Next stop…
Latitude: 07°23.7'S, Longitude: 153°41.2'W
Sunday, June 11, 2025 | 09:55 Boat Time | 19:55 UTC
Pos. 07°23.7S 153°41.2W
Last night I came on watch and, for once, there wasn’t a single squall in sight. The engine was on, the moon was shining, and a light breeze was present. We decided at that point to turn the engine off and try to sail with the little breeze there was. FALKEN started gliding silently into the night at a speed of 3 knots, but with barely any sea state to throw her around, it was like being in space for a while. The wind gods must have appreciated our efforts, as only 30 minutes later the wind picked up and FALKEN followed it like a bird.
I’ve just woken up for my day watch. The sun is shining, there is a good 15-knot breeze, and FALKEN is powering along at 9-10 knots. We’re officially in the trade winds, and it feels good, because at one point our ETA was 215 days and 3 hours.
Yesterday we made the decision to aim for Christmas Island instead of Palmyra Atoll. The reasoning for this is our timeline and how aiming for Palmyra would put us against the trade winds—not ideal. It also means a bit more time for us to explore one place and a more comfortable ride to the Hawaiian Islands.
It’s still hard to realize in what part of the world we’re sailing. I keep transporting myself back to the Polynesian people sailing from island to island like we go to the supermarket, and it makes me wonder what incredible navigators and full-round adventurers and sailors they were.
Our ETA to Christmas Island should be some point between Saturday and Sunday. Expect no connection, and we’re going to keep our watch on boat time, as otherwise we will lose a day to the timeline. We will explain on another blog, but for now, looking forward to dropping the anchor in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Lots of love,
Alex
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Mia (shore support)
laline96@gmail.com
View more passage logs
Shooting Stars & Turtle Logs
Day three out of Ketchikan and FALKEN is running wing on wing down the outside of Vancouver Island. The temptation is to lie back in the cockpit and spend the night watching for shooting stars, but a diligent watch is always the first priority. So we keep a sharp eye out while the shooting stars keep us company through the night. The wildlife keeps coming: humpback and minke whales, five mola molas, dolphins, and a black-footed albatross. We are all feeling lucky for such conditions!
Pot dodging and whale watching
Duncan got us up to eleven knots at one point! The Ferriers also logged our first Orca sighting on their 3am-6am watch! This morning is a gift as the temps are just right and we finally have some blue sky and plenty of sunshine. It was a glorious few hours sailing before it inevitably died as forecast. I live in hope that by sunset tonight we’ll be back sailing as we emerge out of the lee of the island and the wind will be more westerly which lends itself to a better sailing angle.
We are off!
After two days of introductions, safety briefings and boat procedures we have departed Ketchikan. We are currently making a whopping 3.3 knots as there is very little wind in Nichols Passage. Adam fed us well last night with a delicious shrimp curry and Duncan was the winner of a sporty game of the card version Monopoly. With the scenic views and light wind it's quite peaceful out here.