Turning the corner

Yesterday found Falken on a Northward course, still heeled to port, climbing and falling over waves. Though diminishing, she still occasionally plummeted down the back of a wave,  landing with a loud thud. The sound she made we all had become accustomed to, and at times more than a little bit irritated by. Despite this, a change in mood was definitely happening among the crew. It began a few days back, with the first of two birthday celebrations, complete with brownies and a very festive party hat worn by Adam. Yesterday we celebrated Zoe’s birthday with plastic hula dancer figurines and tiramisu. A couple of whales even poked their heads up near the boat to wish Zoe a happy birthday. Spirits were improving! Finally, overnight, the change we’d all been anticipating began to happen. The easterly winds that we had been wrestling with started to come around to our stern, along with diminishing swells. The night crew dropped and flaked the stay sail, shook out the last reef, and unfurled the full yankee. Alas, we were transitioning to a broad reach, a step closer to heading fully downwind.

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Sunrise this morning found Falken in an entirely different condition, one familiar to her, but not yet to the current crew. She was elegantly and almost silently gliding forward on a northeasterly course. She rose and dipped over gentle waves, heeled only slightly. The crew awakened to a beautiful and peaceful ocean, thin clouds looking like a painters subtle pink and grey brush strokes. A few muted sun beams peaked through. And then a truly magic moment, a pod of dolphins at least fifty members strong came to dance on Falken’s bow wave. They playfully breached and dove for ten minutes, eventually peeling off a few at a time, heading off to find another playground.  What a delightful exclamation point to perfect morning.

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Falken’s new course is extraordinarily pleasant, and her crew are all wearing easy smiles. We were each able to take a hot shower, the first since the voyage began. More of us are lingering in the salon or on deck between watches, allowing for good conversation and shared laughter. We are now joyfully headed northeast, on course toward our eventual destination of Prince Rupert. It is still far off, but refreshed, we anticipate the remainder of our journey with optimism and excitement.

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Falken has turned a corner.