Pre-Depature for Isla del Cocos
1351 UTC | 10 26.41’N 85 47.30’W
Dockside Costa Rica
The wind has been blowing these last couple of days, a casual 30+ knots, meaning we’ve sadly lost the ability to have our shade up (pity Jake and myself with our ginger tendencies). That is not to say the breeze isn’t welcome! I have been compulsively checking the forecast in the hope that the equatorial trough takes a long-deserved break, which would allow us to sail all the way to Cocos. Shockingly, so far no luck, but at least we’ll have a good sail to start the trip off.
Unusually for 59º North, arguably the real pull of this next trip isn’t the sailing, but the destination — a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Isla del Coco, also known as Island of the Sharks. The 24 km island is a 305-mile trip into the Pacific (requires a fair amount of zooming on a map to spot), was the inspiration for Jurassic Park, and is one of 11 conservation areas in Costa Rica. Jacques Cousteau described it as the most beautiful place on the planet and it is considered one of the top diving destinations in the world. Whilst we will be snorkeling rather than diving, with such an abundance of marine life — particularly pelagic species — I don’t think we’ll be disappointed. On land, as befitting of the place that inspired Jurassic Park, evergreen forests, waterfalls, and lookout points are there to explore. It is one of the few pristine places left on Earth, and it is a very exciting privilege to visit!
Cocos is located only 5 degrees above the equator, so as expected the wind will be fluky and variable, and there’s a good chance of rain as we journey south. We will be going like a bat out of hell when we depart Guanacaste, with the Papagayo winds giving us a good push — even better, for the first time in weeks we’ll be sailing downwind!! We plan on hugging the Nicoya Peninsula because I’m STILL not done talking about the Tehuantepecers. They are absolutely hooning at 50 knots right now, and whilst I’m not planning on popping back north, the NW’ly sea state they generate will be making its way down south and crashing into the NE’ly swells from the Papagayo winds. If we were to follow the most wind and curve down with the Papagayos, then it would be a horrendous confused sea state, and I like my crew to not be green in the face. Instead, we will plan for a more uniform 2–2.5 m swell whilst still able to utilise the stronger breezes, by initially sticking closer to the coast. There are also currents to consider, which I will save for another blog.
The crew have been brilliant, soaking in all the briefings so we are able to set off as soon as possible in order to get the most time at the island and allow for some not-so-speedy light wind sailing. Today is Matt’s birthday, so Adam has donned one of his many hats and baked a chocolate cake, much to everyone’s delight!
// Mary
View more passage logs
Ketch us if you Kan
Falken is soon to carry on our preferred route of South, back to (hopefully) warmer climates. We’re all excited to set off and see more of this wild landscape as we head down to Victoria. A thermal trough over Vancouver combined with an offshore high pressure creating funneling NW’ly winds means it is due to be pretty fruity on the 9th. This passage is just under 600 miles, relatively short for Falken, but I’m sure we’ll be kept entertained with dramatic scenery, wildlife and weather!
Final Blog
Falken and her crew arrived safely into port last night around 8pm boat time, 10pm Prince Rupert time. Some spicy weather was anticipated, but luckily the 35kt gusts and 2.5 meter waves were no match for this expert crew. We had an exceptionally smooth docking, despite it being Alex's first time parking this year (!). We all agreed that this was a very special group of people—I for one am so impressed with how everyone stayed so positive, helpful, and appreciative of humor despite an arguably challenging passage. We'll all return home significantly saltier than we were when we left, a mark of a passage properly sailed.
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.