Day 2
Monday, 27 May 2024, 2000 GMT
Before we left Bermuda, we studied the weather and went through all the possible routing options. In the end, with all weather models predicting northerly winds for the last three days of our trip, we decided to take the northern route. This is adding some extra miles, but hopefully we will be in a better position for the predicted northerlies.
So far, we have had two slow days with very light or sometimes even no wind at all. Luckily, the sea was as flat as it gets, without that residue swell that sometimes slaps the little wind there is out of the sails.
The crew has been patiently steering FALKEN, slowly building some speed and then keeping it up. They have done a great job, and we only had to motor when the windex stopped moving entirely. It gave everyone some time to settle into boat life and get used to helming. However, it started to get a little bit boring, and we all wished for a bit more wind.
To our delight, the weather forecast was correct: by mid-morning the wind started building and veering. FALKEN settled on a close reach with a full mainsail and yankee, slowly following the wind around until we were on course to our next waypoint. This afternoon, the wind increased even more and we put the first reef into the mainsail. FALKEN is now gliding along at 8, 9, 9 and a half knots boat speed with a constant 20-degree heel. Fantastic sailing!
Not so fantastic for our apprentice Athena, though, who is on dinner duty tonight. Cooking for 11 people whilst at a 20-degree heel is a bit painful. So we furled the yankee and hoisted the staysail. This reduced the angle of heel to a more manageable 15 degrees, and FALKEN, the fast and slippery boat she is, still powers along at 8 knots plus.
For the next 48 hours, the forecast predicts a steady Force 4 to 5 with the wind veering from the ESE to the SSW, which will allow us to sail more freely. This probably means reaching with the mainsail, staysail, and yankee—FALKEN’s favorite point of sail! Fast sailing guaranteed.
Fair winds and a following sea,
- Chris
Before we left Bermuda, we studied the weather and went through all the possible routing options. In the end, with all weather models predicting northerly winds for the last three days of our trip, we decided to take the northern route. This is adding some extra miles, but hopefully we will be in a better position for the predicted northerlies.
So far, we have had two slow days with very light or sometimes even no wind at all. Luckily, the sea was as flat as it gets, without that residue swell that sometimes slaps the little wind there is out of the sails.
The crew has been patiently steering FALKEN, slowly building some speed and then keeping it up. They have done a great job, and we only had to motor when the windex stopped moving entirely. It gave everyone some time to settle into boat life and get used to helming. However, it started to get a little bit boring, and we all wished for a bit more wind.
To our delight, the weather forecast was correct: by mid-morning the wind started building and veering. FALKEN settled on a close reach with a full mainsail and yankee, slowly following the wind around until we were on course to our next waypoint. This afternoon, the wind increased even more and we put the first reef into the mainsail. FALKEN is now gliding along at 8, 9, 9 and a half knots boat speed with a constant 20-degree heel. Fantastic sailing!
Not so fantastic for our apprentice Athena, though, who is on dinner duty tonight. Cooking for 11 people whilst at a 20-degree heel is a bit painful. So we furled the yankee and hoisted the staysail. This reduced the angle of heel to a more manageable 15 degrees, and FALKEN, the fast and slippery boat she is, still powers along at 8 knots plus.
For the next 48 hours, the forecast predicts a steady Force 4 to 5 with the wind veering from the ESE to the SSW, which will allow us to sail more freely. This probably means reaching with the mainsail, staysail, and yankee—FALKEN’s favorite point of sail! Fast sailing guaranteed.
Fair winds and a following sea,
- Chris
View more passage logs
Dolphin party!
Kate was about to yank the spinnaker’s sock down when I spotted a stampede of fins heading straight for us. ”Dolphins!”, I yelled back to the cockpit excitedly. Post dinner dish duty was halted down below for the show.
The pool is open!
We stopped the boat, got the ladder down and put out a line with a fender behind the boat. I love swimming in the middle of the ocean, and a bit scary when you realize its more than 4000+ m deep! Love it!
Big Pink Sail Day
I had a most fashionable pointed striped hat at dinner, and out of the depths of a cupboard a cake was created, after 14 days at sea. A group of people I had never met two weeks ago made me feel very special today.