Hove-To at Taiaro
15 May, 2025 | 0435 Ship’s Time | 10 Miles S of Taiaro | Hove-To
FALKEN made landfall at tiny Taiaro, an uninhabited atoll about 25 miles northwest of our goal, Kauehi. Ryan spotted the palm trees poking above the horizon about 8 miles out, just before 1500, and called an enthusiastic “LAAAAAAND HO!” As we approached at speed, the island soon resolved into that classic image of a South Pacific desert island—a white sand beach facing us, fringed with palm trees and low scrub brush, the ocean swell crashing onto the fringing reef and not a soul in sight (though one of the crew swore they saw Gilligan).
With plenty of daylight, we sailed right close in, rounding the northwestern corner about a half-mile off, careful to keep a close eye on the wave action and water color for fear of shallowing depths. We needn’t have worried—the soundings go to 400+ meters only a few yards off the beach, and our depth sounder never picked up anything despite the fly-by. Once into the lee, we could have anchored if it had just been shallower. The seas calmed right down and a light breeze blew off the beach. A few dilapidated huts were spotted amongst the grove of palm trees.
Earlier we’d hoisted the staysail in anticipation of heaving-to. We can’t do it with the yankee up for all the chafe, but with the staysail and three reefs in the main, we finally managed to park FALKEN quite happily at about 45º from the wind. Emily served burritos, most of the crew had freshwater showers on the stern, and as the sun set and the stars came out, we drifted slowly south, making about 1.5–2 knots SOG on a perfect course clear of the other atolls to our south. I went to sleep.
We’re sailing again as I type this, moseying along around the bottom of Raraka, still wildly underpowered for the benign conditions, but waiting until after we gybe to put more sail up. We’re still not in a hurry, trying to time the pass at Kauehi for around 1000. FALKEN is a tough boat to slow down—even with just the staysail and triple-reefed main, we’re still sailing 7 knots in 14 knots apparent on a deep broad reach. Though with so little sail up she’s rolling heavily. The dishes in the sink are clanking around, and the crew in their bunks will need to be wary of their heads lolling back and forth if they’re not properly wedged in. Sleeping downwind is tough too.
35 miles to go.
—Andy
andy@59-north.com
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Quadruple digits!
We are still headed north away from Hawaii, though today we have started to veer ever so slightly east. Speaking of miles, we hit quadruple digits today and are currently 1051 nms into our journey to Alaska. The sea state continues to calm down, and the famous North Pacific high is just out of our reach. The next few days will be a delicate dance of riding the outskirts of the high while avoiding the pesky low pressure systems that are dancing nearby. In his very wise words, we need to get north but not too far north, stay south but not too far south, continue heading east but not too far east, and avoid going west but also stay west.
The basics
Nordic Falken and her crew have been in a steady course of NNW since the departure of Hawaii. But! The good thing of all of this is that the promised land on which the high pressure lies has been getting closer and closer, meaning in a couple of days we're gonna see the wind slowly veer all the way to the South, which finally should see us easing the sails and remembering the basics of human nature all over again. The crew have been amazing and we've had everyone come around to push through fatigue, seasickness and soaking wet clothes. On another note we left the tropics a while ago and we can really feel the shift of temperature, long gone are the shorts and foulies have been the norm. Not much more apart from this, my intolerance to upwind sailing still pretty much alive but doing it with a bunch of such amazing human beings makes it worth it worthwhile.
Pacific pace
After some initial adversity, we untied our lines and left the beautiful island of O'ahu behind as we set sail north on an adventure of a lifetime. And that is exactly what we are - a family of strangers brought together by a passion for sailing and a love for the sea. The passage, while at its infancy, has delivered. The wind and seas, stars and sails all set the stage for a fantastic journey. We will see you on the other side with many stories to tell.