Day 4
Hello everyone! What a great day today has been. Everyone onboard is smelling extremely well and looking very fresh, and the reason for that is that today we hove-to to have a mid-ocean dip! That's right, we went in the water and had a beautiful swim and clean before jumping back onboard to carry on sailing.
Everyone's morale is high and the wind has shown slight signs of wanting to change direction, but as for now... still upwind! I am pretty sure the wind gods are having a bit of a laugh at Chris and me as we await this wind shift that should have happened about two days ago. But in terms of upwind sailing, I do have to admit that it doesn't get any better than this: flat sea state, 10 knots of true wind speed, and about 8 knots of boat speed. It's like paradise for upwind sailing!
For dinner, I have made my homemade lasagna, which is currently slowly cooking in the oven and is filling the air with a lovely smell. The watches have just shifted and people are going down to nap before dinner.
So not much to say—life is beautiful onboard FALKEN at the moment as we enjoy every second of what this world is giving us, which is full sunshine, perfect breeze, and a whole bunch of extraordinary people.
Love to everyone.
- Alex
View more passage logs
HMS Night Watch Party
Wing on wing worked well until the wind shifted then the helm became the cone of despair for our night watch crew of three (H, M and S) Alex made the decision to drop the pole, shifting wing on wing to a close reach. Wind increased to low teens and speed picked up to a flying pace. Day spent wandering toward Ensenada. Alex, Adam and David got us into port under another starry night.
No Kitemares Today
After a night marked by sudden wind accelerations peeling off Point Conception, and a vibrant, pulsating sky blistered with shooting stars, the off-watch woke to commotion on the foredeck. The wind had gone light and the swell had tapered just enough to raise the spinnaker. The sail filled with an urgent pop, the sheet strained and Falken charged down the face of the next wave. By mid-day, we doused the spinnaker and set our minds to the more precise task of safely punching through a gap in the notorious Cortez Bank. The border to Mexico looms ahead.
The California coast
We had a very lively first day of sailing with steady winds between 25 and 30 kn gusting to mid 30s. All of the crew got experience at difficult downwind helming as we covered 200 nautical miles in the first 24 hours. This morning brings winds in the teens and calmer seas. The sun is still shining, and the green monster has been slayed by those afflicted!