Fresh baked bread!
April 22, 2025 | Light wind
Last night gave us some wonderful light winds sailing on a relatively flat sea that allowed the whole crew to catch up on much-needed sleep after the excitement of the night previous. There’s nothing like a nighttime kite drop followed by an engine fire alarm to keep everyone alert and full of adrenaline, and after reconciling all issues, it was a huge relief to go from the ridiculous to the sublime.
A very hot day followed, but with a little more wind than forecast, and it was shortly after dark this evening that we finally had to accept the wind shift and resort to the iron sail (engine) once more.
Dinner tonight was a combined effort with freshly baked bread courtesy of Scott, a delicious hummus from Hilary, and a couscous salad to utilize all of the remaining fresh salad vegetables. Add to this the charcuterie that we have saved until the last, and the deck was full of scrumptious delights.
As I type this, we are motor sailing a direct course to Hiva Oa and we have a little more wind forecast for tomorrow, so hopefully we can sail the final distance to make landfall. In the meantime, the night hours are a welcome relief from the punishing heat of the day, and we even treat ourselves to the odd hot drink to while away the hours on the helm.
Less than 200nm...
Emily
EmilyCaruso
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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.