SAILING NORTH
Sunday, June 8, 2025 | Papeete, Tahiti
Approaching the 24-hour mark since slipping lines from Tahiti, I asked the self-named ‘Spare Change’ watch for a sentence or two about their experience at sea so far. They are as follows:
Adam Baker: “The ocean is big and it’s empty, no ships, a lot of birds and clouds. Wonderful time today.”
Jake Davis: “I’m excited to be the only Jake for once. Beautiful sunrise, very pleasant sailing and I’m sure the readers will love to know that my heat rash is improving.”
Tara Tinan: “Sailing north.”
Whilst these weren’t quite what I was expecting, it’s a pretty apt summary of our trip so far. The ocean is indeed big, we haven’t seen any other boats since sailing north of Tahiti, and the temperature is definitely cooler at sea.
The wind has reduced from 20 knots to 6-10 knots, but in typical FALKEN fashion, the miles are still being eaten up. It’s been a lovely sail so far—maybe upwind isn’t so bad? Although Alex has been very insistent that close reaching doesn’t really count as upwind.
Everyone’s been doing a great job helming and generally settling into life offshore. Glums and glows were very glowy; Orie’s extensive list of glows was a highlight for many.
Whilst the clouds didn’t allow us a full sky of stars last night, it did mean the wind has stayed and is allowing for some respite from the sun. The forecast is for the wind to reduce in a couple of days, but fingers crossed we can keep the engine off. In the meantime, we’ll continue to sail north, in a big ocean, and be sure to get regular updates on Jake’s heat rash for all interested.
- Mary | FALKEN mate
FALKEN|Skipper&Mate
View more passage logs
Kärt barn har många namn
A dear child goes by many a name, or as we say in Swedish "kärt barn har många namn". This is the case for many a person, but also some species, not least the Mahi mahi, which also goes by dolphin fish, golden mackerel, and dorado, among others. Soon, we could see the fish jump, a hundred feet or so behind the boat, and as I kept reeling, a beautiful Mahi appeared under the surface. Manot showed us how to clean and fillet it, and after a complete team effort two large fillets are now in the freezer of Adrienne II.
Cast off the lines
When we awoke it was overcast but the Brazilian sun quickly burned the clouds away and we were left with blue skies. We reviewed some safety procedures, cleaned the boat and had an exciting Person Overboard (POB) recovery. Once we were underway spirits soared as we pointed the bow toward the Canary Islands. As I write this we are heading upwind and dealing with all that involves, and working into our first watches. It is hot, a bit bumpy but we are sailing!!
People Get Ready!
The last three days have been an intense (and intensely hot) period of discovery, practice, and planning. Because Adrienne II is not a 59N boat, there's been some extra setup and coordination needed including rigging all the sails that were out for repairs before we arrived. Its been a blast working alongside the 59N team getting to help them work things out on a less familiar boat in real time. Tomorrow morning we'll run through our Person Over Board training as the final pre-departure task, cast off and head out. Can't know all that it will be, but its going to be a great adventure out in the vast world with some pretty fantastic people.