18º 20.7’ N / 052º 35.4’ W
January 30, 2025 | 15:35 UTC | 11:35 Ship’s Time | 18º 20.7’ N / 052º 35.4’ W
Hello, this is Sarah. We’ve sailed 2,470 nautical miles and finally the air feels warmer. We have sunrises of lemon yellow, pink fluffy clouds, deep golden sunsets, and the sea is a dark aquamarine blue rather than grey. The rain squalls with gusty winds seem to be behind us, although maybe this is too early to say. The size of the waves has also now reduced from about 4 to 2 meters (I may be exaggerating), and the movement of the boat is much less erratic, so we have all had a chance to catch up on sleep while off watch.
We’ve seen very little wildlife on the ocean. The highlight was the group of sperm whales—probably females with calves—a couple of times. Some dolphins, probably Atlantic spotted dolphins, followed the bow when we were off the coast of the Cape Verde Islands. A few white birds with long tail feathers circled us when we were 1,000 miles out from Antigua. Last night, a single big bird with grey feathers flew close back and forth as if inspecting us to see if we would be a good perching point. Occasionally, a flying fish has had the misfortune to land on the deck. Once, in the middle of the night, one caught Emily (our long-suffering skipper) across the forehead when she was in mid-conversation. A real-life ‘slap in the eye with a wet fish.’
On board, we are a very content group. Time on watch together, particularly in darkness, has led to shared stories, discussions, reflections, and laughter. I’m aware of how lucky we are to have experienced something unique in this slow journey under sail we’ve undertaken together.
- Sarah
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.