St. George’s, Bermuda
The crew is wrapping up their final moments in St. George’s, Bermuda. This has been my first time traveling outside of America. My time here has been overwhelmingly positive, from the 59º North Crew to the locals here in Bermuda. Community is deeply rooted in the culture of Bermuda, and 59º North Sailing holds the same values. I have the pleasure of working with crew members who have been sailing with 59º North before or learned about the organization through other sailors. The sailing community is small, but I have never seen an organization that is so well known and so highly praised by others. This should not come as a surprise if you have the opportunity to meet the Captains, Mates, and Crew who have worked with 59º North Sailing—they are extraordinary people.
As I am writing this, we are casting off the dock lines and heading to the fueling dock before we make our way to the Azores. Though the wind looks light, I have no doubt this trip will be memorable. The crew has been working tirelessly and has remained in good spirits in the face of the calm weather. I think during times like this we need to remember that though the minutes feel long, the days are short. I will be soaking up every minute I am here, and I am looking forward to what lies ahead.
- Athena | 59º North Apprentice
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”For some things, we will never be ready.” - Moana 2
After 852 miles of open ocean sailing, the crew of Falken dropped anchor in Moorea's Cook's Bay—not with a quiet glide in, but surfing down waves in a squall, breaking speed records and cheering each other on through the rain. What started as a plan to "just dip a toe" into offshore sailing turned into something harder to explain: the worse the conditions got, the more alive everyone felt. Turns out the question was never whether the crew was ready—it was whether they even needed to be.
Kauehi conundrum
Kauehi atoll was always on the itinerary—until the forecast made it a gamble not worth taking. Squalls, bommies, a tidal pass, and no clean escape route: sometimes the hardest call in sailing is the one that keeps you out of a place, not in it. The Tuamotus will have to wait.
Hove-to!
Falken is too fast—a problem most sailors would kill for, yet here we are, tacking back and forth across the Pacific just to kill time. A rogue low pressure system south of Tahiti has stolen the trades and scrambled our timing for the tidal window into Kauehi's pass, leaving us hove-to 45 miles short of our target in the Tuamotus. Salt licorice, dream sandwich debates, and a philosophical question about mermaid reproduction are helping pass the night.