Day 5
July 9, 2024 | Day 4 At Sea | Baptism of the North Sea
What a different day! As we made our way towards the Fair Isle Channel, we went from full sail to three reefs in the sail and staysail. We arrived just at the right moment for the tide to be favourable, and the wind backed north as predicted to allow us to reach through the channel comfortably in building seas.
Then the weather closed in. Gone was the sunshine and amazing light, replaced by grey seas and a grey, murky sky with drizzle. Neptune’s little game of baptism in the North Sea.
As we cleared the channel, the wind increased and we sailed like a freight train towards Norway on a close reach, with hoots of laughter from the on-watch team as they experienced some exhilarating heavy weather sailing. The confused seas in the channel slowly became more organised as we cleared the channel and headed across the North Sea, making for a more comfortable ride.
Dinner was a mission to prepare in these challenging conditions, but it was still special to come together and eat and see how everyone was feeling. The drizzle changed to rain as we sailed straight into the low. We were in for a wet night!
- Jojo Pickering, Skipper, S/Y FALKEN
JoJoPickering
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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.