End of Passage
60.2850° N, 5.2820° E
July 11, 2024 | Day 6 At Sea | End of Trip Clean Up
Day 10 - 12 July 2024
Some of us slept really well at anchor, others found the silence too quiet, and some of us were still waking up every four hours for our watches. In the morning, we found ourselves anchored in a beautiful, calm location. After breakfast in the cockpit, the planes started to land—we were in the flight path of Bergen airport! We were here to clear in with customs. It was entertaining to watch the planes flying so low above us.
After a leisurely breakfast and a quick swim, we moved Falken to the pontoon at Hjellestadt Havn just across the bay. Walking towards her along the pontoon reminded us all what a big boat she is; she was towering above every other boat in the marina. Somehow at sea, we had forgotten how big she was.
Once on the pontoon, we started to give Falken a deep clean, from the bilges to the rigging. The crew worked really hard and soon Falken was spick and span again. Such a fabulous way to say thank you to this beautiful boat for looking after us on this amazing trip.
After lunch, five of us had to get a taxi to the nearby airport to clear customs and get our passports stamped. This was a bit of a culture shock—to be on land (which was partly swaying)—and a reminder that real life was still going on unchanged. It’s always hard to readjust to land after an offshore passage.
Then we had showers! That is always a treat, to finally wash off all the salt water and to feel clean again. We ended the day with a meal out in the marina restaurant with a view overlooking Falken and another beautiful sunset.
Jojo Pickering
Skipper, S/Y FALKEN
JoJoPickering
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A last hurrah
Under the dome of stars in a moon-less sky, each of us during our time at the helm used the most rudimentary celestial navigation, keeping a star or two lined up with the mast as a helper to following the heading range. It was a whole crew event to set the spinnaker, reef the mainsail and practice the heave-to in case of man overboard. Alex stressed that the key to success in all of these crucial activities is preparation. It was hugely satisfying to accomplish these tasks through teamwork. We share a constant good hearted back and forth full of stories, one-liners and comebacks that also means constant laughter.
One little bird!
Falken has almost rounded the Channel Islands and is cruising along splendidly about 100 miles offshore. Though several models predicted some slightly fresher winds today, we were met with a consistent 18-20 kts of pure bliss. It seems that from the moment we left the dock in San Francisco, there has been much laughter and conversation amongst everyone. The plan is to gybe in a few hours and begin our approach to Ensenada. As much as I do appreciate the jokes and intellectual musings, I equally appreciate the natural, silent moments we share at night, all of us on watch gazing up above to the shooting stars, constellations, and planets putting on their quiet show.
Birds and glows
The sun brought new wind and we were soon putting up the Yankee (jib) and turning off the motor. During the evening tradition of sharing “glums and glows” that follows the crew dinner, our Mate Ryan proclaimed it a “champagne sailing” kind of day. As Alex noted this evening, life goes by so fast that one of the very best things about his line of work is enjoying the passage of time in the slow lane of an ocean passage. But by tomorrow, the green blobs in the weather sailing app indicate we’re going to pick up some significant northwesterly winds and we’ll take them ever further south to the Channel Islands latitude. We’re all super excited for the knots to climb and to see Falken really run.