16.35 BOAT TIME | 08° 10.1’ S 114° 16.9’ W
Sailing
We are operating on a 3-on, 6-off watch schedule and some of the times are better than others. Please read on for a totally subjective and not at all data driven tiering of our watches by Kate. Disclaimer: views stated here do not represent that of the entire crew and/or staff and some are hotly contested, but I have claimed authorial privilege so my word will stand.
BOTTOM TIER
0900-1200:
- Pros: None.
- Cons: It is too hot, there is no shade, this watch gave me heat exhaustion, I am personally biased against it!
1200-1500:
- Pros: You might as well be on watch as there is no shade anywhere on the boat and it is too hot. Sometimes Zoe makes a little lunch treat.
- Cons: Again, it is too hot.
APPLE WATCHES:
- Why do people have these, they are ugly and also they make you see/respond to text messages in a timely fashion? Could never be me.
MID TIER
0300-0600:
- Pros: A beautiful night watch, loads of stars, nice and quiet, our bird friend arrived on it last night.
- Cons: Weird sleeping before and after, you’re sorta hungry but not really.
0000-0300:
- Pros: Also a very nice night watch.
- Cons: Marginally less weird sleeping than 3-6a but still not ideal.
1500-1800:
- Pros: Shade!!! Glorious shade comes over the cockpit and we all come out to glory in it and have a delicious dinner. The speed record was also set on this watch.
- Cons: You watch everyone else eat dinner while you are at the helm until Ken (top tier crew member) finishes his dinner and takes pity on your hungry stomach to come helm while you eat. You then have to do the dinner dishes and get all sweaty before trying to sleep.
2100-0000:
- Pros: You got a little post-dinner nap, a beautiful night watch, you can look forward to some good sleep afterwards .
- Cons: You are very tired by the end of this one.
MY CLASSIC TIMEX:
- Pros: Tells the time, looks cool.
- Cons: On my kitchen table at home instead of being useful here.
ADAM'S WATCH:
- Pros: Tells him when to relieve me on the helm.
- Cons: Apparently cannot be updated to tell the correct hour of time, can only be relied upon for the minutes which is fine because that is all I need.
TOP TIER
0600-0900:
- Pros: Starts with stars (depending on where in the time zone we are), ends with sunrise. No need to be slathered in sunscreen yet.
- Cons: Sleeping after is kind of annoying.
1800-2100:
- Pros: Starts with sunset, ends with stars. Full bellies, everyone else goes to nap, nice and quiet.
- Cons: None so far, it is beautiful and my favourite.
This concludes the tiering of watches; thank you for your time and attention.
Kate
View more passage logs
Pre-departure
Hawaii to Alaska isn't a downwind romp—it's a chess match with the North Pacific High, and the opening move is never obvious. Ten days of refit work, new sails, engine services, and enough provisions to outlast a bad forecast have FALKEN ready for whatever the high decides to throw at us. The crew arrives in an hour, and by Thursday, the bow points north—route TBD.
Ladies who reef
The trade winds have been kind, rolling the boat toward Hawaii in a steady, hypnotic rhythm—until last night, when a squall hit without warning and the wind jumped to 28 knots, slamming everything sideways. With rain driving down and the boat lurching underfoot, the crew had minutes to wrestle two reefs into the mainsail and get things back under control. What followed was a masterclass in wet, unglamorous, deeply satisfying teamwork—with less than 250 miles left to go.
Yankee Doodle Died at Sea, Riding on a FALKEN
A thin, foot-long tear in the yankee sail—50,000 miles of ocean behind it—and suddenly the final stretch to Hawaii just got a lot more interesting. The crew of FALKEN had been running a tight ship through the trades, reefing in squalls like clockwork, when the last dance finally caught up with them. How a skipper handles the moment everything goes sideways says everything about the voyage itself.
