0249 UTC | 15° 22.86’S 144° 39.98’W
Sailing
It’s the evening of our fifth day of this passage and Falken is hove-to about 45nm northeast of Kauehi, our target in the Tuamotos. We weren’t quite swift enough to make the 10am slack we need to transit Kauehi’s southern pass today, and need to stall until our window tomorrow morning. A funky low pressure system lingering just south of Tahiti is to blame, and sucked the energy out of the usually reliable easterly trades yesterday.
On the bright side, it has been smooth sailing today—almost too smooth. We’ve been trying (and mostly failing) to slow Falken down all day, putting in extra reefs and heaving to. We even tacked back and forth a few times, retracing her bubbly trail, just to waste some time. Funny, isn’t it, how hard it is to strike sailing perfection. I’ll admit it’s hard to be mad at Falken for being too fast, though.
In any case, no one is too upset about some extra time out here, especially once the sun falls behind the main sail and the cockpit is shaded. Boobies have been circling us all day, perhaps buying time themselves, and the wind has been quite refreshingly on our beam. We’ve been treated to some lovely rain showers and even a rainbow or too (attached photo creds to Amy). Many fun treats have been passed up today too, to include cold papaya that Mary squirted with lime, lychees, Angry Birds branded Pringles, cucumber from a friendly local in Ua Pou, and salt licorice that Mike brought to share. At least twice a day, pomelos make their way up as well, and I for one am surely safe from scurvy given how many I’ve eaten.
It certainly still feels like open ocean out here, despite the presence of the ‘dangerous archipelago’ surrounding us. I’m excited to see a few atolls firsthand, and hopefully (weather dependent) have a chance to explore Kauehi as well. For tonight, I’m content with modified hove-to watch duties, which apart from keeping an attentive eye on the horizon and sails, will likely consist of conversations about dream sandwich combinations or whether mermaids (theoretically speaking, of course) give live birth.
Love to all!
Zoe
Zoe Peach-Riley (Apprentice)
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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.
Making the most of it
This passage has thrown pretty much every atmospheric condition imaginable at us. It reminds us not only of how much we’ve learned, but of how far we’ve literally come since that acceleration zone off the northwest corner of Oahu. The resilience this group has shown has been nothing short of incredible, and I couldn’t be prouder to be part of it. Maybe that’s why it’s the hardest passages we remember the most. Not because they were easy, but because they reminded us what we’re capable of.
