Happy Birthday Mary!
Sunday, June 9, 2025 | 09:45 Local Time
Good morning from the middle of the South Pacific! FALKEN has been ticking miles off nicely and the crew are all well into the watch system. Today we woke up to a much more squally day, with lightning and thunderstorms around us indicating our proximity to the ITCZ. The forecast is promising, and with a light day ahead expected tomorrow, everything seems to be as straightforward as sailing goes.
The dilemma is which island do we aim for: Palmyra Atoll or Christmas Island? I know, right? What a terrible decision to make! Both of them have their pros and cons, but looking at the weather ahead, we are currently heading towards Christmas Island, which is currently lying 970nm NW of our position.
Today is a special day for our First Mate Mary, who is turning 30! She doesn’t know it yet, but we have a little present for her and Adam is baking a birthday cake from scratch.
Lots of love,
- Alex
Send your birthday message to Mary in the comments and I’ll forward it to the boat with the daily update.
- Mia (shore support)
laline96@gmail.com
View more passage logs
Shooting Stars & Turtle Logs
Day three out of Ketchikan and FALKEN is running wing on wing down the outside of Vancouver Island. The temptation is to lie back in the cockpit and spend the night watching for shooting stars, but a diligent watch is always the first priority. So we keep a sharp eye out while the shooting stars keep us company through the night. The wildlife keeps coming: humpback and minke whales, five mola molas, dolphins, and a black-footed albatross. We are all feeling lucky for such conditions!
Pot dodging and whale watching
Duncan got us up to eleven knots at one point! The Ferriers also logged our first Orca sighting on their 3am-6am watch! This morning is a gift as the temps are just right and we finally have some blue sky and plenty of sunshine. It was a glorious few hours sailing before it inevitably died as forecast. I live in hope that by sunset tonight we’ll be back sailing as we emerge out of the lee of the island and the wind will be more westerly which lends itself to a better sailing angle.
We are off!
After two days of introductions, safety briefings and boat procedures we have departed Ketchikan. We are currently making a whopping 3.3 knots as there is very little wind in Nichols Passage. Adam fed us well last night with a delicious shrimp curry and Duncan was the winner of a sporty game of the card version Monopoly. With the scenic views and light wind it's quite peaceful out here.