Day 1

Alex Laline Ruiz
Alex Laline Ruiz

laline96@gmail.com

Passage Blog
Thursday, August 29, 2024
August 29, 2024 | Marstrand, Sweden

After a few days spent getting the boat ready in Marstrand, the crew finally joined yesterday, giving FALKEN a warm, cosy home feeling. We’re now finalising the safety briefs before setting off in a couple of hours. The plan is to do a short sail to Gothenburg to clear immigration and then set off again tonight towards the North Sea. The weather has been rather unstable lately, so we’re keeping our options open of either going north or south of the UK—at least our Skipper has a degree in meteorology!

This is my first voyage on FALKEN since little Margaux was born, and I cannot wait to get out there and enjoy the open sea while accumulating stories that one day I’ll be able to share with her and Beth. Will keep you all updated.

Love,
Alex

laline96@gmail.com

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11/5/2026
”For some things, we will never be ready.” - Moana 2

Kauehi conundrum

Kauehi atoll was always on the itinerary—until the forecast made it a gamble not worth taking. Squalls, bommies, a tidal pass, and no clean escape route: sometimes the hardest call in sailing is the one that keeps you out of a place, not in it. The Tuamotus will have to wait.

Mary Vaughan-Jones
10/5/2026
Kauehi conundrum

Hove-to!

Falken is too fast—a problem most sailors would kill for, yet here we are, tacking back and forth across the Pacific just to kill time. A rogue low pressure system south of Tahiti has stolen the trades and scrambled our timing for the tidal window into Kauehi's pass, leaving us hove-to 45 miles short of our target in the Tuamotus. Salt licorice, dream sandwich debates, and a philosophical question about mermaid reproduction are helping pass the night.

9/5/2026
Hove-to!