37°35.5’N 154°02.4’W
Monday, July 14, 2025 | Mid-ocean, 360 and 1000nm at sea
37°35.5’N 154°02.4’W
05:00 UTC / 19:00 Local time
Upon taking the helm at noon today, the NYC watch team noticed steering issues: looseness in the wheel accompanied by a tremor. Mate Mary quickly diagnosed and fixed one of the issues by adjusting the steering cables; however, the tremor remained. By this time, Skipper Alex was up, having been awakened by the fixing and remaining tremor. They quickly diagnosed a likely tag-along on the rudder, but what was it, and how to dislodge it? They decided to inspect the rudder with the Insta360 with an underwater housing, mounted to a long carbon (aka weak plastic) arm. The Insta360 is now at sea, the arm broken, its secrets untold.
Without the images, an idea took hold—to sail a 360 circle to see if the offending item would come loose. The crew made the maneuver, and like magic, a large brightly colored bucket dislodged and floated away. Alex and Mary and a 360, heroes.
A couple of hours after the “360 incident,” at 15:03 local time, the crew logged 1000nm into our journey! Apprentice Lovis was at the helm, and a celebratory cheer was raised by the crew on deck. Congratulations to all!
We will update more along the way.
Tasha | FALKEN Crew
crew@59-north.com
View more passage logs
Seasickness
But maybe, I thought, with some drugs I could stay ahead of it. The first 48 hours I felt horrible. But luckily with 3 health care professionals on board and in a very encouraging environment, my body found its way. Anyway, someone offered me a patch (unavailable in Canada) and someone else gave me some pills for nausea and now I feel much, much better.
Dolphins and Bioluminescence
We had a good run with the sails but weather has changed and we are once again chasing the wind. Everyone is getting a chance to practice helming in big swell; starting to get a feel of the wind and water and how it pushes and pulls the hull. A pod of dolphins came to visit at night, splashing in the bioluminescent water, and again in the day, dancing in the bow wake. For now enjoying the calmer sea state and falling asleep to the rumble of the engine and the gentle whooshing of the water on the hull.
Greetings from Lala Lemonshark
The brave crew is toughing it out and staying cheerful despite being tossed around. The engine is off and we are true sailing-main and jib. In the first 12 hours we saw two pods of Orca and four humpback whales, two of which were 20 yards off the starboard beam!