Routines
20º 00.9’ N, 046º 05.9’ W
January 28, 2025 | 11:52 UTC | 09:52 Ship’s Time | 20º 00.9’ N / 046º 05.9’ W
It is now mid-morning onboard FALKEN. Jeanette has made me and her Team A a wonderful breakfast; she turned last night’s mashed potato leftovers into amazing quesadillas with some cured ham, cheese, and piri piri hot sauce from Portugal! Kevin said it reminded him of home. It was so good that she had to make us all a second round. The watermaker is running and it is soon time for a shower. There is no shower inside FALKEN, but there is one on the aft deck, so we all take turns for a fresh rinse, and soon the entire boat will smell good!
Last night we passed our 2000 nm sailed, and we also have less than 1000 nm to go to Antigua. The last couple of days have been amazing sailing with the pole out, surfing downwind on the gentle swell. Occasionally we have squalls roll over us; they often bring some stronger winds, and I think Derek was at the helm during the strongest and had wind in the lower 40 knots for a few minutes. The wind is a bit more easterly now and yesterday we gybed. Vilgot and Paolo were up on the foredeck gybing the pole, while Emily took the helm. First we roll up the yankee, then gybe the pole, gybe the mainsail, and set up the pole on the new side. It takes some time to make sure all lines are run correctly. The boat is set up perfectly with a reefed main out to starboard, and a poled-out yankee to port. She is very balanced and easy at the helm.
It is now getting warmer during the days, especially when the sun peeks through the clouds. We have had more clouds than expected during this passage (quite nice because it keeps the temperatures down), but last night we were treated to an amazing sunset. Brandon sat up at the bow and soaked it in, while Scott was at the helm, steering into the sunset with a big grin on his face.
Life onboard has turned into a very nice routine, and we keep the boat clean and tidy. The morning watch vacuums the floors and cleans the inside every day, the afternoon team scrubs the cockpit, and Emily (skipper) and I take turns cleaning the heads daily. After dinner, the on-watch takes turns to do the dishes and clean up the galley, and you would be surprised how clean the boat is after nearly two weeks at sea with 11 people on a 65-foot space. Our outer gear is kept in the wet lockers, and the personal gear either in the bunks, our personal locker, or the numbered pockets we have by the companionway (perfect for sunglasses, headlamp, water bottles, sunscreen, etc.).
Yesterday it looked like we had a 59º North book club onboard; everyone except Sarah at the helm had a book in their hand. Team B started a push-up challenge during their watch. I joined in but not sure if Sarah has been convinced yet. Everyone takes a few minutes every day though to do some stretching. We take turns hand steering the entire way, usually 30 minutes at a time, and that itself is a good workout, both for the body and for the brain!
Thank you all for following our adventures—less than 1000 nm to go now!
Cheers from Mia and the FALKEN crew
mia@59-north.com
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Quadruple digits!
We are still headed north away from Hawaii, though today we have started to veer ever so slightly east. Speaking of miles, we hit quadruple digits today and are currently 1051 nms into our journey to Alaska. 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. 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.
The basics
Nordic Falken and her crew have been in a steady course of NNW since the departure of Hawaii. But! The good thing of all of this is that the promised land on which the high pressure lies has been getting closer and closer, meaning in a couple of days we're gonna see the wind slowly veer all the way to the South, which finally should see us easing the sails and remembering the basics of human nature all over again. The crew have been amazing and we've had everyone come around to push through fatigue, seasickness and soaking wet clothes. On another note we left the tropics a while ago and we can really feel the shift of temperature, long gone are the shorts and foulies have been the norm. Not much more apart from this, my intolerance to upwind sailing still pretty much alive but doing it with a bunch of such amazing human beings makes it worth it worthwhile.
Pacific pace
After some initial adversity, we untied our lines and left the beautiful island of O'ahu behind as we set sail north on an adventure of a lifetime. And that is exactly what we are - a family of strangers brought together by a passion for sailing and a love for the sea. The passage, while at its infancy, has delivered. The wind and seas, stars and sails all set the stage for a fantastic journey. We will see you on the other side with many stories to tell.