Emily, Vilgot, and I have been taking turns writing the daily blog. During last night’s dinner, when we shared the comments from the blogs, we told the crew that they can chip in and write as well, and we had some eager voices. Derek got the keyboard out last night and started typing, and over the next days the crew will be sharing what it’s like to sail our 65-foot machine across the ocean!
-Mia
January 22, 2025, 12:30 UTC | Savoring Every Moment
There is a point on an extended passage when everyone on board settles into the unique rhythm of time on the ocean and becomes untethered from the usual routines of our lives on shore. Here on FALKEN, we are now firmly established in the watch routine: three four-hour watches from 1800 to 0600 local time, and two six-hour watches from 0600 to 1800. On watch, we take turns to helm the boat, typically for 30-minute rotations. It is refreshing to find that the autohelm is not used, and that we have the opportunity to collectively hand-steer this magnificent yacht across the Atlantic Ocean. Think about that for a moment. It affords all of us the chance to get a real feel for this boat and to hone our helming skills.
Last night, the conditions allowed us to steer for some hours by the glow of the stars, before the clouds came across the night sky and our focus shifted to the compass. Every hour, as is typical on yachts, we complete the ship’s log, recording the essential information that marks our progress across the Atlantic: latitude, longitude, compass course, speed, and the like—all the details that are now the focus of our attention.
Of course, there is plenty of time on watch to chat and to meditate on the expanse of the ocean, and we are all getting to know more about each other as the days progress, our daily routine punctuated by dinner at 1800 local time—an opportunity for everyone on board to come together and share their perspectives. We are savoring every moment of our time on the ocean.
-Derek, crew on FALKEN | Trans-Atlantic 2025
crew@59-north.com
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A last hurrah
Under the dome of stars in a moon-less sky, each of us during our time at the helm used the most rudimentary celestial navigation, keeping a star or two lined up with the mast as a helper to following the heading range. It was a whole crew event to set the spinnaker, reef the mainsail and practice the heave-to in case of man overboard. Alex stressed that the key to success in all of these crucial activities is preparation. It was hugely satisfying to accomplish these tasks through teamwork. We share a constant good hearted back and forth full of stories, one-liners and comebacks that also means constant laughter.
One little bird!
Falken has almost rounded the Channel Islands and is cruising along splendidly about 100 miles offshore. Though several models predicted some slightly fresher winds today, we were met with a consistent 18-20 kts of pure bliss. It seems that from the moment we left the dock in San Francisco, there has been much laughter and conversation amongst everyone. The plan is to gybe in a few hours and begin our approach to Ensenada. As much as I do appreciate the jokes and intellectual musings, I equally appreciate the natural, silent moments we share at night, all of us on watch gazing up above to the shooting stars, constellations, and planets putting on their quiet show.
Birds and glows
The sun brought new wind and we were soon putting up the Yankee (jib) and turning off the motor. During the evening tradition of sharing “glums and glows” that follows the crew dinner, our Mate Ryan proclaimed it a “champagne sailing” kind of day. As Alex noted this evening, life goes by so fast that one of the very best things about his line of work is enjoying the passage of time in the slow lane of an ocean passage. But by tomorrow, the green blobs in the weather sailing app indicate we’re going to pick up some significant northwesterly winds and we’ll take them ever further south to the Channel Islands latitude. We’re all super excited for the knots to climb and to see Falken really run.