Pre-Departure
Having reached Jamaica in remarkable time, given the almost perfect sailing conditions, the crew departed today but not before a number of mini adventures shoreside. Errol Flynn Marina was clearly once an aspirational destination and, while still very pretty and refreshingly quiet, it has clearly lacked investment and attention in recent years. Nonetheless, the showers and toilets are really very nice, and the marina still has a small swimming pool, a great laundry room, and even a private adjoining beach which is simply stunning.
After recovering for a couple of days beneath the palm trees and swimming in the aquamarine waters synonymous with Jamaica, we finished our adventure with a day of visiting local beauty spots in an air-conditioned minibus. Our very own 59º North apprentice Natalie, who has Jamaican roots, guided us to some truly spectacular destinations including Reach Falls, The Blue Lagoon, and Frenchman’s Cove. We stopped for lunch at Boston Bay, jerk capital of the world (apparently), and finished with a brief stop at the craft market before arriving back to Falken, both satisfied and inspired by our whistle-stop tour of the northeast corner of this stunning island.
It was a sad goodbye this morning as ever, but on we go as we begin our preparations for our next adventure to Cuba.
- Emily
After recovering for a couple of days beneath the palm trees and swimming in the aquamarine waters synonymous with Jamaica, we finished our adventure with a day of visiting local beauty spots in an air-conditioned minibus. Our very own 59º North apprentice Natalie, who has Jamaican roots, guided us to some truly spectacular destinations including Reach Falls, The Blue Lagoon, and Frenchman’s Cove. We stopped for lunch at Boston Bay, jerk capital of the world (apparently), and finished with a brief stop at the craft market before arriving back to Falken, both satisfied and inspired by our whistle-stop tour of the northeast corner of this stunning island.
It was a sad goodbye this morning as ever, but on we go as we begin our preparations for our next adventure to Cuba.
- Emily
View more passage logs
Hat overboard!
On June 4, we reviewed our passage plan before our departure from the marina in Hjellested.
Departure from Bergen!
The crew on the women’s sail training on Isbjorn is settling into a great routine for managing the boat and life onboard.
The sun sets on another journey
The hardest part of sailing across French Polynesia wasn't the night watches, the heat, or the open ocean — it was the prospect of being trapped on a small boat with a group of strangers. First-timer Natalie boards as a self-described land crab and discovers that the sea has a way of reshaping both your sea legs and your assumptions. What follows is dolphins, sharks, the Milky Way in full technicolour, and a crew that somehow made the whole thing better than she ever imagined.