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
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.
Making the most of it
This passage has thrown pretty much every atmospheric condition imaginable at us. It reminds us not only of how much we’ve learned, but of how far we’ve literally come since that acceleration zone off the northwest corner of Oahu. The resilience this group has shown has been nothing short of incredible, and I couldn’t be prouder to be part of it. Maybe that’s why it’s the hardest passages we remember the most. Not because they were easy, but because they reminded us what we’re capable of.
