spinnaker
58º 13.4’ N 010º 55.7’ E
August 5, 2024 | 58º 13.4’ N 010º 55.7’ E
It is 1830 on FALKEN. Mitch and Joe have just finished up dishes and everyone is up and hanging in the cockpit. You can feel the excitement of landfall in the air. The day has been one of those magical days you don’t often get on a passage, when the temperature is just right, the sun is out, and the boat is cruising along under full sails! I was asleep until 1300 today, waking up to the crew clapping hands. The spinnaker was successfully hoisted and is still flying. The crew were either very quiet, or I was sleeping hard—most likely the latter, as this was the first time many of the crew flew a spinnaker.
The wind has continued to drop throughout the day and is now down to 7-9 kts of true wind, sailing towards the Swedish coast at a comfortable 7 kts. The waves have laid down and we are floating on a magic carpet. We’ll see how long we can keep the spinnaker before the wind drops completely.
There has been a lot of traffic today. It started this morning with the Danish fishing fleet coming out towards us, and after that, plenty of ships, ferries, and more fishing boats to cross paths with. Not a single time have we had to change course though. We are about 8 nm off the Swedish coast now, aiming towards Smögen, hoping to get a space at the dock (very unlikely in the peak of the summer), or an anchorage nearby. We will then continue the passage, sailing along the coast down to Marstrand on Tuesday or Wednesday.
- Mia
It is 1830 on FALKEN. Mitch and Joe have just finished up dishes and everyone is up and hanging in the cockpit. You can feel the excitement of landfall in the air. The day has been one of those magical days you don’t often get on a passage, when the temperature is just right, the sun is out, and the boat is cruising along under full sails! I was asleep until 1300 today, waking up to the crew clapping hands. The spinnaker was successfully hoisted and is still flying. The crew were either very quiet, or I was sleeping hard—most likely the latter, as this was the first time many of the crew flew a spinnaker.
The wind has continued to drop throughout the day and is now down to 7-9 kts of true wind, sailing towards the Swedish coast at a comfortable 7 kts. The waves have laid down and we are floating on a magic carpet. We’ll see how long we can keep the spinnaker before the wind drops completely.
There has been a lot of traffic today. It started this morning with the Danish fishing fleet coming out towards us, and after that, plenty of ships, ferries, and more fishing boats to cross paths with. Not a single time have we had to change course though. We are about 8 nm off the Swedish coast now, aiming towards Smögen, hoping to get a space at the dock (very unlikely in the peak of the summer), or an anchorage nearby. We will then continue the passage, sailing along the coast down to Marstrand on Tuesday or Wednesday.
- Mia
mia@59-north.com
View more passage logs
Dolphin party!
Kate was about to yank the spinnaker’s sock down when I spotted a stampede of fins heading straight for us. ”Dolphins!”, I yelled back to the cockpit excitedly. Post dinner dish duty was halted down below for the show.
The pool is open!
We stopped the boat, got the ladder down and put out a line with a fender behind the boat. I love swimming in the middle of the ocean, and a bit scary when you realize its more than 4000+ m deep! Love it!
Big Pink Sail Day
I had a most fashionable pointed striped hat at dinner, and out of the depths of a cupboard a cake was created, after 14 days at sea. A group of people I had never met two weeks ago made me feel very special today.