everyone stayed so positive, helpful, and appreciative of humor despite an arguably challenging passage. We'll all return home significantly saltier than we were when we left, a mark of a passage properly sailed.
Lessons and a Gift
The biggest lesson is the helm. The lesson here is that even if you don't think you can do it over and over again with no sleep, cold and damp, it has to be done and so it can be done. Flying fish are cool, dolphins are really really cool, but the coolest of them all are the whales. And most of all Alex: "Find your center Carla. Always know where your center is so you can come back to it". He means the helm but it applies to life as well.