KITE
April 20, 2025 | Spinnaker
Another star-filled sky as FALKEN continues to make good way towards the Marquesas. The kite is up, which requires a very special level of consideration, and Andy and Aidan are switching in to support the helm as I continue with the day-to-day chores. There is something magnificent about the night sky at this latitude and in such remote waters. Jim likened it to stepping into a planetarium—it really is very hard to describe.
With more room in our fridges at last, it seemed appropriate to chill a large bottle of drinking water ahead of dinner this evening, and the crew response was highly entertaining. It would have been easy to imagine that they hadn’t ever experienced the luxury of a cool drink before, as the “ooohs” and “aaaahs” resounded across the cockpit. Such a very simple, everyday concept that we take so much for granted in the normal world, out here in the tropics proved to be an absolute delight, and one that we will repeat.
It’s interesting that after dark every evening we see an increase in the wind speed, and it is very much a trend that we have noticed. The spinnaker (kite) adds another layer of complexity to a night sail, and FALKEN feels and sounds very different to me, as if she is running on adrenaline as opposed to her relaxed state from this morning—a feeling I see reflected in the crew. Nonetheless, our speed is good and we are still eating up the miles, and under the watchful eyes of Andy and Aidan it seems like a good choice for our penultimate days at sea.
As much as I try to live in the moment, the opportunity to talk to loved ones is temptingly close and one that I am very much looking forward to when we make landfall. In the meantime, it’s back to the running of the boat and looking after the crew for me!
Emily
EmilyCaruso
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.