48º 38.8N 125º 09.6W
Sunday, August 10, 2025, 07:30 Local time | 48º 38.8N 125º 09.6W
It was 3 AM, blowing 30 knots, ink-black night before the moonrise. We were about 20 miles off Vancouver Island—a place visited by massive sunfish and rarely anyone else—surfing waves on 65’ FALKEN, hitting speeds of 14 and 15 knots. Regina leaned over and whispered, “From reading the 59 North brochure I wasn’t really sure if they would let ‘us’ sail in these conditions.” The ‘us’ she was referring to was the collective group of sailors huddled in the spray who had never been on a boat this large, going this fast, in conditions this heavy. It was a lot to process.
“Regina, your turn!” Nikki beckoned. It was the moment of truth. About 15 minutes later, Regina had hit a high speed of 14.6! The crew cheered, and there was a collective awe—we were experiencing something very few people ever get to witness. It. Was. Incredible.
Later that night, under a blazing moon, Nikki and Topher both hit 16.2 knots, flying down the breaking swells, hooting with glee. Exhausted from the adrenaline rush and lack of sleep, I crawled into my bunk, knowing that there was no way I would be able to process this experience for days, weeks, or even months. I simply went to sleep with the hunch that this experience had changed the course of history—for all of ‘us’.
- Andy | FALKEN Crew
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.