Fog Blog
0216 UTC | 48°32.5’ N 124°42.1’W
Whale watching
After a day in Victoria learning Falken and passage planning, we departed early this morning for San Francisco. We split into three watches named Watch 1, Watch A, and Watch Uno, so everyone feels appreciated, and are well into a routine of life at sea.
The plan is to motor west down the Straight of Juan de Fuca, and turn left once the wind fills in. It’s been incredibly foggy, as is to be expected in the month of “Fogust,” but when we get a glimpse of the forested mountains beyond the fog it is stunning. We’ve made good use of our time by practicing reefing, watching for whales, and setting up preventer lines for our inevitable down wind sleigh ride.
Most everyone on board has unfortunately began to feel a touch of the green monster. We are motoring in light winds but into an established sea state on the nose. Not the most comfortable conditions for what is the first time offshore for many of our sailors. Mary made the astute observation that despite the seasickness, the sentiment onboard is quite chipper. Everyone is happy to be here, and eager to keep learning. Perhaps once everyone feels a bit better, they’ll accept my pleas to write the daily blog post.
As the youngest of three girls and after 7 years of all girls education, I am loving support and immediate camaraderie of this all women’s trip. I’m excited to watch these women grow in confidence and competence as we sail fast down the coast.
Love to my family xoxo
Delaney
Delaney
View more passage logs
No Kitemares Today
After a night marked by sudden wind accelerations peeling off Point Conception, and a vibrant, pulsating sky blistered with shooting stars, the off-watch woke to commotion on the foredeck. The wind had gone light and the swell had tapered just enough to raise the spinnaker. The sail filled with an urgent pop, the sheet strained and Falken charged down the face of the next wave. By mid-day, we doused the spinnaker and set our minds to the more precise task of safely punching through a gap in the notorious Cortez Bank. The border to Mexico looms ahead.
The California coast
We had a very lively first day of sailing with steady winds between 25 and 30 kn gusting to mid 30s. All of the crew got experience at difficult downwind helming as we covered 200 nautical miles in the first 24 hours. This morning brings winds in the teens and calmer seas. The sun is still shining, and the green monster has been slayed by those afflicted!
Farewell by dolphins
We headed out of the marina in Monterey CA at about 10AM in sunny weather to meet winds of ~20kts and 3m smooth swell with long periods. FALKEN is surfing along the coast of California, ship’s time 1PM as I write. As we motored out into the bay, we were wished farewell by a pod of dolphins nearby and a couple of whales in the distance. Though, unfortunately one crew member met the green dragon in the swell.
