Thai curry and whales!
17.25 LOCAL TIME | 03º 19’S 092º 05’W
SAILING
Happy Birthday, Quinn! It’s hard to believe we have only been underway for just over 24 hours. The day has been filled with sailing, and despite being down to 3 knots of boat speed at times, we have managed to continue sailing due to the flat sea! Most of the day, though, we have had wind between 6–10 knots and had a great sail with both the yankee and the staysail up! It is hot, but thanks to the breeze and the shade that the main is creating, we have managed to stay sane.
Zoey is having a shrimp Thai curry on the stove; I can imagine she is ready for some cool breeze after an hour in the galley :) We are also having a ‘surprise’ chocolate cake for Quinn to celebrate his birthday after dinner. I’m not sure how much of a surprise it will be, though, as it’s hard to cover the smell from the oven when it’s being baked. One little mishap we discovered from Galapagos was that we managed to get ‘wax paper’ instead of parchment paper—not ideal for making the cake, oops! Who uses wax paper? Never understood that concept. Lost in translation…
Vince and Phoebe are on watch, with Vince currently at the helm. Jim just got out of his bunk after a nice little nap, probably waking up to the smell of Zoey’s Thai curry! First full day on FALKEN, and it feels like we have been here a week already. We had a pod of pilot whales visit us earlier today, then a pod of dolphins while I was sound asleep a few hours ago. Last night, we had a few birds circling around the boat, making a cracking sound that, after many tries, we decided was impossible to imitate :)
Cheers,
Mia Karlsson
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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.