End of a passage

2024-1 | FALKEN | Lagos-Las Palmas
Alex Laline Ruiz
Alex Laline Ruiz
Passage Blog
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Just gotta say, these past five days with the FALKEN crew on the boat were like living in a dream. Chris, Libby, Mark, Kelley, Rich, and Tim, you guys made it epic. In our crazy world, it's so easy to be stuck thinking about the past or stressing about what's next. But being in the moment—staring at stars, catching sunrises and sunsets—that's what it's all about! Shoutout to my FALKEN crew: this wasn't just a trip; it's like we wrote our own story. Cheers to sea tales and the cool bonds we made under the open sky. Stepping off the boat, I've got a bit of each of you packed in my memories. Good times!

From Alex, Mia, and Jojo, we want to thank every single one of you for joining us on this trip. It has been truly fantastic!

// Alex

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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!

Mary Vaughan-Jones
5/8/2026
Ketch us if you Kan

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.

24/7/2026
Final Blog

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.

22/7/2026
Lessons and a Gift