King Neptune’s Realm
Latitude: 1° S
Longitude: 92° W
April 8, 2025, 2111 Ship’s Time | 8 Miles South of Equator, 92º W Longitude | Motoring
All the things happened at the same time this evening. We crossed the equator southbound just as the sun was kissing the horizon to the west. We shut down the engine and fired a cannon salute, and with that, dinner was served. King Neptune would have to wait until after we ate.
Before dish duty though, he appeared with his fellow Shellbacks—his Queen (Kim), his Royal Barbour (Scott), Doctor Doom (Ted), and Davy Jones (Udo). The Pollywogs in the crew—Hilary, Dennis, Erik, Aidan, and me—would be read their crimes against the deep by Davy Jones and sentenced by Neptune himself (Jim, dressed in full Neptune regalia). Emily drove the boat, which didn’t actually require much driving given that we’d switched the engine off for the ceremony and were flat becalmed, literally drifting in circles.
Punishments included “cleansing of the head with a bucket of salty water,” a dose of Doctor Doom’s secret elixir, the singing of a shanty, and in my case, a “haircut” from the Royal Barbour. This all happened by the light of the moon, as the sun had long ago set while we were eating Emily’s delicious chicken and noodle stir-fry. At the conclusion, all of us Pollywogs were accepted into King Neptune’s realm and joined the other Shellbacks. Job done!
FALKEN continues burning fuel and steaming southwest. We’re hoping to catch the edge of the SE’ly trades at around 3º south, which is another 24+ hours from here. So far, we’re a tank-and-a-half down on diesel, with six-and-a-half remaining, so I’m not yet concerned. Once the trades fill in, it looks to be pretty steady, but 3,000 miles is a long way if the wind doesn’t fill in! That’s the doldrums for you.
Until tomorrow, HOLD FAST.
// Andy
P.S. If you are reading the blogs, please write some comments in the section below and we’ll send it over to the crew to read. I am sure they will love it :) - Mia (shore support on Leg 6, Galapagos to Marquesas)
andy@59-north.com
View more passage logs
Ketch us if you Kan
Falken is soon to carry on our preferred route of South, back to (hopefully) warmer climates. We’re all excited to set off and see more of this wild landscape as we head down to Victoria. A thermal trough over Vancouver combined with an offshore high pressure creating funneling NW’ly winds means it is due to be pretty fruity on the 9th. This passage is just under 600 miles, relatively short for Falken, but I’m sure we’ll be kept entertained with dramatic scenery, wildlife and weather!
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.