Pre-Departure
July 18, 2024 | Getting ready for a passage
Hjelmås, Bergen
We are in Bergen as we speak, or actually, to be more correct, in Hjelmås, about 45 minutes north of the city, rafted up to ISBJØRN at her summer berth. FALKEN arrived to Bergen from Galway on Saturday and I flew in with Andy. Last year when we looked at the schedule, we realized that both ISBJØRN and FALKEN would be in Bergen at the same time, for the first time. We had to do something special! We hosted an ‘Open House’ on Sunday in downtown Bergen, and on Monday we took both boats out sailing up the fjords and got some stunning photos of the two boats alongside each other.
Nikki, who is the skipper for this leg, arrived Monday and we have spent the last few days getting the boat ready and planning the passage south to Amsterdam, a new port for 59º North. Crew will come out to FALKEN today; this will be our third ‘All Female’ Crew, something we started back in 2022 when Emma, Nikki, and I sailed ICEBEAR from Marstrand, Sweden to Portsmouth, UK.
- Mia
mia@59-north.com
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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!