Day 6
Leg 1 Vindön-Bergen | Day 3
Inshore sailing is all about enjoying the moment. The plans you lay out in the morning will almost always change once the sails are up. We left Tananger after a slow morning talking to the locals, fixing things, and exploring. The downwind sail north took us through beautiful Kvitsøy. We were supposed to sail in the outskirts, but we ended up sailing through the very narrow channels in downtown Kvitsøy. Google Kvitsøy and you will want to make the same trip as us. We should have stopped, but we continued up Karmsundet. The next plan broken was an anchorage just south of Haugesund. A forecast promising gusts of 46 knots didn't sound like a good night's sleep. So here we are in Haugesund, getting ready for a restaurant dinner. All is well on board the good ship Isbjorn—Jon, JoJo, and fantastic crew. PS: We had sun almost all the way.
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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!