13.02 BOAT TIME | 07º 58.0’ S 103º 14.1’W
Sailing
Plan, go, learn, do. Why?
Mia prompted the group to provide the answer to why are we doing this trip?
From my perspective, we sail for ourselves. Not to impress anyone with dramatic story or photo. Not to run away, And certainly not for the creature comforts. We can only dream of air conditioning, ice and a comfy chair in the shade.
Are we here to visit a place we have only seen pictures of? Sure. To see wildlife, stars and miles of deep blue ocean? Maybe, but it goes deeper.
We are sailing to feel alive. To reconnect with ourselves. To simplify. To strip away everything we thought was necessary and get back to basics.
To be 100% in the moment. To be present at 3:00am, the time when all bad things happen, and the 65’ Nordic Falcon is clicking along at 10 Knots on a broad reach with a single reef in the main and the jib half furled. You can’t see beyond the mast as the sky and ocean are pitch black. The waives and swells are incessantly slamming against the hull, splashing and lifting the boat out of the troughs trying to knock you off course. Water crashes across the bow and occasionally into the cockpit to drench the helms-person from head to toe. Absolutely thrilling.
We are also here to slow down. Almost as if we put the whole world on a shelf. No news, no communication except between the 11 strangers on board. We are disconnected from the news, lost in our own space-time continuum of three hours on watch and six hours off watch. It all sounds so normal here.
We know the world will be there when we return, even if slightly changed. In the meantime we appreciate our families, friends, coworkers who are supporting our big adventure. We look forward to seeing you all soon.
But for this moment, we are here, eating, sleeping and sailing. Sunshine on our faces and the wind in our hair. Feeling Alive.
Love to all. Q
Quinn
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Lessons and a Gift
The biggest lesson is the helm. The lesson here is that even if you don't think you can do it over and over again with no sleep, cold and damp, it has to be done and so it can be done. Flying fish are cool, dolphins are really really cool, but the coolest of them all are the whales. And most of all Alex: "Find your center Carla. Always know where your center is so you can come back to it". He means the helm but it applies to life as well.
Making the most of it
This passage has thrown pretty much every atmospheric condition imaginable at us. It reminds us not only of how much we’ve learned, but of how far we’ve literally come since that acceleration zone off the northwest corner of Oahu. The resilience this group has shown has been nothing short of incredible, and I couldn’t be prouder to be part of it. Maybe that’s why it’s the hardest passages we remember the most. Not because they were easy, but because they reminded us what we’re capable of.
Passages and Purposes
As of today, Falken has taken us over 1800nm across the North Pacific. 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. For now, the latest challenge is to stay in the moment. The memories we’ve made here are priceless, even if we only connected for a few moments on our various paths in this world. So few people get this opportunity to “go dark” and live simply for a moment.