Day 2
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Another day is coming to an end as we watch the sunset go down over the horizon. The good news is that FALKEN is still doing over 9 knots, which means we've done another 210 nautical miles+ day! The bad news is that we're still going upwind... that's right, ever since we left Cuba we've been on a hill—sleeping on an angle, cooking on an angle, socialising on an angle. The crew have been loving it though, and the smooth sea state is what's allowing us to have such great averages.
Chris and I are very excited for the upcoming days and the long-promised forecast for the wind to slowly start veering... only time will tell! In other news, we have experienced a couple of little squalls, everyone has had a shower, and rainbows have been spotted. It's also great to see how no one is suffering from the green monster, even on this constant angle!
I cooked a bolognese tonight and we had lovely discussions about how people eat their spaghetti over dinner. Thank God there aren't any Italians onboard! Much love to everyone! May the 4th be with you from onboard the Millennium Falken.
- Alex
laline96@gmail.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.