2122UTC | 16 47.52’S 151 00.50’W
Anchored, EXPLORING
We’re slightly behind on blogs - we’ve been busy!
Phoebe did not lie in her previous post as we did wake up and packed today to feel like an entire week of adventuring. We woke up in peaceful Baie Tapuamu in Taha’a, stuffed our electric, yet mighty dingy with all eleven of us, and puttered over to an alleged manta ray cleaning station. The water was rather cloudy, and some of us were convinced we might not see much that day, however the coral reef was nice enough for a paddle and we were quite quickly rewarded with a prolonged visit from two manta rays (alongside their trusty ramoras), a quick glimpse of 5 eagle rays diving below the pelagic zone, and plenty of brain coral, groupers and damselfish. Since that wasn’t enough fun we came back to the boat where a treasure hunt for Mary and Phoebe began. They were impressed with some of my hiding spots so that’s all you need to know about that.
After a glorious snack session orchestrated by Big Chickpea Mafia (who I am sure is paying Mary big bucks for her to promote hummus to everyone she meets on board) we puttered over to a world renowned floating coral garden nearby, where we were immediately greeted by a stingray. We walked across the beach towards the channel from where the current rips you across “bushes” and gorgeous lumps of coral. Some of it was overgrown and bleached which was quite sad, but most of it was in pretty good shape. Nemo fans went a bit mad as there were quite a few clown fish in the sea anemones. The vibrant Giant Pacific clams and Guineafowl pufferfish were a personal favorite of mine and Kates, while Maddie was quite mesmerized by a reef octopus (perfectly camouflaged as a rock — not sure how he spotted it). The octopus was trying to get a bite at the coral reef conveyer belt buffet so Maddie stayed still trying to watch it, but because he stood so perfectly still for so long people kept going up to him to ask if he was okay, so I am not sure the octopus ate much once we found it, but grateful Maddie shared his discovery with us.
While the fish and coral were outstanding, what I really need to get out into the world is that ASMR is missing out on underwater noises. I did not foresee enjoying listening to parrot fish munching on corals as much as I did, but some of us spent quite a bit of time doing that as well. This was a top 3 snorkeling destinations for all the divers on board and we pretty much had the corridor to ourselves which was incredible. We were a bit gloomy Mary had to be onboard harassing the watermaker, but she also managed to make us all delightful poke bowls for dinner because she is perfect Mary of all trades and captain of all.
Andreea Didconu
View more passage logs
Ladies who reef
The trade winds have been kind, rolling the boat toward Hawaii in a steady, hypnotic rhythm—until last night, when a squall hit without warning and the wind jumped to 28 knots, slamming everything sideways. With rain driving down and the boat lurching underfoot, the crew had minutes to wrestle two reefs into the mainsail and get things back under control. What followed was a masterclass in wet, unglamorous, deeply satisfying teamwork—with less than 250 miles left to go.
Yankee Doodle Died at Sea, Riding on a FALKEN
A thin, foot-long tear in the yankee sail—50,000 miles of ocean behind it—and suddenly the final stretch to Hawaii just got a lot more interesting. The crew of FALKEN had been running a tight ship through the trades, reefing in squalls like clockwork, when the last dance finally caught up with them. How a skipper handles the moment everything goes sideways says everything about the voyage itself.
A Gen Z Perspective
At 31, the crew thought they were reasonably fluent in the English language—then they met Kip. Today, the crew's self-appointed Gen Z correspondent takes over the log from somewhere in the middle of the Pacific, delivering dispatches on Milky Way night sails, focaccia-induced visions, and the singular mission of getting eleven people's "badonkadonks" to Hawaii. Consider this your glossary.