Flyin’ the Kite! The stargazing continues on what’s been a series of completely cloudless nights since we departed Mindelo. We’re over 850 miles distant from the dusty shores of Cape Verde and yet the sky remains hazy with the orange tint of Saharan sand. FALKEN hasn’t seen a drop of rain in weeks.

It is the start of day 5, which is officially the longest I have ever sailed at one time without seeing land. I am Captain Jen, normally a skipper of one of the two schooners, Woodwind and Woodwind II in Annapolis, MD. This is also my first trans-Atlantic crossing.

Tonight (slightly after midnight), under wing and wing sailing, it feels more like we are sailing through the night sky than sailing through the water. There is a mesmerizing ocean swell that is rocking everyone to sleep below.

Day 3 today, the day it always turns around, even for the worst of the seasick. Sara had been feeling less than 100% since the start, but props to her for continuing to stand her watches and do her stints at the helm. Tonight was her first full meal at dinner and the first time she actually felt like herself. I’ve long said that it takes three days for everyone to acclimate to life offshore, whether seasick or not

Today was a project day for me. Last night I’d spent my midnight watch sorting out why the watermaker was only giving us half the expected output (easy solution — clogged pre-filters). Now I wanted to figure out why the Watt & Sea wasn’t outputting the full amount of amps I’d expect at 8 knots boat speed, and why it was making a horrendous vibration, despite the new motor I’d installed just before departure.

We left Mindelo in a dusty haze around 1000 after a leisurely breakfast and after checking off the last of the pre-departure items. As expected, the winds built in the channel and by noon FALKEN was surfing down waves and touching 14 knots, with just the mainsail set. Windspeeds topped 30+ in the sharp acceleration zone where the gentle trades are squeezed between the high peaks of the neighboring islands and shot out like a cannon.

I was surprised to find half the Sahara desert at the top of the mast today during the routine rig check. I was also surprised at the elevator ride the crew on deck gave me. Rene and Veiko jumped my primary halyard at the mast while Sara and Nigel took up slack aft on the winch, and I barely had to climb. Each heave sent me 6-feet up the mast in one big jump, and I had a bird's eye view of Mindelo.

Anyway, from the 'Calima' dust storm they sailed through on the last passage, the sand has accumulated on lines and rigging aloft where we couldn't wash it off and everything is stained red (including now my shorts).

Just as we thought we had run out of luck the breeze has shifted and lifted and Falken is making her way by wind power once again.

This really has been a multi-faceted passage which the crew have responded to with constant energy and enthusiasm. Each and every one of them can now confidently helm downwind without coaching and a less vigorous sea state has certainly helped development.

Another day is coming to an end as we watch the glare of the sun disappear through the sandy haze in the air.

The highlight of today has to be the stuff happening on deck, we all had a good clean and showered with the deck shower and immediately after we witnessed a couple of whales coming to say hi. After that we had different lessons on trimming followed by a delicious dinner.

Well what a difference a day makes! From 3 reefs and a partial jib to full sail and eventually reverting to the trusty iron sail as the wind finally disappeared this evening.The crew have been having a ball and feeling jubilant to have conquered some rather large seas and fairly fruity gusts over the last 24 hours. Any sickness has abated and the laughter continues to emanate from across the hull. Even the dolphins showed up to wish the crew congratulations for having taken on the might of mother nature at her finest.

Last night was some of the most epic sailing I’ve had in the last year, with one gust at 40 knots of True Wind Speed and FALKEN surfing down some pretty impressive waves with 3 reefs and doing impressive speeds! We have covered over 270nm in the last 28 hours! The crew have all been superstars and have handled the helm like pros, even if it is the first time offshore for a few of them.

The feeling of excitement has been growing amongst the crew as we finish preparing for our voyage to Mindelo. Today was all about weather briefings, routing, and pilotage and looking at some of the other safety equipment that Falken has to offer. The crew took some last minute down time to pick up any luxury items, and local shopkeepers commented on how many boats were waiting out the weather for a more favourable window.

There can be no better feeling than that of watching a new team come together, except perhaps when the team in question are about to embark on one of life’s last true adventures. For many sailors, the opportunity to push the boundaries from coastal sailing to embarking upon an ocean passage is beyond comprehension. So when the chance arises, it isn’t a surprise to find a group of like minded individuals that bond very quickly to form a very natural nautical family.

Just gotta say, these past 5 days with the FALKEN crew on the boat were like living in a dream. Chris, Libby, Mark, Kelley, Rich, and Tim, you guys made it epic.

In our crazy world, it's so easy to be stuck thinking about the past or stressing about what's next. But man, being in the moment, staring at stars, catching sunrises and sunsets – that's what’s all about!

Day 4 and we are all now falling into the regular routine of life at sea - the times of our different watches, the writing up of the hourly log and the drinking of coffee. On this trip there has been a lot of coffee drinking. Everyone’s appetites have improved as we have found our sea legs and we all want it to carry on for longer.

We were hoping for another swim in the ocean as the wind died, but the swell is a bit too big so we opted for the second best, a warm shower on the aft deck. I will start cooking dinner in about two hours, we have been eating at 1730 to have dinner before the sun sets. It is getting warmer as we are heading south and I am in shorts and t-shirt for the first time since leaving Portugal. Life is good onboard :)

On a more personal note this trip has been brilliant, we left with plenty of time to get there and it has meant that we have been able to stop and enjoy the surroundings more often, trying to sail through the light winds instead of motoring through them and the chance to go for ocean swims which is always a highlight.

Throughout the morning we had a perfect sail, 6 knots in light airs and a gorgeous flat ocean. As the wind eased we hove to and went for an ocean swim and a hot water shower. Feeling refreshed we got underway again with a strengthening ESE wind and the dolphins arrived speed us on our way.

I am writing this as the sun is slowly setting in Lagos. Falken has now been washed, scrubbed, emptied and re-stored following her post-passage checklist that we thoroughly follow. There is an aura of accomplishment, relive and just general awesomeness feeling onboard and not just for the successful trip that we’ve just ran but because this marks Falken’s first successful season in the Atlantic, sailing an astonishing 16.112nm.

We spent the day sailing under the chute, dousing it before dinnertime and getting all the lines and gear stowed for the night. It’s November, and while it’s nice and warm here off southern Portugal, the nights are long. It gets dark around 1730, and doesn’t get light again until around 0700, so the night watches are long. But the stargazing more than makes up for it. We passed around the binoculars last night, taking turns looking at Orion’s belt and the millions of stars in the background that you’d never seen ashore.

After breakfast Andy gave a magnificent weather lesson, it is so nice to see someone teach their passion to other people, it really is contagious!! After that everyone got briefed on their duties for their watches and we proceeded to hoist anchor and get out to the open sea for our offshore phase.