06:00 UTC | 41°13.5N 156°40.4W
Sing-A-Longing
Good morning from Falken!
Today is set to be the calmest day of our trip so far, waves subdued, wind veering off more south-east, light clouds. All that means we’re going around the center of the high pressure system that was our target since the departure. What an exhilarating ride it has been, beating upwind non-stop directly north for 6 straight days!
I had a good sleep last night, ready for 6am watch. During the watch Daniel and I did a deck walk this morning to check that everything is in its place (it was). Jim also took out his 360 camera for some shots. Adam and Zoe (happy birthday!) keeping us good company with lessons and chats.
What ahead of us is a mostly downwind sail to Prince Rupert, but a very exciting one. Last night we got weather debrief from Alex about a low pressure from the Bering sea sending whiplashes from north-west, plus some uncertainty about how the high pressure moves closer to Prince Rupert. This makes it an interesting few days going fast and closely watching the weather, and I’m very much looking forward to it.
The crew is happy, everyone seems to be getting good rest, enjoying watches and time in between. Some unpacked sleeping bags and took out jumpers and beanies as temperatures keep dropping each night. Dinner time is always a highlight of the day - hearty meal feels so great at sea, and sharing stories of the day brings everyone closer as we progress in our journey.
Onward to Prince Rupert!
Nikolay
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!