March 5, 2025 | The Panama Canal is almost within sight. The lights of Colón are clearly visible to the crew of Falken now, the cargo vessels anchored in the deep water are no longer just smudges of light, and traffic has dramatically increased since departing the San Blas islands 12 hours ago. The engineering feat of the Panama Canal is almost within sight! When the crew join the boat I like to ask why they chose this leg in particular. For leg 4, experiencing the canal crossing was the overwhelming majority of answers; however, after 5 blissful days cruising the San Blas islands, I think they’ll go home with many highlights! They were like the desert islands you see in many cartoons, only with even clearer turquoise waters and very welcoming locals—providing opportunities for the purchase of coconut bread and the traditional molas. I’m yet to master the pronunciation of any of the islands, but I can verify they are all beautiful.
Our last day was spent at an idyllic anchorage in West Holandes Cays, snorkelling the very much alive reefs and executing halyard swings from the boat—probably not quite the normal 59N trip but we’re all enjoying playing cruisers! After a rather dismal forecast of little wind, we got lucky and found ourselves on a comfortable close reach averaging 8 knots. Wonderful sailing... not so great for my anticipation of a slow sail to coincide with a daylight arrival to the busy shipping lanes! Unfortunately, or fortunately, the wind died off a couple of hours ago and we’ve been ticking along under engine for the final few hours. Despite the peaceful sailing disappearing, the stars have stayed and everyone’s enjoyed viewing the Southern Cross and shooting stars.
Hard to believe we’re only just over halfway of this trip and the Pacific marks our end point. This will be my third time through the canal but each time it’s impressive to see what is essentially a boat escalator! Our crew have been incredible, a lovely culture is on board and all have been reading up on the canal. Dave’s promised a 400-slide PowerPoint show on the subject, which should keep us busy whilst waiting for our transit date!
- Mary Vaughan-Jones, FALKEN Skipper
Our last day was spent at an idyllic anchorage in West Holandes Cays, snorkelling the very much alive reefs and executing halyard swings from the boat—probably not quite the normal 59N trip but we’re all enjoying playing cruisers! After a rather dismal forecast of little wind, we got lucky and found ourselves on a comfortable close reach averaging 8 knots. Wonderful sailing... not so great for my anticipation of a slow sail to coincide with a daylight arrival to the busy shipping lanes! Unfortunately, or fortunately, the wind died off a couple of hours ago and we’ve been ticking along under engine for the final few hours. Despite the peaceful sailing disappearing, the stars have stayed and everyone’s enjoyed viewing the Southern Cross and shooting stars.
Hard to believe we’re only just over halfway of this trip and the Pacific marks our end point. This will be my third time through the canal but each time it’s impressive to see what is essentially a boat escalator! Our crew have been incredible, a lovely culture is on board and all have been reading up on the canal. Dave’s promised a 400-slide PowerPoint show on the subject, which should keep us busy whilst waiting for our transit date!
- Mary Vaughan-Jones, FALKEN Skipper
FALKENCrew
View more passage logs
Hat overboard!
On June 4, we reviewed our passage plan before our departure from the marina in Hjellested.
Departure from Bergen!
The crew on the women’s sail training on Isbjorn is settling into a great routine for managing the boat and life onboard.
The sun sets on another journey
The hardest part of sailing across French Polynesia wasn't the night watches, the heat, or the open ocean — it was the prospect of being trapped on a small boat with a group of strangers. First-timer Natalie boards as a self-described land crab and discovers that the sea has a way of reshaping both your sea legs and your assumptions. What follows is dolphins, sharks, the Milky Way in full technicolour, and a crew that somehow made the whole thing better than she ever imagined.