whales
January 25, 2025, 13:45 UTC | Whales
Well, yesterday’s crew delight was a sighting of numerous whales. I happened to be cooking dinner at the time, so my only experience of them was a photograph taken by Kevin. This was probably a good thing because, upon seeing both their size and proximity, let’s just say I had a slightly different facial expression than the majority. I’ll let the team fill you in on the details.
Whilst we continue to make good speed towards Antigua, the wind angle has us making more north than we would ideally like, and we have decided that Sunday seems like a nice day for a gybe. I suspect the new angle won’t be pleasing, but it might be nice to experience the swell from a different angle for a while.
Both watches are now helming with confidence, and it’s always gratifying to know you’ve passed the halfway mark. The next milestone is when the remaining distance falls below 1000nm, which should be by Tuesday morning.
For those anticipating our arrival window, it’s still too soon to say, and there may well be lighter winds at the back end of the passage.
There’s so much laughter and fun coming from the deck at all times; it’s really quite uplifting.
Emily
EmilyCaruso
View more passage logs
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.