Squalls
The last 24 hours have been a relentless mission of opening and closing hatches as the heavy downpours synonymous with the tropics have kept us on our toes. Had anyone suggested a few days ago that I might find myself cold during this passage, I would have laughed at the incredulous notion, and yet the early hours of the 11th saw just that reality.
The crew have been steadfast in their resolve to keep Falken sailing and mostly in the direction of the Marquesas. As each squall set in, we saw the wind shift teasingly through every point of the compass and switch from almost nothing to strengths that required some positive sail reduction. Finally, it seems that the hatches can remain open as the rain has subsided and the below decks temperature has returned to some level of normality, albeit still oppressively humid.
Eric is currently on the helm (he says hi to his mum), Dennis has just replenished the tea cups, and Hillary is completing the log as the daily tasks continue. The rest of the crew appear to be sleeping soundly as Falken glides graciously through the mighty Pacific waters.
The success of a long passage relies on routine and teamwork, whatever the weather, and the team on Falken have fallen nicely into the rhythm of daily life at sea.
- Emily | Mate on Falken
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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.