Sunday, June 22, 2025 | Upwind Battle
Splash BANG
Over the last several days, FALKEN has been beating upwind due north, steadily closing the distance between us and Hawaii. Everyone is delighted by the upwind sailing, both above and below deck. Alex is often heard remarking that it is his favorite point of sail. I assume it is because of the fun surprises he gets while the boat rides up and down the swells, smashing her bow into the waves. Like the time he was in the head during a moment of relative calm, then suddenly sideways and frantically pumping to escape disaster. Or the time he was cozied in his bed, enjoying a fresh breeze from his open hatch, when Istvan drove the boat directly into a crashing wave for the sheer glee of it. A deluge of water rained down on Alex, causing him to laugh and bounce with delight.
The best of the surprises happened just last night. Around 9:30 pm, everyone on the boat heard a BANG loud enough to penetrate through industrial strength earplugs and the noise-canceling technology of Apple AirPods Max. As the boat was bounding along, the pin holding the refrigerator closed had been strained to the point of collapse. Jake dealt the final blow. He claims he delicately touched it and suddenly the fridge came flying out of the wall and across the room. Only Mary was there to witness, however. The two of them muddled through a cascade of cucumbers and attempted to restore the fridge to its rightful place. Their efforts, however, were futile. It now lives under the galley table.
So we endure the endless delight of upwind sailing. Onward to Hawaii!
Tara
Write your comments below and I’ll forward them to the boat with the daily update :) - Mia (shore support)
FALKENCrew
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Ketch us if you Kan
Falken is soon to carry on our preferred route of South, back to (hopefully) warmer climates. We’re all excited to set off and see more of this wild landscape as we head down to Victoria. A thermal trough over Vancouver combined with an offshore high pressure creating funneling NW’ly winds means it is due to be pretty fruity on the 9th. This passage is just under 600 miles, relatively short for Falken, but I’m sure we’ll be kept entertained with dramatic scenery, wildlife and weather!
Final Blog
Falken and her crew arrived safely into port last night around 8pm boat time, 10pm Prince Rupert time. Some spicy weather was anticipated, but luckily the 35kt gusts and 2.5 meter waves were no match for this expert crew. We had an exceptionally smooth docking, despite it being Alex's first time parking this year (!). We all agreed that this was a very special group of people—I for one am so impressed with how everyone stayed so positive, helpful, and appreciative of humor despite an arguably challenging passage. We'll all return home significantly saltier than we were when we left, a mark of a passage properly sailed.
Lessons and a Gift
The biggest lesson is the helm. The lesson here is that even if you don't think you can do it over and over again with no sleep, cold and damp, it has to be done and so it can be done. Flying fish are cool, dolphins are really really cool, but the coolest of them all are the whales. And most of all Alex: "Find your center Carla. Always know where your center is so you can come back to it". He means the helm but it applies to life as well.