06:50 UTC | 48°08.3N 146°00.8W
Surfing!
As of today, Falken has taken us over 1800nm across the North Pacific. We’ve had winds from 6-36kts, gorgeous hot sun to frigid wet fog, seemingly endless squalls sailing upwind, and now a low pressure system chasing us downwind. We’ve learned about water-makers, starter motors, furling, taking in and letting out reefs, easing and grinding, weather and wind, helming by course and by wind angles, and the difference between rest and sleep. Downwind sailing with swells and surfing is the latest challenge for us, but we’ve been through adversity before… and we have phenomenal instruction with laughter as the salve that heals our egos.
For now, all is well.
Prince Rupert seems to be within reach. Today, I wonder, how did this trip go by so quickly? I did miss a few days of it in my berth with seasickness, but I thought it would be longer. After all, I’ve been planning for this passage for 18 months. How can it be almost over? Only a few days ago, I wondered if we’d ever hit a thousand miles, and now we’re pushing toward two. As we look over the horizon tonight, I’m starting to to think about the next plans, the kids, jobs, and commitments we will all be returning to. Each of us has a life to re-enter, thousands of emails to dig through, and will soon return home, still salty and damp, to our respective “daily grinds.”
Those things are coming.
For now, the latest challenge is to stay in the moment. I want to savor the color of the sea, the purest breaths of sea air, the success of making it down a wave, and the challenge of the next one. I want to learn more of what Falken has to teach me for these last few days. I want to laugh as we wave to one another coming up the companionway. I want to wake up from a rest for a warm dinner on deck.
The memories we’ve made here are priceless, even if we only connected for a few moments on our various paths in this world. I’m grateful to have been a part of this crew of stranger-friends and to discover the larger purpose of our meeting here for this passage. So few people get this opportunity to “go dark” and live simply for a moment.
Just a few more days, Falken.
With gratitude overwhelming,
Thanks and Peace.\
Corey
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A last hurrah
Under the dome of stars in a moon-less sky, each of us during our time at the helm used the most rudimentary celestial navigation, keeping a star or two lined up with the mast as a helper to following the heading range. It was a whole crew event to set the spinnaker, reef the mainsail and practice the heave-to in case of man overboard. Alex stressed that the key to success in all of these crucial activities is preparation. It was hugely satisfying to accomplish these tasks through teamwork. We share a constant good hearted back and forth full of stories, one-liners and comebacks that also means constant laughter.
One little bird!
Falken has almost rounded the Channel Islands and is cruising along splendidly about 100 miles offshore. Though several models predicted some slightly fresher winds today, we were met with a consistent 18-20 kts of pure bliss. It seems that from the moment we left the dock in San Francisco, there has been much laughter and conversation amongst everyone. The plan is to gybe in a few hours and begin our approach to Ensenada. As much as I do appreciate the jokes and intellectual musings, I equally appreciate the natural, silent moments we share at night, all of us on watch gazing up above to the shooting stars, constellations, and planets putting on their quiet show.
Birds and glows
The sun brought new wind and we were soon putting up the Yankee (jib) and turning off the motor. During the evening tradition of sharing “glums and glows” that follows the crew dinner, our Mate Ryan proclaimed it a “champagne sailing” kind of day. As Alex noted this evening, life goes by so fast that one of the very best things about his line of work is enjoying the passage of time in the slow lane of an ocean passage. But by tomorrow, the green blobs in the weather sailing app indicate we’re going to pick up some significant northwesterly winds and we’ll take them ever further south to the Channel Islands latitude. We’re all super excited for the knots to climb and to see Falken really run.