Day 6
July 11, 2024 | Day 6 At Sea | Land Ho
What a wet, wet night it was as we sped through the nimbo stratus in force 6, then the winds slowly decreasing. The slamming stopped and we sped through the North Sea on a smoother ride. Unfortunately, the wind slowed and reduced to nothing in the morning and we were motoring in fog. What a contrast. The rain continued, so we set up a crew rotation of 30 minutes: first on lookout duty, then steering, followed by radar watch, ending with some rest time. Slowly the fog cleared and revealed the coast of Norway. What a beautiful moment. Land Ho by sen GiGi at 1200 UTC.
But we were still a long way out from making port. This was a time of reflection about the trip, how we have personally responded, learning points, and future plans. Excitement grew as land got closer and revealed Norway’s amazing rocky archipelago. We ate supper as we entered the inland waterways. We knew we had to clear customs, so we headed for Hjellestad Haven to see if we could moor alongside. Unfortunately, there was no room. So we changed plan and decided to anchor nearby off Myntevic. We carefully positioned ourselves to drop the anchor. But when the time came, we found that the anchor chain had tied itself in knots! That is how rough the seas were off the Shetlands!
It was late, we were all tired, but we kept laughing at how there is always one more challenge. This time it was Manot who was the hero, pulling all the chain out, untangling it, and returning the chain to the chain locker. We were ready to try anchoring again and this time it went smoothly.
While we were playing with the chain, some of the crew came below and prepared a fabulous feast of tapas for us to celebrate our arrival. We toasted the passage and safe arrival with cold bubbly and shared our favorite parts.
What a great crew. We have laughed loads, worked hard, and challenged ourselves to sail out of our comfort zones.
- 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.