FALKEN Leg 14 2023 // Azores → Portugal
Day 1, Oct 19 // Horta and Departure for Lagos
Aaaaaaahoy there everybody! I am writing to you from Horta, in the middle of the Atlantic. FALKEN has spent a whopping four days here, during which we said good-bye to a freshly-salted and fairly-weathered leg 13 crew and said welcome aboard to a brand new crew of sailors.
The turn-over was quick, and was complicated by a sweeping cold front that blew 45 knots directly into Horta Harbor. The jetty that Fallen had been assigned to was nearly underwater. Skipper Erik and I spent about 10 minutes in the gale kicking fenders in-between the boat and the pier until we decided that anchoring out would be the safest option. We anchored safely just before nightfall. The wind kept up, bringing with it larger swell and a surface chop. We let loose all our chain and hunkered down for a grueling 2 hours-on, 2 hours-off anchor watch throughout the night. Never a dull moment! Come day, the water was as still as glass. We sailed back to the dock and launched straight into a full day of boat prep. Laundry, mantience, inventory, deep-clean, debriefs, briefs… we were busy. But not too busy to notice how beautiful it is here.
Horta is truly breathtaking. The small harbor is surrounded by rolling green meadows situated on the sides of these huge cliffs. The tiny town is picturesque. The buildings are old and colorful, the roofs are mostly red. The marina stands off the battlements of an old fort, and there are several canons pointing right at FALKEN. The coffee and beer is 1 euro. We have been frequenting Peter’s sport cafe, a fabled establishment touted as the sailors bar of the Azores. This is the first place where sailors flock after a long transatlantic passage. Lots of history, fun spot!
On Sunday we were happy to welcome aboard Jonah, Michelle, and Willie, our 59 North Apprentices! These folks have joined us to both learn from and contribute towards 59 North. We didn’t have any apprentices with us on our last leg, so it will be great to have three on this one!
Monday; the day of crew arrival. Michelle and I hustled over to the largest supermarket in the area, the ‘Continente’. As far as island supermarkets go, this one was top-tier! It was huge, and I found everything we needed for a nutritious and delicious passage east. We filled up three carts and spent around 800 euro.
Back on the boat, we stowed the food and moved FALKEN to a fantastic floating slip in the Marina. The charcuterie board was ready by the times guests arrived.
So: quick-turn around? Yes. Tough job? Kind of! It was definitely hard, but working with a positive and supportive team makes it fun. Erik is a great leader on the boat and is a joy to work alongside. Our bosun Adam and the rest of the 59 North staff ashore are attentive, available, and care deeply about our success. So the hard work becomes a fun challenge, and the pay off is huge. We’re going offshore tomorrow! LETS GO SAILING!
Leg 14 takes us from Horta back to where we started; Lagos, Portugal. The trip is an estimated seven days. Wx looks excellent, with a couple of stormy spots along the way. I expect us to be in reaching conditions for the majority of this passage. And I would be a candy bar that we do it in 6 days!
Okay, more later! Thanks for reading.
Cheers, and until next time,
HOLD-FAST!
-- Ben Soofer
Day 3, Oct 21 // Sealegs and running from the storm
It’s been an eventful 24 hours! We enjoyed a bluebird departure from the dock, only to be met with strong upwind conditions immediately as we turned the corner to head NE through the Azores. We have been sailing N and upwind aggressively to put as much distance as possible between us and an incoming low pressure system. This system originally called for wind gusts up to 45 knots. The new grib files are showing stronger forces up to 70 knots. Hurricane speeds start at 65.
Our objective is sail up to the 42 N, out of the L pressure system projected track. We are currently at 41 degrees and 31 minutes, so 29 miles to go until we are officially out of the woods! We have 6 hours to make this move before the first front. Plenty of time to get a move on.
In addition to avoiding hurricane force winds, this northward beat is setting us up for a nice reaching angle after we make the turn.
After our passage to Madeira and the Azores, I had almost forgotten what it was like to sail upwind. Almost. The past two days have been spent at 15-20 degrees, rocking and rolling our new sailors until many of them turned green. The boat has been taking a bit of a pounding as well; electronic systems are shaking themselves loose here and there. The cooking scene, in which I take much pride, has taken a hit as well. It take a lot longer to make a simple meal in rough conditions. Simple is what we need too, with over half the crew experiencing some form of seasickness. Folks should start to recover when we make our turn E and the boat flattens out. For now it’s a watching game: making sure people drink water, take their seasick medication, and try to hold down some crackers or fruit.
Ciao for now! Until next time...
HOLD-FAST!
-- Ben Soofer
Day 5, Oct 23 // Downwind to Lagos
Michelle, first time apprentice here! We have finally made the turn East and are sailing down wind to Lagos. This was a welcome turn by many. After the first 36 hours, Skipper Erik remarked he had never seen so much puke on a boat before and Ben agreed! There were only two crew who made it to the the turn without tossing their cookies - good job Keith and Liz!
