DAY 6
November 17, 2023
Lagos, Portugal
I am writing this as the sun is slowly setting in Lagos. FALKEN has now been washed, scrubbed, emptied, and re-stored following her post-passage checklist that we thoroughly follow. There is an aura of accomplishment, relief, and just a general feeling of awesomeness onboard—not just for the successful trip we’ve just completed, but because this marks FALKEN’s first successful season in the Atlantic, sailing an astonishing 16,112 nm.
I am lucky enough to have sailed on her first and last passages, and to see how well she has performed and how far she has come is inspiring. Kudos to our awesome Bosun Adam for the amazing work that we’ve seen every day we’ve sailed her. We gave Adam a shoutout with the whole crew after arrival and cheered with some bubbles.
It has been a great way to finish the season with nice weather, great people, and the opportunity to sail with Mia, Andy, and Manot. We always say it is sometimes difficult to see your friends in this industry because we only see each other when we get to do trips together, and when it’s a passage from one destination to another, your friend is asleep most of the times you’re awake, which isn’t very social. So this trip has been a great chance to spend some time sailing with Andy and Mia and to get to know Manot.
But the best part of every trip for me is always the people who come along—the people who come to learn, live new experiences, accomplish something they might not know what it is yet, and to get to know them and their lives. It has been a real pleasure sharing this experience with Knut, Karima, James, Constance, Bob, Fred, and Sean. You all made this week a memorable one, and from the 59 North team we say thank you from our hearts. We couldn’t have asked for a better bunch to officially finish the season.
Now the plan is to get FALKEN cozy in the yard for the month of December while doing some jobs on her and making sure she is in top form for the first trip of the year, in which Mia and I will be sailing her due south, towards the Canary Islands.
- Alex
laline96@gmail.com
View more passage logs
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.