1650 UTC | 31°32.086’N 029°03.754’W
Sailing
Over the last two weeks I’ve become fascinated with the peace of no cars, construction sounds, feeling of hustle and bustle and have to get there.
Instead I’ve felt a real touch with music through visuals and sounds. First I noticed with both the moon and sunrises, the beginning of a crescendo as they rose and small beginning become larger and then a beautiful beam of light across the ocean.
The swish sounds of the boat going through the water with a little emphasis on their beginning if the bow hit a wave. The sounds of clatter if we are headed up or down too much and the sails would then talk to us in an angry racket. Sometimes just the crack of a whip (as in Sleigh Ride). The reaction of the dodger material as it felt the wind and boat movement. (Someone playing on a set of 4-5 toms with a soft mallet and ending with a buzz rather than single tap).
Of course there’s the sound of water drops if a wave splashes up too - like a rain stick in slow motion.
The moon sets with a decrescendo visually on the water, while the sun sets with beauty and color, a soft suspended cymbal roll that if one sees the “Green Flash” could end with a sizzle.
Of course then there’s the wind. At times it’s like an Alto voice humming and as the wind gets higher, the alto tone slightly rises and falls with the wind velocity. And of course, the rush of fresh sounds and feelings in one’s ears as the velocity strengthens and diminishes.
Besides the peace, beauty, and musical moments, the being with a fun group of very diverse but like minded sailors with a skipper, mate, and intern that have routed us around storms, fixed mechanical issues way above my knowledge, and encouraged and made this voyage a magical time. Thank you!
Linda, Adrienne II Crew
View more passage logs
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.
A Day in Huahine
Hitchhiking with Mormons, hunting for Pareos, and saying goodbye to crew — all before most people finish their morning coffee. A pina colada hangover is no match for a full agenda on a small island where the only taxi has already left with your friends. The question is whether you can pull it all off and still make the tide.
Going Coconuts!
From a muddy anchor bow to a heeling, wind-charged run past Taha'a's reefs, Falken's crew earned every knot of the passage to Huahine-Iti. Scooters, a near-miss dog, a mosquito ambush, and a crocodile lurking at the dock rounded out a day that had no business being as good as it was. The coconut nut is, in fact, a really big nut—and somehow that tracks perfectly.