Sailing, celebrating, star watching, eating brownies
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Mary
Happy birthday to you
Yes, it’s our skipper’s birthday today! We have two more birthdays coming up on this trip.
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It’s day 3. Almost everyone has found their sea legs, so all is well.
We’ve had a great passage so far. Good wind, a comfortable sea state, good company, good food. What more could you ask for? (Hmmm. A shower would be nice.)
It’s warm! Down below, it can be a bit of a sauna. On deck is not as bad as I expected. A decent breeze cools you down a bit. As we’re heading almost due north on a starboard tack, the mainsail provides a reasonable amount of shade after noon when sitting in the cockpit. However, you are rather exposed when at the helm.
Even at night, it’s warm on deck. The breeze is such that when at the helm I’ve been almost too warm wearing two very light layers. May it continue!
As the moon is past its third quarter, we’re getting amazing views of the stars for the first part of the night (provided there aren’t too many clouds). At around 1945 last night, Phoebe was at the helm and six of us were sitting in the cockpit. No conversation was going on. Had we fallen out already? No. Were we miserable and counting the minutes to the of the watch? No. (Three of us from the next watch were up on deck early.) We were all simply quite happy just to soak in the sight of the Milky Way.
I was on the 2000-2300 watch last night. Looking astern, it was great to see the Southern Cross slowly pivot as it made its way across the southern sky. How often are we able to see the night sky AND make the time to observe the passage of the stars across the sky?
Just had dinner. Phoebe cooked brownies in lieu of a birthday cake. Well received.
The sun has just set. We’re slowly settling in for the night.
Good night.
Bruce Hardie
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Passages and Purposes
As of today, Falken has taken us over 1800nm across the North Pacific. We’ve learned about water-makers, starter motors, furling, taking in and letting out reefs, easing and grinding, weather and wind, helming by course and by wind angles, and the difference between rest and sleep. For now, the latest challenge is to stay in the moment. The memories we’ve made here are priceless, even if we only connected for a few moments on our various paths in this world. So few people get this opportunity to “go dark” and live simply for a moment.
Baptism Off Ka’ena Point
For the ancient Hawaiians, O’ahu was the gathering place. On day one of Falcon’s passage to British Columbia, we were to pass this headland. In short order, the winds built to well over 30 knots on the beam. Below deck I took a seat on the low side and became drenched in sweat. I had finally rounded Ka’ena point.
Turning the corner
Yesterday found Falken on a Northward course, still heeled to port, climbing and falling over waves. Sunrise this morning found Falken in an entirely different condition, one familiar to her, but not yet to the current crew. And then a truly magic moment, a pod of dolphins at least fifty members strong came to dance on Falken’s bow wave. We are now joyfully headed northeast, on course toward our eventual destination of Prince Rupert. Falken has turned a corner.