On anchor in Nuku Hiva!
16.15 LOCAL TIME | Taiohae Bay, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas
On Anchor
The plan is to sail a relatively (for FALKEN!) short 800 miles to Tahiti, stopping at the Tuamotus on the way. Current plan is to spend a night on Ua-Pou to see the highest peaks in the Marquesas, and maybe even get some of their delicious chocolate! From there we venture onto what is unnervingly known as the ’dangerous archipelago’ of Tuamotus. Whilst it is famed for it’s picturesque beaches and diving, the strong currents in the passes and big bommies (huge coral heads) require good timing and a sharp lookout.
Sailing wise it’s looking like lovely trade wind sailing, maybe even spinnaker sailing on the final leg from the Tuamotus, which personally I’m stoked for- it doesn’t feel that long since I was last onboard and either desperately searching for wind or slamming into it on the nose!
Zoe, Mia and myself are all looking forward to being underway again, meet some new crew, explore some more islands and let’s be honest- getting out of the rain. You’ll find me practicing my pronunciation of the islands until then!
Skipper Mary
View more passage logs
*queue Coldplay’s ”Sky Full Of Stars"*
Somewhere in the doldrums, under a sky so thick with stars that the Milky Way looks like cloud cover, the line between sea and space stops being a metaphor. The bioluminescence below mirrors the galaxies above, Venus sets on the horizon like a distant ship, and at 3am it hits you that you're watching sunlight ricochet through an incomprehensible tangle of celestial bodies to land on glassy Pacific water. Then the equator arrives — no painted line, just a countdown, a crew holding their breath, and Neptune waiting to collect his due.
Last night in the Southern Hemisphere!
At midnight, Joey's watch sang happy birthday under a sky full of stars; by 0930, the crew had already swum in 5,000 meters of Pacific blue, chased rainbows through a golden squall, and eaten chocolate chip pancakes with Moorea pineapple. That's the doldrums for you—the wind dies and life somehow gets fuller. Tomorrow, Neptune comes to collect his due as SV Nordic Falken crosses the equator for the first time.
First squall of the trip!
"We're gonna get our ass whooped" — not the sunrise greeting anyone had in mind, but Jim called it. The oldest and sharpest hand on board steered them straight through the squall, soaked to the bone and loving every minute of it. He's got a message for his wife, and it turns out she was right about the water.
