Final Debrief
San Francisco Bay | Monday 25th of August | Local time 10:30
Well … it’s a wrap. Another trip complete. And this one was, as they always are in their own unique ways, quite the adventure.
Our last morning started with weighing anchor in thick fog. We set out for what we thought would be a four-hour motor into the Bay. Then, as if the Universe was gifting us just what we were hoping for, the sky cleared, the sun came out, and the wind started to blow. We hoisted the sails and a few miles later bore away left, sailing under the bridge, gybing back and forth across the Bay. A Golden Gate entry of dreams!
As is custom at the end of every trip, we spent our last night reflecting on the 882NM voyage we had from Victoria. This one was a touch different to normal as we opted to stay onboard and get Thai takeout for our ‘last supper’. We sat in the cockpit, clean (thanks to liveaboard Crystal for lending 11 women a key to the showers on a Sunday evening!) and cozy under our makeshift atmospheric red head-torch under-boom lighting, eating and drinking long into the evening.
I wish you could all be flies on the wall during the close of one of these trips. Last night, belly laughter, tears, and deep heartfelt expressions of gratitude ping-ponged around the crew as we looked back at our trip. Each ‘final debrief’ has its own personality—this one particularly entertaining, as every so often a song would be turned up on the speaker and the girls would launch into a sailing-inspired dance. This was followed by more roars of laughter, and then back to another grounding, inspiring reflection.
Many of the women shared how tough they had found the trip at certain moments, and how empowered they now feel after realizing—wow—“I am stronger than I thought I was.” That confidence can be a seed for new sailing dreams, and it was so brilliant to hear a few comments like, “I’m excited to go explore now on my own boat.” Because, isn’t this what it’s all about in the end? Dreams. Exploring. Discovery. For more of us to be brave enough to think up a dream and then maybe even make it happen.
As Amy so aptly put: “Find the line. Believe. Execute.”
- Nikki
NikkiHenderson
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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.