mexico!
31°51.2N 116°37.3W
November 9, 2025 | 31°51.2N 116°37.3W | Ensenada
As I’m writing this, we are finishing cleaning FALKEN. This morning we arrived in Mexico, slipping in between the fog in what, for a while, looked exactly like our arrival into British Columbia. We managed to sail most of the night, despite the forecast predicting we would lose all wind by 1 a.m. We sailed all the way until we had 20 miles left, when the wind decided to die on us. It was a good end to what had been a day of exhilarating sailing, with the top speed of the day logged by Margaret—although some might mention it was in the wrong direction!
It feels surreal that we only left San Francisco five days ago. All the days kind of merge into one, and we’ve all become so close-knit. It feels truly special to be a part of something like FALKEN, making memories and sharing experiences with whoever is willing to step out of their comfort zone.
Thank you to all the crew for an incredible experience.
Alex | FALKEN Skipper
laline96@gmail.com
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A last hurrah
Under the dome of stars in a moon-less sky, each of us during our time at the helm used the most rudimentary celestial navigation, keeping a star or two lined up with the mast as a helper to following the heading range. It was a whole crew event to set the spinnaker, reef the mainsail and practice the heave-to in case of man overboard. Alex stressed that the key to success in all of these crucial activities is preparation. It was hugely satisfying to accomplish these tasks through teamwork. We share a constant good hearted back and forth full of stories, one-liners and comebacks that also means constant laughter.
One little bird!
Falken has almost rounded the Channel Islands and is cruising along splendidly about 100 miles offshore. Though several models predicted some slightly fresher winds today, we were met with a consistent 18-20 kts of pure bliss. It seems that from the moment we left the dock in San Francisco, there has been much laughter and conversation amongst everyone. The plan is to gybe in a few hours and begin our approach to Ensenada. As much as I do appreciate the jokes and intellectual musings, I equally appreciate the natural, silent moments we share at night, all of us on watch gazing up above to the shooting stars, constellations, and planets putting on their quiet show.
Birds and glows
The sun brought new wind and we were soon putting up the Yankee (jib) and turning off the motor. During the evening tradition of sharing “glums and glows” that follows the crew dinner, our Mate Ryan proclaimed it a “champagne sailing” kind of day. As Alex noted this evening, life goes by so fast that one of the very best things about his line of work is enjoying the passage of time in the slow lane of an ocean passage. But by tomorrow, the green blobs in the weather sailing app indicate we’re going to pick up some significant northwesterly winds and we’ll take them ever further south to the Channel Islands latitude. We’re all super excited for the knots to climb and to see Falken really run.