18:35 | Prince Rupert, BC
In-Port
Good morning from Prince Rupert! Falken and her crew arrived safely into port last night around 8pm boat time, 10pm Prince Rupert time. Luckily, it’s light out at these latitudes until then.
We had a lovely last day of sailing. We approached Dixon Entrance early in the morning, which had been our primary waypoint since we left Oahu. Some spicy weather was anticipated, but luckily the 35kt gusts and 2.5 meter waves were no match for this expert crew. We could only see silhouettes of land because of the endless clouds, but the seagulls flying around and seals poking their heads up confirmed that the charts were correct and land was, in fact, within reach.
Most of the crew was on deck all day with the anticipation of a full night’s sleep ahead. The clouds cleared mid day and we had more blue sky than we had seen in two weeks. For the Pacific Northwest, it ended up being a downright sunny day, though Alex has much higher standards for what qualifies.
Dozens of islands covered in pine trees came into view in the foreground; larger mountains emerged further in the distance. It’s pretty amazing the leave such a distinct landscape like Hawaii and arrive to one that is nearly the opposite. The wind mellowed out as the sun went down and we entered more protected waters. The entire crew rallied to flake and stow three sails, and we readied lines and fenders for our arrival. We had an exceptionally smooth docking, despite it being Alex’s first time parking this year (!).
We had a very late dinner, toasted with celebratory champagne, and shared reflections of the trip. 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 certainly all enjoyed our full night’s sleep.
Now, everyone is scurrying around deep cleaning the boat. Everything is still damp, and in Prince Rupert there’s no chance of anything drying out anytime soon—us included. We’ll all return home significantly saltier than we were when we left, a mark of a passage properly sailed.
Zoe Peach-Riley
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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.
Making the most of it
This passage has thrown pretty much every atmospheric condition imaginable at us. It reminds us not only of how much we’ve learned, but of how far we’ve literally come since that acceleration zone off the northwest corner of Oahu. The resilience this group has shown has been nothing short of incredible, and I couldn’t be prouder to be part of it. Maybe that’s why it’s the hardest passages we remember the most. Not because they were easy, but because they reminded us what we’re capable of.
