June 25, 2024 | 07:30 UTC
As we wait to check in at the Port of Galway, I finally have a minute to reflect on this epic adventure. First, what can I say about Chris, Manot, and Athena? They are quite literally the best sailors I have ever had the opportunity to learn from. They are also wonderful humans who have demonstrated endless patience and leadership for the entire crew, all while creating a culture of community for us—a group of strangers from all over the world with varying degrees of sailing skill and experience.
For me, I will hold close the memories of our nightly crew dinners in the cockpit—someone always sacrificing hot food to stay on the helm—while we shared our “glums and glows” of the day. The “glows” helped us focus our attention on good things and gratitude, resetting us after days and days of no more than a few hours of sleep around the clock, biting cold weather, anxiety-producing dense fog, sore and dysregulated bodies, heavy sea swells, and way too “spicy” sailing.
Each day I heard “glows” about Manot’s focaccia, sightings of whales and dolphins, spectacular cloud formations, the indigo color of the sea, good sleep in cozy hammocks, Athena’s warm yummy pesto, finally mastering the complicated life jackets, favorable weather and wind, Chris’ patience with our ongoing and repeated mistakes, countless speed records, previously unimaginable achievements on the helm (mine), and so much more. The “glows” list grew long, and each day we became a tighter-knit crew, united in helping each other while we sailed FALKEN to Ireland.
As we end this final chapter of our voyage, I have no words to adequately express my “glows,” so I will keep it simple.
With my deepest gratitude always,
- Raquel (FALKEN Crew—Azores to Galway ‘24)
As we wait to check in at the Port of Galway, I finally have a minute to reflect on this epic adventure. First, what can I say about Chris, Manot, and Athena? They are quite literally the best sailors I have ever had the opportunity to learn from. They are also wonderful humans who have demonstrated endless patience and leadership for the entire crew, all while creating a culture of community for us—a group of strangers from all over the world with varying degrees of sailing skill and experience.
For me, I will hold close the memories of our nightly crew dinners in the cockpit—someone always sacrificing hot food to stay on the helm—while we shared our “glums and glows” of the day. The “glows” helped us focus our attention on good things and gratitude, resetting us after days and days of no more than a few hours of sleep around the clock, biting cold weather, anxiety-producing dense fog, sore and dysregulated bodies, heavy sea swells, and way too “spicy” sailing.
Each day I heard “glows” about Manot’s focaccia, sightings of whales and dolphins, spectacular cloud formations, the indigo color of the sea, good sleep in cozy hammocks, Athena’s warm yummy pesto, finally mastering the complicated life jackets, favorable weather and wind, Chris’ patience with our ongoing and repeated mistakes, countless speed records, previously unimaginable achievements on the helm (mine), and so much more. The “glows” list grew long, and each day we became a tighter-knit crew, united in helping each other while we sailed FALKEN to Ireland.
As we end this final chapter of our voyage, I have no words to adequately express my “glows,” so I will keep it simple.
With my deepest gratitude always,
- Raquel (FALKEN Crew—Azores to Galway ‘24)
crew@59-north.com
View more passage logs
Hat overboard!
On June 4, we reviewed our passage plan before our departure from the marina in Hjellested.
Departure from Bergen!
The crew on the women’s sail training on Isbjorn is settling into a great routine for managing the boat and life onboard.
The sun sets on another journey
The hardest part of sailing across French Polynesia wasn't the night watches, the heat, or the open ocean — it was the prospect of being trapped on a small boat with a group of strangers. First-timer Natalie boards as a self-described land crab and discovers that the sea has a way of reshaping both your sea legs and your assumptions. What follows is dolphins, sharks, the Milky Way in full technicolour, and a crew that somehow made the whole thing better than she ever imagined.