February 16, 2025 | Top speed and spinnaker pole!
This morning started with a seamless gybe, including the pole—Vilgot was suitably impressed with Dolphin watch’s speed at their first gybe with the pole. Since then, we’ve been in gorgeous sailing conditions, heading straight to our waypoint just above Barranquilla. As the wind shifted east, the other watch (yet to be named, but apparently ‘No Dolphin’ watch isn’t a winner) took the pole down. Since then, we’ve simply been surfing along with speeds of up to 13.8 knots according to JP’s watch.
Now that everyone has become far more confident in their helming, a friendly competition seems to be taking place for best speed. A surf down a wave is now frequently followed by an announcement of top speed reached!
As mentioned, we’ve had some dolphins accompanying us several times now. Unfortunately for the others, they only bless us with their presence when Janelle, Troy, Daniel, and Nick are on deck.
During glums and glows tonight, we were majority GLUM FREE—WOOHOO! The overarching glows were the opportunity for a visit to the outdoor spa provided on board (we’re certainly all smelling fresher) and, of course, the sunshine sailing we’ve had all day.
Everyone says hello to back home—we love the comments, so please keep them coming!
—FALKEN Crew
This morning started with a seamless gybe, including the pole—Vilgot was suitably impressed with Dolphin watch’s speed at their first gybe with the pole. Since then, we’ve been in gorgeous sailing conditions, heading straight to our waypoint just above Barranquilla. As the wind shifted east, the other watch (yet to be named, but apparently ‘No Dolphin’ watch isn’t a winner) took the pole down. Since then, we’ve simply been surfing along with speeds of up to 13.8 knots according to JP’s watch.
Now that everyone has become far more confident in their helming, a friendly competition seems to be taking place for best speed. A surf down a wave is now frequently followed by an announcement of top speed reached!
As mentioned, we’ve had some dolphins accompanying us several times now. Unfortunately for the others, they only bless us with their presence when Janelle, Troy, Daniel, and Nick are on deck.
During glums and glows tonight, we were majority GLUM FREE—WOOHOO! The overarching glows were the opportunity for a visit to the outdoor spa provided on board (we’re certainly all smelling fresher) and, of course, the sunshine sailing we’ve had all day.
Everyone says hello to back home—we love the comments, so please keep them coming!
—FALKEN Crew
FALKENCrew
View more passage logs
Hat overboard!
On June 4, we reviewed our passage plan before our departure from the marina in Hjellested.
Departure from Bergen!
The crew on the women’s sail training on Isbjorn is settling into a great routine for managing the boat and life onboard.
The sun sets on another journey
The hardest part of sailing across French Polynesia wasn't the night watches, the heat, or the open ocean — it was the prospect of being trapped on a small boat with a group of strangers. First-timer Natalie boards as a self-described land crab and discovers that the sea has a way of reshaping both your sea legs and your assumptions. What follows is dolphins, sharks, the Milky Way in full technicolour, and a crew that somehow made the whole thing better than she ever imagined.