Hello Victoria! Arrival Day...
Monday, August 11, 2025, 09:30 Local time | Victoria, BC
Hello Victoria! So to look back… We had all sorts of conditions on this trip. We motored through narrow fjord-like passages and gazed upon the remotest of remote landscapes. We sailed in thermal breezes, cutting through dead flat seawater like a knife through butter, upwind in 15 knots. Wow, does Falken love that. We dropped the hook in the most WILD anchorage off Brooks Peninsula and experienced true, natural silence. How rare in our busy world.
After dropping the hook and 48 hours of sailing, the team pumped up the dinghy, headed to shore, hiked half an hour, and emerged from the lush Pacific Northwest rainforest to just the most incredible beach you have ever seen. Just us, and the Pacific Ocean. Of course, we went for a swim. And then, back to sea for a final hoorah—25-35 knots downwind for our last leg. It was when the fog lifted and the moon rose on our starboard bow, shining through the way home, that we realized… Wow… this is special. Yes, what we get to experience here really is special.
We agreed at the beginning of this trip that our priorities would be to be safe, have fun, learn, and get WILD—in that order. And, from the reflection last night that we shared as a team, I’m happy to share that we achieved the mission! More coastal trips like this have a way of igniting dreams, because they are closer perhaps to a lifestyle of a cruiser. It was wonderful to hear that so many of the crew are asking themselves the question that of course we want everyone to ask… ‘Do I want sailing to be a significant part of my life?’
Once again, this 59 North trip ends with new friends, freshly acquired wisdom, and a broader horizon for us all.
- Nikki | FALKEN Skipper
NikkiHenderson
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Seasickness
But maybe, I thought, with some drugs I could stay ahead of it. The first 48 hours I felt horrible. But luckily with 3 health care professionals on board and in a very encouraging environment, my body found its way. Anyway, someone offered me a patch (unavailable in Canada) and someone else gave me some pills for nausea and now I feel much, much better.
Dolphins and Bioluminescence
We had a good run with the sails but weather has changed and we are once again chasing the wind. Everyone is getting a chance to practice helming in big swell; starting to get a feel of the wind and water and how it pushes and pulls the hull. A pod of dolphins came to visit at night, splashing in the bioluminescent water, and again in the day, dancing in the bow wake. For now enjoying the calmer sea state and falling asleep to the rumble of the engine and the gentle whooshing of the water on the hull.
Greetings from Lala Lemonshark
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!