O454 UTC | 43° 22.48’ N 153°48.88’ W
Sailing
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.
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.
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.
Falken has turned a corner.
Michael Riley
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Shooting Stars & Turtle Logs
Day three out of Ketchikan and FALKEN is running wing on wing down the outside of Vancouver Island. The temptation is to lie back in the cockpit and spend the night watching for shooting stars, but a diligent watch is always the first priority. So we keep a sharp eye out while the shooting stars keep us company through the night. The wildlife keeps coming: humpback and minke whales, five mola molas, dolphins, and a black-footed albatross. We are all feeling lucky for such conditions!
Pot dodging and whale watching
Duncan got us up to eleven knots at one point! The Ferriers also logged our first Orca sighting on their 3am-6am watch! This morning is a gift as the temps are just right and we finally have some blue sky and plenty of sunshine. It was a glorious few hours sailing before it inevitably died as forecast. I live in hope that by sunset tonight we’ll be back sailing as we emerge out of the lee of the island and the wind will be more westerly which lends itself to a better sailing angle.
We are off!
After two days of introductions, safety briefings and boat procedures we have departed Ketchikan. We are currently making a whopping 3.3 knots as there is very little wind in Nichols Passage. Adam fed us well last night with a delicious shrimp curry and Duncan was the winner of a sporty game of the card version Monopoly. With the scenic views and light wind it's quite peaceful out here.