Good day from the beautiful clear blue Caribbean Sea! We had a lot of fun surfing Falken down long ocean swells today. It feels similar to snowboarding but on water instead of snow—an adrenaline rush for sure! Our top speed was about 14 knots while surfing down a swell. As crew, we are learning how to keep the boat on a mostly straight course instead of only back and forth. The boat takes longer to respond than a car when turning, so it’s a new skill for us. One of the crew likens it to off-roading in sand.
Yesterday we had freshwater showers sitting on the back of Falken, watching the blue waters of the Caribbean flow by behind us with Falken traveling at 10 knots (about 18.5 km/hr).
Last night we enjoyed patches of bright glowing water. The glowing is caused by bioluminescence—a type of plankton, I believe. The food has been delicious, the highlight being an olive and sea salt focaccia bread made by Manot today. It was devoured rapidly.
- Janelle, crew on the Falken
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Shooting Stars & Turtle Logs
Day three out of Ketchikan and FALKEN is running wing on wing down the outside of Vancouver Island. The temptation is to lie back in the cockpit and spend the night watching for shooting stars, but a diligent watch is always the first priority. So we keep a sharp eye out while the shooting stars keep us company through the night. The wildlife keeps coming: humpback and minke whales, five mola molas, dolphins, and a black-footed albatross. We are all feeling lucky for such conditions!
Pot dodging and whale watching
Duncan got us up to eleven knots at one point! The Ferriers also logged our first Orca sighting on their 3am-6am watch! This morning is a gift as the temps are just right and we finally have some blue sky and plenty of sunshine. It was a glorious few hours sailing before it inevitably died as forecast. I live in hope that by sunset tonight we’ll be back sailing as we emerge out of the lee of the island and the wind will be more westerly which lends itself to a better sailing angle.
We are off!
After two days of introductions, safety briefings and boat procedures we have departed Ketchikan. We are currently making a whopping 3.3 knots as there is very little wind in Nichols Passage. Adam fed us well last night with a delicious shrimp curry and Duncan was the winner of a sporty game of the card version Monopoly. With the scenic views and light wind it's quite peaceful out here.