2315 UTC | 3°30.76’ N | 88°33.01’W
Sailing
The sound of breaking ice for water bottles can be heard from the deepest post watch nap. Cold pineapple and stern showers remain supreme in the heat and stickiest part of the day. Shade from the staysail has added additional relief for those of us in the bow from the sun, more luxury. The cheer of the crew is consistent through the day with chatter and laughter as we huddle around the shady parts of the deck, feeling the easterly winds we’ve been gifted. We’ve been under sail most of the day with steady 7-8kts, confirming we are in fact making progress towards the Galapagos and the sighting of new seabirds.
Books of birds and animals are open in the saloon and being discussed as we get closer to our destination. The smell of the coconut curry made by Zoe has everyone on deck early and inspired a pre dinner concert from Jeremy and his guitar.
At 3°N we let ourselves start to think about the other side of being a pollywog. We might be fortunate enough for a visit from the deep. More Booby birds are settling in for the night as we welcome the sunset, with an early evening glimpse of the stars that will guide us into dawn… for another luxurious day at sea aboard S/V Falken.
Sheri Hashemi
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Taha’a-haha (say that correctly five times fast)
Ten heads bobbing around the stern, cold beers hidden a meter below the waterline, and coconuts dodged through the reef — the crew of NORDIC FALKEN have arrived at Taha'a, and they're wasting no time. First Mate Pheebs reports from a golden-hour anchorage in the Society Islands, where strangers became shipmates somewhere between Papeete and paradise. Manta rays and what might be the world's best coral drift snorkel are on tomorrow's agenda — if Skipper Mary's mushroom risotto doesn't slow anyone down first.
Tahiti-Taha’a and a birthday
Bora Bora who? Leg 6 crew are aboard and setting their sights on the lesser-known gems of French Polynesia — Taha'a and Huahine — where vanilla farms, manta rays, and drift coral snorkels await. The new anchorage booking system is a noble idea in theory, though its website appears to share the reliability of the wind, which has cheerfully decided to blow from exactly the wrong direction. It's upwind sailing, birthday cake, and uncharted territory from here.
”For some things, we will never be ready.” - Moana 2
After 852 miles of open ocean sailing, the crew of Falken dropped anchor in Moorea's Cook's Bay—not with a quiet glide in, but surfing down waves in a squall, breaking speed records and cheering each other on through the rain. What started as a plan to "just dip a toe" into offshore sailing turned into something harder to explain: the worse the conditions got, the more alive everyone felt. Turns out the question was never whether the crew was ready—it was whether they even needed to be.