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0549 UTC | 1636.92’S 15132.69
ANCHORED
A warm tropical hello from the West Coast of Taha’a in the Society Islands,
The crew of NORDIC FALKEN are settled into our mind-blowingly beautiful anchorage for the night. A crew that started as strangers a few days ago are all chatting away up on deck as if they’ve known each other for years. The deck showers are rolling after a much needed swim to beat the day’s tropical heat. Skipper Mary is manically singing in the galley (if you’ve sailed with her, you know) while cheffing up a mushroom risotto for us. We sailed for roughly 24 hours and 136nm to get to this gorgeous slice of the planet and are relieved to have escaped the hustle and bustle of Papeete, soaking in the peaceful quietude of what we all dream of when we dream of remote anchorages in the Pacific.
When we arrived at our anchorage, the crew wasted NO time changing into suits and splashing into the vital waters around us. I popped up on deck, the last one in, to see ten little heads floating all around the stern of the boat, massive, satisfied smiles on their faces, luxuriating in the cold water after a windless motor for our last few miles of the passage. Andrea masterfully crafted a scavenger hunt for the crew, setting little clues all throughout the boat (including a meter down below the water line on the anchor rode!). It ended merrily in the discovery of cold beers and snacks on deck for all!
The sun set for us today with a golden glow of light and brightly illuminated pink clouds all around us. A light but very much welcomed drizzle of rain was refreshing us as folks were getting their final swim in for the day, and the sun set over the motu’s to the West of us with Bora Bora in the distance. Vibrant tropical flowers from the local flora are floating all around the anchorage, setting an idyllic scene for this grateful crew. We also laughed as we navigated through the reef, dodging coconuts and thinking to ourselves, “does it get anymore tropical than this?!”
Although this trip is shorter than others, we have every intention of packing it in with as much exploring and enjoyment as we can! The crew have already gone ashore for a reconnaissance of the local shops and restaurants. Stay tuned for tomorrows updates as we have plans to go find some manta rays to snorkel with and find one of the worlds best coral drift snorkels! Hearts are full and the team is happy!
First Mate Pheebs
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Snag it or sweat it! Rolls Royce bunks, watches and fans
Today marks day 6 of one of the most epic passages I've decided to take on. There is something wildly exciting and equally calming about being surrounded by nothing but ocean. I get to watch the entire rhythm of the world shrink down to wind, weather, watches, and 10 humans trying to get a sailboat to another continent. I'm not sure if former bloggers have noted, but this passage is HOT as balls. We continue to laugh, learn, and sweat.
She’s a big ship on a much bigger ocean2335
We also have faced the fact that although Adrienne is a very big ship, she sails over a much, much bigger sea. We all recommitted to being more attentive - treating our watch as a verb not a noun. We might feel comfortable handling Adrienne, but we're not on cruise control and this is no highway. I had not realized to what degree sailing the open ocean requires a daily commitment to awareness, intention, and vigilance. I'm glad for all of us my tutorial was clear but relatively mild.
Day Four: The boat has figured us out
By day 4, things start to get into a rhythm that starts to look like a small community onboard. It’s when personalities start to flourish, when people start losing themselves and start to realize that they don’t really care about a lot of things! I’m pretty sure the disconnection from the internet starts aligning our inner selves. Clearly everyone has gotten their sea legs by now, and even the boat seems to have understood the type of crew she has now. I love to see how people start fitting into different roles with their peers and the boat itself.
