Where is the winD?
Latitude: 9º28’ S
Longitude: 133º47’ W
April 22, 2200 Ship’s Time | Approx. 9º28’ S, 133º47’W | Broad Reaching with Full Main and Jib Top
Well, well, well… Who could’ve foreseen that the most uncertain part of this trip would be the 300nm to landfall? In a way that was forecast by the GRIB models we’ve been downloading underway, it does look like the SE trades are taking a holiday for the remainder of the week, and it’s forced us to get a little creative aboard FALKEN. We’re currently reaching north to try and take advantage of some slightly friendlier current, as well as generate a little apparent wind.
With a boat of this size, with a sail that carries this much inertia by itself, the main swinging from side to side in low winds sends a shock through the entire boat that I can only compare to playing the game “Operation” poorly… or maybe that one scene in the movie 127 Hours? It’s a shock that you can feel in your teeth, and it’s certainly neither enjoyable for the crew nor good for the equipment.
For the most part, we’ve crushed this passage. As I type this, we’ve just crossed into 2900nm sailed in 14 days and 7 hours, which is an average of a little less than 8.5 knots. It does feel a little unfortunate that, of course, it’s the last little stint where we lose the pressure, but as Andy has said to me, “sailing is not about focusing on the things outside of your control.” We continue on with a strategy of chipping away at the miles to land, hopefully with a more optimistic update in the near future!
I also thought it would be fun to share some of the ETA predictions from the crew. We wrote these on the day we left, long before we knew of the days of ITCZ-driven rain ahead, or the beautiful 7-day stretch of 9kt average days. Times are local to Marquesas and arrival is when we are sails down and tied up.
Hilary - April 23rd @ 11:30
Kimberly - April 24th @ 09:00
Scott - April 24th @ 16:00
Emily - April 25th @ 06:00
Aidan - April 25th @ 10:00
Jim - April 26th @ 10:00
Dennis - April 26th @ 15:20
Andy - April 26th @ 16:00
Udo - April 27th @ 20:30
Ted - April 28th @ 02:30 (where’s the faith, Ted???)
Make sure to follow along to see who is going to end up with a free drink at the bar!
- Aidan Gray
P.S. Write in the comments who you think will win!
59ºNorthApprentice
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A last hurrah
Under the dome of stars in a moon-less sky, each of us during our time at the helm used the most rudimentary celestial navigation, keeping a star or two lined up with the mast as a helper to following the heading range. It was a whole crew event to set the spinnaker, reef the mainsail and practice the heave-to in case of man overboard. Alex stressed that the key to success in all of these crucial activities is preparation. It was hugely satisfying to accomplish these tasks through teamwork. We share a constant good hearted back and forth full of stories, one-liners and comebacks that also means constant laughter.
One little bird!
Falken has almost rounded the Channel Islands and is cruising along splendidly about 100 miles offshore. Though several models predicted some slightly fresher winds today, we were met with a consistent 18-20 kts of pure bliss. It seems that from the moment we left the dock in San Francisco, there has been much laughter and conversation amongst everyone. The plan is to gybe in a few hours and begin our approach to Ensenada. As much as I do appreciate the jokes and intellectual musings, I equally appreciate the natural, silent moments we share at night, all of us on watch gazing up above to the shooting stars, constellations, and planets putting on their quiet show.
Birds and glows
The sun brought new wind and we were soon putting up the Yankee (jib) and turning off the motor. During the evening tradition of sharing “glums and glows” that follows the crew dinner, our Mate Ryan proclaimed it a “champagne sailing” kind of day. As Alex noted this evening, life goes by so fast that one of the very best things about his line of work is enjoying the passage of time in the slow lane of an ocean passage. But by tomorrow, the green blobs in the weather sailing app indicate we’re going to pick up some significant northwesterly winds and we’ll take them ever further south to the Channel Islands latitude. We’re all super excited for the knots to climb and to see Falken really run.