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
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”For some things, we will never be ready.” - Moana 2
After 852 miles of open ocean sailing, the crew of Falken dropped anchor in Moorea's Cook's Bay—not with a quiet glide in, but surfing down waves in a squall, breaking speed records and cheering each other on through the rain. What started as a plan to "just dip a toe" into offshore sailing turned into something harder to explain: the worse the conditions got, the more alive everyone felt. Turns out the question was never whether the crew was ready—it was whether they even needed to be.
Kauehi conundrum
Kauehi atoll was always on the itinerary—until the forecast made it a gamble not worth taking. Squalls, bommies, a tidal pass, and no clean escape route: sometimes the hardest call in sailing is the one that keeps you out of a place, not in it. The Tuamotus will have to wait.
Hove-to!
Falken is too fast—a problem most sailors would kill for, yet here we are, tacking back and forth across the Pacific just to kill time. A rogue low pressure system south of Tahiti has stolen the trades and scrambled our timing for the tidal window into Kauehi's pass, leaving us hove-to 45 miles short of our target in the Tuamotus. Salt licorice, dream sandwich debates, and a philosophical question about mermaid reproduction are helping pass the night.