day 2

2024-6 | FALKEN | Jamaica-Cuba
Emily Caruso
Emily Caruso

EmilyCaruso

Passage Blog
Wednesday, April 17, 2024

The pole made an appearance overnight as we waved goodbye to the lights of Jamaica that accompanied us for the first part of our passage yesterday. As always, the first night involved some coaching on the helm as each of our crew settled into life under sail aboard Falken. The weather appears to be favourable in terms of facilitating our aspired stop in Grand Cayman, and so as I type, we continue to make fast speed and a good course to our waypoint there.

Chris made a delicious vegetarian feast last night, and Natalie surpassed herself once more this morning with a surprise breakfast of French toast for a delighted crew. There are rumours from the on watch that dolphins made an appearance at dawn, which never fails to lift the spirits after the first night at sea. We are already halfway, it would seem, and spirits are high on the good ship FALKEN.

- Emily

EmilyCaruso

View more passage logs

View all posts

Ladies who reef

The trade winds have been kind, rolling the boat toward Hawaii in a steady, hypnotic rhythm—until last night, when a squall hit without warning and the wind jumped to 28 knots, slamming everything sideways. With rain driving down and the boat lurching underfoot, the crew had minutes to wrestle two reefs into the mainsail and get things back under control. What followed was a masterclass in wet, unglamorous, deeply satisfying teamwork—with less than 250 miles left to go.

20/6/2026
Ladies who reef

Yankee Doodle Died at Sea, Riding on a FALKEN

A thin, foot-long tear in the yankee sail—50,000 miles of ocean behind it—and suddenly the final stretch to Hawaii just got a lot more interesting. The crew of FALKEN had been running a tight ship through the trades, reefing in squalls like clockwork, when the last dance finally caught up with them. How a skipper handles the moment everything goes sideways says everything about the voyage itself.

Phoebe Rogers
18/6/2026
Yankee Doodle Died at Sea, Riding on a FALKEN

A Gen Z Perspective

At 31, the crew thought they were reasonably fluent in the English language—then they met Kip. Today, the crew's self-appointed Gen Z correspondent takes over the log from somewhere in the middle of the Pacific, delivering dispatches on Milky Way night sails, focaccia-induced visions, and the singular mission of getting eleven people's "badonkadonks" to Hawaii. Consider this your glossary.

17/6/2026
A Gen Z Perspective