February 18, 2025 | The art of helming!
Taking your turn at the wheel seems to be the highlight of each watch. We do a half hour each with a spotter at the stern to help if needed. Steering a true course is an art form that I don’t doubt takes countless hours of practice. As you watch the bow swing back and forth, you have to feel the wind in the right spot on your face, the force of the rudder on the wheel, all while paying attention to the compass heading. Since we are reaching downwind, you should be feeling the wind on the back of your ear. The key is small movements of the wheel so as not to overcorrect. If you overcorrect, it can be a real battle to get back on course. Lastly, you have to watch the compass and keep the desired heading.
When we started this cruise, it felt like baptism by fire with 3 meter waves and 15 to 20 knots of wind. I think it’s safe to say that everyone had a certain amount of anxiety when their turn came up. But after hours of practice and a relentless watch that doesn’t end until the destination is reached, we have all become much better helmsmen.
Last night the winds dropped to 10 or 12 knots apparent and it felt like a nice leisurely walk in the park. We cruised through the night watch stargazing at Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Orion, Cassiopeia, and The Southern Cross. We had a sea bird hovering a few feet over the cockpit and a confused flying fish that landed in the wrong place at the wrong time. I tossed him back in and wished him well.
Today the wind slowly built itself up, reaching 20 to 25 knots by nightfall. It was expected, so we put the third reef in the main, reduced the jib, and prepared for a wild night of surfing down 3 meter waves in a 65 foot sailboat that was designed to win races across oceans.
- Daniel, crew on the Falken
FALKENCrew
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A last hurrah
Under the dome of stars in a moon-less sky, each of us during our time at the helm used the most rudimentary celestial navigation, keeping a star or two lined up with the mast as a helper to following the heading range. It was a whole crew event to set the spinnaker, reef the mainsail and practice the heave-to in case of man overboard. Alex stressed that the key to success in all of these crucial activities is preparation. It was hugely satisfying to accomplish these tasks through teamwork. We share a constant good hearted back and forth full of stories, one-liners and comebacks that also means constant laughter.
One little bird!
Falken has almost rounded the Channel Islands and is cruising along splendidly about 100 miles offshore. Though several models predicted some slightly fresher winds today, we were met with a consistent 18-20 kts of pure bliss. It seems that from the moment we left the dock in San Francisco, there has been much laughter and conversation amongst everyone. The plan is to gybe in a few hours and begin our approach to Ensenada. As much as I do appreciate the jokes and intellectual musings, I equally appreciate the natural, silent moments we share at night, all of us on watch gazing up above to the shooting stars, constellations, and planets putting on their quiet show.
Birds and glows
The sun brought new wind and we were soon putting up the Yankee (jib) and turning off the motor. During the evening tradition of sharing “glums and glows” that follows the crew dinner, our Mate Ryan proclaimed it a “champagne sailing” kind of day. As Alex noted this evening, life goes by so fast that one of the very best things about his line of work is enjoying the passage of time in the slow lane of an ocean passage. But by tomorrow, the green blobs in the weather sailing app indicate we’re going to pick up some significant northwesterly winds and we’ll take them ever further south to the Channel Islands latitude. We’re all super excited for the knots to climb and to see Falken really run.