Day 1 at-sea
15º 09’ N, 026º 22’ W
February 7, 2024
0536 Ship’s Time
15º 09’ N, 026º 22’ W
Steering 215º at about 8 knots
The tiniest sliver of moon is rising in the southeast, creating a surprisingly bright light in the hazy air. The Southern Cross constellation is aligned perfectly with the end of the poled-out jib, making it easy for the helmspeople to steer a straight course. The wind is up a touch, and it’s smooth sailing to the SSW.
We left Mindelo in a dusty haze around 1000 after a leisurely breakfast and after checking off the last of the pre-departure items. I had been feeling less anxious than ever in the few days prior, but those moments leaving the dock always get my heart beating with that special combination of nerves and excitement. A few hundred yards from the dock, after stowing lines and fenders, we hoisted the mainsail and bore away onto a broad reach and out into the channel between Sao Vincente and Santo Antao, and with that we were off.
As expected, the winds built in the channel and by noon FALKEN was surfing down waves and touching 14 knots, with just the mainsail set. Windspeeds topped 30+ in the sharp acceleration zone where the gentle trades are squeezed between the high peaks of the neighboring islands and shot out like a cannon. Whitecaps were all around us, flying fish scurrying out of the way of our bow wave. The steering was challenging, especially right off the bat, but everyone got a turn on the helm and did well. A few hours later we left the strongest winds behind, set the jib tops’l on the pole, and moseyed off to the WSW on port tack. Manot served up the traditional first-night-at-sea lasagne and the watches began.
As I type, we’re getting ready to jibe onto starboard tack and start making some westing on what will be our preferred tack. The weather forecast shows the steadiest tradewinds remain around 13-14º N latitude, so we put some southing in right off the bat. So while it appears that we’re headed well off course on the chart, it’s actually part of our routing strategy. We expect to be able to stay on starboard tack now for several days in a gentle band of NE’ly breeze.
Jibing the downwind rig is a whole process, with poles, preventers, and guylines strewn about the foredeck and the cockpit. We’ll save that description for a later blog. For now, we’ll wait for the first glow of daylight and the watch change to jibe this ship around.
— Andy
andy@59-north.com
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HMS Night Watch Party
Wing on wing worked well until the wind shifted then the helm became the cone of despair for our night watch crew of three (H, M and S) Alex made the decision to drop the pole, shifting wing on wing to a close reach. Wind increased to low teens and speed picked up to a flying pace. Day spent wandering toward Ensenada. Alex, Adam and David got us into port under another starry night.
No Kitemares Today
After a night marked by sudden wind accelerations peeling off Point Conception, and a vibrant, pulsating sky blistered with shooting stars, the off-watch woke to commotion on the foredeck. The wind had gone light and the swell had tapered just enough to raise the spinnaker. The sail filled with an urgent pop, the sheet strained and Falken charged down the face of the next wave. By mid-day, we doused the spinnaker and set our minds to the more precise task of safely punching through a gap in the notorious Cortez Bank. The border to Mexico looms ahead.
The California coast
We had a very lively first day of sailing with steady winds between 25 and 30 kn gusting to mid 30s. All of the crew got experience at difficult downwind helming as we covered 200 nautical miles in the first 24 hours. This morning brings winds in the teens and calmer seas. The sun is still shining, and the green monster has been slayed by those afflicted!