1945 UTC | 47°13.7’N 126°34.9’W
Sailing Fast
Well, it ain't champagne sailing yet, but we have high hopes when we turn south later today. The brave crew is toughing it out and staying cheerful despite being tossed around. The engine is off and we are true sailing-main and jib.
In the first 12 hours we saw two pods of Orca and four humpback whales, two of which were 20 yards off the starboard beam!
Deep thoughts on board:
Where is Delaneys secret fridge? Is there any Tiramasu left? Do we have the cleanest frying pan in the Pacific?
Laura Young
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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.
