SAILING
Good evening from Falken! Dinner is in the oven and I just woke up from an excellent afternoon nap. I’ve spent a lot of time feeling hot on this boat, and cozying up in my sleeping bag has been a welcome new experience on board.
We are still headed north away from Hawaii, though today we have started to veer ever so slightly east. By ever so slightly I mean five degrees, but hey, that still counts. It’s been a sunny day, which has been a nice switch up after several days of straight cloudy, overcast skies.
The crew’s spirits seem to improve with each day, mine included. I’ll be honest, there was a roughly 72 hour period where I was questioning if I’d ever step foot on a sailboat again. Alex says it’s a good sign that I wasn’t yet questioning life itself. Jokes aside, I can say with certainty that all of the previous times I’ve been queasy on boats have been quite tame, and this was real deal. Anywho, the majority of us who faced the green monster head-on have persevered and are (mostly) all smiles now. I expect those smiles will only become more common as we chip away at our upwind miles. I can only pray that my dad, who’s on board, will forgive me for roping him into such an ordeal…
Speaking of miles, we hit quadruple digits today and are currently 1051 nms into our journey to Alaska. The flying fish and seabirds have been fewer and far between as we enter colder waters. Other exciting sights include lots of random fishing buoys and a lone (luckily empty) boot. It’s birthday week on board too— we celebrated Adam’s 25th birthday yesterday with brownies, Margaux’s today, and have another birthday tomorrow (dare I say my own). Alex, Adam, and I have had many fun surprises up our sleeves, including cans of Coke with dinner a few days ago and ice lollies (more commonly known as popsicles) tonight.
The sea state continues to calm down, and the famous North Pacific high is just out of our reach. The next few days will be a delicate dance of riding the outskirts of the high while avoiding the pesky low pressure systems that are dancing nearby. Luckily, I have full confidence that Alex will do everything in his power to get us sailing downwind as soon as is physically possible. In his very wise words, we need to get north but not too far north, stay south but not too far south, continue heading east but not too far east, and avoid going west but also stay west. Piece of cake!
Love to all!
Zoe
Zoe Peach-Riley (Apprentice)
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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!