Final Day At Sea
September 9, 2024, 06:10 UTC | Approaching Plymouth
The weather has been extremely fickle around the British Isles this past week, making this an exceptionally challenging passage to plan for. We have been through plans A, B, C, D… trying to find the best ‘next port of call’. Not really sure how far down the alphabet we are at this point. But quite unexpectedly, these alternative routes have made it possible to tick off several bucket-list items for the crew: sailing into London, passing by the White Cliffs of Dover, and a close-up view of the iconic Needles right off the western tip of the Isle of Wight.
For me, this dynamic is one of the real beauties of sailing; you never really know what you will get when you cast off. It has all been possible, however, thanks to the amazing crew onboard, always keeping the mood up. I’m now sitting here half asleep at the chart table, hearing chatter and laughter from the cockpit. And then, “dolphins!” Doesn’t get much better!
Now we are approaching our final destination, Plymouth, where FALKEN will get some TLC over the next couple of weeks. A huge thank you to the fantastic crew and to our awesome FALKEN. I’ve had a blast!
O’hoy—Erik Nordborg
ErikNordborg
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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!
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.