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
View more passage logs
Seasickness
But maybe, I thought, with some drugs I could stay ahead of it. The first 48 hours I felt horrible. But luckily with 3 health care professionals on board and in a very encouraging environment, my body found its way. Anyway, someone offered me a patch (unavailable in Canada) and someone else gave me some pills for nausea and now I feel much, much better.
Dolphins and Bioluminescence
We had a good run with the sails but weather has changed and we are once again chasing the wind. Everyone is getting a chance to practice helming in big swell; starting to get a feel of the wind and water and how it pushes and pulls the hull. A pod of dolphins came to visit at night, splashing in the bioluminescent water, and again in the day, dancing in the bow wake. For now enjoying the calmer sea state and falling asleep to the rumble of the engine and the gentle whooshing of the water on the hull.
Greetings from Lala Lemonshark
The brave crew is toughing it out and staying cheerful despite being tossed around. The engine is off and we are true sailing-main and jib. In the first 12 hours we saw two pods of Orca and four humpback whales, two of which were 20 yards off the starboard beam!