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
FALKENCrew
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Ladies who reef
The trade winds have been kind, rolling the boat toward Hawaii in a steady, hypnotic rhythm—until last night, when a squall hit without warning and the wind jumped to 28 knots, slamming everything sideways. With rain driving down and the boat lurching underfoot, the crew had minutes to wrestle two reefs into the mainsail and get things back under control. What followed was a masterclass in wet, unglamorous, deeply satisfying teamwork—with less than 250 miles left to go.
Yankee Doodle Died at Sea, Riding on a FALKEN
A thin, foot-long tear in the yankee sail—50,000 miles of ocean behind it—and suddenly the final stretch to Hawaii just got a lot more interesting. The crew of FALKEN had been running a tight ship through the trades, reefing in squalls like clockwork, when the last dance finally caught up with them. How a skipper handles the moment everything goes sideways says everything about the voyage itself.
A Gen Z Perspective
At 31, the crew thought they were reasonably fluent in the English language—then they met Kip. Today, the crew's self-appointed Gen Z correspondent takes over the log from somewhere in the middle of the Pacific, delivering dispatches on Milky Way night sails, focaccia-induced visions, and the singular mission of getting eleven people's "badonkadonks" to Hawaii. Consider this your glossary.