00°10’1N, 089°11.2’W
Tuesday, 25th of March, 00°10’1N 089°11.2’W, 08:05 Local Time, 13:05 UTC
A renaissance painting to the east; pink boobies on the pulpit fighting for the best position; layers of fluffy white clouds with dark purple bottoms dumping rain on the horizon, all the while flashing silent lightning fireworks. This epic, dramatic sunrise has been served to the lucky crew on deck. A few moments ago, a flock of frigates in vee formation soared overhead, welcoming us to the equator.
For the past few days, the weather forecast has been: no wind, not now, not in a few hours, not in a few days, not ever on this passage. To our delight, we have been graced with minutes, hours, days of excellent wind and breezes. Every chance we get, we unleash that Yankee, grinding the sheets, easing the furling line, adjusting the main—even if it means two minutes later we have to roll it all back in because the wind has flatlined. We do it for the blissful moment of silence that comes when Diesel shuts up, and Falken, ever hungry for speed, leaps to attention, grabbing onto any wisp of air. We have asked her politely to slow down, but this boat simply cannot sit still. She is beautiful and majestic, slicing through this sea with grace and glamour, strength and poise.
Thank you, dear FALKEN, for keeping us safe, moving at warp speed, yet staying put while we splashed around in a location that no human has ever swum in before. Yesterday, while Alex composed the entire crew for a gybe and consequent reefing, FALKEN waited patiently, immediately soaring into action when we fell into the cockpit panting, sweating, arms shaking, pleased with the team effort.
FALKEN is obviously delighted to explore the Pacific Ocean, and this first leg is just the beginning of an epic adventure. I feel so lucky to be here.
- Libby Haslam | FALKEN Crew
P.S. If you are reading this blog, please write some comments in the section below and we’ll send it over to the crew to read. I am sure they will love it :)
- Mia & Andy (shore support on Leg 5, Panama to Galapagos)
FALKENCrew
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Quadruple digits!
We are still headed north away from Hawaii, though today we have started to veer ever so slightly east. Speaking of miles, we hit quadruple digits today and are currently 1051 nms into our journey to Alaska. The sea state continues to calm down, and the famous North Pacific high is just out of our reach. The next few days will be a delicate dance of riding the outskirts of the high while avoiding the pesky low pressure systems that are dancing nearby. In his very wise words, we need to get north but not too far north, stay south but not too far south, continue heading east but not too far east, and avoid going west but also stay west.
The basics
Nordic Falken and her crew have been in a steady course of NNW since the departure of Hawaii. But! The good thing of all of this is that the promised land on which the high pressure lies has been getting closer and closer, meaning in a couple of days we're gonna see the wind slowly veer all the way to the South, which finally should see us easing the sails and remembering the basics of human nature all over again. The crew have been amazing and we've had everyone come around to push through fatigue, seasickness and soaking wet clothes. On another note we left the tropics a while ago and we can really feel the shift of temperature, long gone are the shorts and foulies have been the norm. Not much more apart from this, my intolerance to upwind sailing still pretty much alive but doing it with a bunch of such amazing human beings makes it worth it worthwhile.
Pacific pace
After some initial adversity, we untied our lines and left the beautiful island of O'ahu behind as we set sail north on an adventure of a lifetime. And that is exactly what we are - a family of strangers brought together by a passion for sailing and a love for the sea. The passage, while at its infancy, has delivered. The wind and seas, stars and sails all set the stage for a fantastic journey. We will see you on the other side with many stories to tell.