May 31, 2024 | 1745 UTC
The weather has been shifty as we pass through a low today. We were greeted this morning with light winds and gybed onto a port tack to maintain our course. Rain quickly followed suit and ended around 1400. FALKEN has maintained a steady pace of 8.6 speed over ground for the last sixteen hours as we sail through to 1,157 nautical miles. It has been bittersweet, having completed the halfway mark to Horta yesterday. The crew had a celebration, thanks to Manot for making ice cream for dessert. As we continue on our transit, it’s becoming more difficult to find ‘glums’; even with this grey weather, the crew has been positive and full of laughter. One thing that has grown on me through sailing is the connections you create with people through these experiences. There is a tendency to forget time, and the days just blur into moments. These moments and challenges you are faced with out here can create friendships you wouldn’t expect. It has been wonderful getting to know everyone here and watching them flourish in this environment. //Athena
59ºNorthApprentice
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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.