Thursday, July 10, 2025 | Hours before departure…
Steph and Ken, by far the most novice sailors on this trip, notched their first offshore overnight—though not without suffering a bit (maybe more than a bit in Steph’s case) of what we’ll just call “Neptune’s Revenge.” Despite that, we both bounced back quickly, and Steph, as we speak, is capably steering her first rotation at the helm.
The seas have been pretty big and rolling, at least from this novice’s point of view, and the winds are at levels that would keep me off my local lake. But Falken is solid, fast, and stable, and the crew—both pros and clients—are capable, experienced, and great company!
At the moment, we’re flying main (2nd reef), staysail, and yankee, and barreling along at about 9 knots. No glums. All glows from this sailor.
- Ken Tothero | FALKEN Crew
FALKENCrew
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Ladies who reef
The trade winds have been kind, rolling the boat toward Hawaii in a steady, hypnotic rhythm—until last night, when a squall hit without warning and the wind jumped to 28 knots, slamming everything sideways. With rain driving down and the boat lurching underfoot, the crew had minutes to wrestle two reefs into the mainsail and get things back under control. What followed was a masterclass in wet, unglamorous, deeply satisfying teamwork—with less than 250 miles left to go.
Yankee Doodle Died at Sea, Riding on a FALKEN
A thin, foot-long tear in the yankee sail—50,000 miles of ocean behind it—and suddenly the final stretch to Hawaii just got a lot more interesting. The crew of FALKEN had been running a tight ship through the trades, reefing in squalls like clockwork, when the last dance finally caught up with them. How a skipper handles the moment everything goes sideways says everything about the voyage itself.
A Gen Z Perspective
At 31, the crew thought they were reasonably fluent in the English language—then they met Kip. Today, the crew's self-appointed Gen Z correspondent takes over the log from somewhere in the middle of the Pacific, delivering dispatches on Milky Way night sails, focaccia-induced visions, and the singular mission of getting eleven people's "badonkadonks" to Hawaii. Consider this your glossary.