Food
April 17, 2026 | Food!
With two thirds of this passage complete already, I have been reflecting upon the gargantuan task of provisioning and meal planning, and the learning curves in relation to food as our voyage has progressed. Any professional sailor responsible for provisioning will have felt the nagging fear that there simply isn’t enough food for the duration, no matter the level of planning. Add to that the unknown variable of how much the crew will consume (this can vary massively), and the whole management of stores concept becomes an epic undertaking.
We consume the meats first in order of safe storage, starting with chicken, then moving through the pork and beef, and relying on the trusty cured sausages to keep things interesting further along. Vegetables most certainly have a hierarchy in terms of longevity, with cabbages, carrots, onions, and potatoes lasting longest. A good old-fashioned coleslaw is always well received in latter days and is a refreshing option in the heat of the tropics.
Keeping the snack cupboard refreshed and making sure the day fridge has plenty of lunch options are daily considerations, alongside topping up the breakfast cereals and rotating dry stores from the less convenient parts of the boat to the more accessible areas within the galley. Cooking for 11 people in this heat with a following sea is a constant workout and on average requires two and a half hours for a decent dinner prep. The dangers of boiling water and hot oil are ever present, and traffic through the galley needs careful management.
This is just one of the many aspects of running a safe and efficient boat, but given that on a sailing boat, the crew are the engine, providing healthy, nutritious, and varied meals is a vital component that is often overlooked.
As each day passes, the task of being creative gets trickier and the notion of reaching a restaurant becomes more and more enticing. Not long now!
- Emily | Mate on FALKEN
EmilyCaruso
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A last hurrah
Under the dome of stars in a moon-less sky, each of us during our time at the helm used the most rudimentary celestial navigation, keeping a star or two lined up with the mast as a helper to following the heading range. It was a whole crew event to set the spinnaker, reef the mainsail and practice the heave-to in case of man overboard. Alex stressed that the key to success in all of these crucial activities is preparation. It was hugely satisfying to accomplish these tasks through teamwork. We share a constant good hearted back and forth full of stories, one-liners and comebacks that also means constant laughter.
One little bird!
Falken has almost rounded the Channel Islands and is cruising along splendidly about 100 miles offshore. Though several models predicted some slightly fresher winds today, we were met with a consistent 18-20 kts of pure bliss. It seems that from the moment we left the dock in San Francisco, there has been much laughter and conversation amongst everyone. The plan is to gybe in a few hours and begin our approach to Ensenada. As much as I do appreciate the jokes and intellectual musings, I equally appreciate the natural, silent moments we share at night, all of us on watch gazing up above to the shooting stars, constellations, and planets putting on their quiet show.
Birds and glows
The sun brought new wind and we were soon putting up the Yankee (jib) and turning off the motor. During the evening tradition of sharing “glums and glows” that follows the crew dinner, our Mate Ryan proclaimed it a “champagne sailing” kind of day. As Alex noted this evening, life goes by so fast that one of the very best things about his line of work is enjoying the passage of time in the slow lane of an ocean passage. But by tomorrow, the green blobs in the weather sailing app indicate we’re going to pick up some significant northwesterly winds and we’ll take them ever further south to the Channel Islands latitude. We’re all super excited for the knots to climb and to see Falken really run.