I have not been on a boat in about 8 years, so I had many cobwebs to dust off, but I wasn’t expecting to be tested so quickly! I had been sea sick before, but it was only for the first few days crossing from Newfoundland to Greenland in 2015 before sailing the Northwest Passage. I knew it would be a possibility for me, so I came prepared with seasickness medication. Maybe I didn’t take it soon enough, but after we left port in Horta, we were sailing upwind for about 36 hours. I was on the helm right out of Horta for the first hour and a half of the trip - I think that delayed my seasickness just a bit. About two hours in, the other apprentice, Jonah, kicked it off with a full belly slide across the cockpit to hang his head over the downwind rails and almost all of us were to follow his lead in due time.
The next 12 hours were spent in a single task mindset of what needed to be completed next - bathroom, eat, drink, sleep, get dressed, repeat. It is impressive how quickly your mind adjusts to completing your basic needs when in survival mode. Each task took all of my focus and there was minimal energy left for anything else.
The apprentices were supposed to be here to help, but Mate Ben was now taking care of me. I felt so bad about not being able to hold my own and help out when needed. My dreams of getting into the sailing world professionally were quickly fleeting during these first hours of this passage - could this be it? Did I jump in too deep, too quickly? Maybe I should have started with coastal cruising. I was very quickly questioning what this might mean for my future sailing endeavors. All of the self doubt was flooding in while I was seasick in my bunk. Ben reminded me, I haven’t been on a boat in many years and it takes about 3 days to acclimate to the seas. I knew he was right, but at that moment, I was defeated.
But indeed, he was right! Slowly, getting my strength back, I was back on the watch schedule and I cut a half of a butternut squash to help with dinner before laying down in the salon. Progress!
Then today, sitting in the cockpit on watch, sun beaming down on my face, watching the waves roll on beneath us, I remember why I love this so much. It is for moments like this, where nothing else in the world matters other than the wind and the waves in that exact moment - the world stops and you are at peace. At least that is what the ocean does for me. Despite the rocky start to the trip, it feels so incredibly good to be back out in the open ocean and I can’t wait for many more moments like this.
Highlights of the day were Keith surfing a wave with a boat speed of 18.4 knots, rainbows and dolphins swimming along the bow. I even helped make Shepherd’s Pie for dinner. It was like a warm hug everyone needed// or maybe just me! We also have our fishing lines set out and are hoping to catch a fresh meal before we make it to Lagos!
We are looking forward to more steady winds before another front passes to the south of us tomorrow.
-- Michelle
Day 6, Oct 24 // Accepting the vastness of our planet
Ahoy! Falken apprentice Jonah writing to you today. We are currently on starboard tack after jibing before dinner tonight and are making steady progress towards Lagos, Portugal. The front to the south of us has brought a pretty significant wind shift, and a much appreciated increase to 20-25 kts after a day of mostly light winds and some motoring.
It’s hard to describe in words what this passage experience has been. Starting out in Horta, it was a whirlwind prepping the boat, having our safety brief, and prepping physically and mentally for ~1 week offshore. This being my first real ocean passage, I was not sure what I should expect, or how to feel as we finally cut the lines in Horta harbor and set out on port tack past Fialal (Is this how this is spelled?) Island. It didn’t take long for the sea-state to make that decision for me, and myself and most of the crew succumbed to various intensities of motion sickness. I’ll spare the details here, but even through the dramamine induced haze of the first 12 hours, it was clear that we were sailing through one the most beautiful scenes I have witnessed. Our first day out was capped off with dinner in the cockpit (it’s incredible what Ben can make under way!), dolphins, 10kts of boat speed and the sun setting through the islands. I would do it all again 10x for that view.
Between that first night and now, the highlights have been many, and the lows present, but easily forgotten. Nausea was still a factor for most of the crew for the first ~3 days, but we all really started feeling better yesterday. Being in such a novel environment has forced my mind to focus on things I wouldn’t have otherwise. With no connection to media, messages, email or a phone call, the only thing that matters is what is right here in front of us. We are lucky that what’s in front of us has been mostly clear skies, incredible sailing conditions (seriously amazing!) and excellent company.
I think being on the ocean forces us to reconcile and accept the vastness of our planet, and the distances we take for granted. It is also a deeply local experience. When the horizon is endless in all directions, all of a sudden the only things that make a difference is what is immediarely nearby. Coming from sailing in the Puget Sound, where the backdrop is always a mountain range, island, city or forest, the water is almost an accessory to the view that already exists. Here, the water is the only thing/everything. Each wave seems to take on a unique character and draw my attention more than it would otherwise.
That’s all for tonight, the crew is in high spirits and each day we hit our stride more and more. I’m looking forward to our last few days with more excellent meals, sailing the wind we’re given, and learning more about this boat and the crew.
Cheers!
Jonah Rodewald
