What a first 24 hours run for FALKEN and her crew! We can see the skyline of Miami as I write this, which means that, with the help of the Gulf Stream, FALKEN has sailed over 214nm upwind in 24 hours, pretty impressive!

After a few days exploring the wonders of Habana, FALKEN and her crew are ready to set sail and point the bow to Bermuda… well just about. Chris and I are once again sailing together which means that most part of the passage is gonna be upwind!

Last day of sailing today as we rounded the most westerly point of Cuba late last night. Its back to the coaching of the helm as many of the crew experience upwind conditions for the first time.

You can imagine my surprise to be awoken suddenly, wondering what emergency may have demanded my appearance on deck with such urgency. Fiona had been sent to undertake the task feared by many before her as she delivered the news that I must leave my dreamy wonderland of much needed rest…

Another cracking sail across to Grand Cayman where we picked up a mooring buoy off Georgetown in the early hours of this morning. Having woken early as instructed by the port security, we were able to clear in with ease as we temporarily came alongside the quay.

The pole made an appearance overnight as we waved goodbye to the lights of Jamaica that accompanied us for the first part of our passage yesterday. As always, the first night involved some coaching on the helm as each of our crew settled into life under sail aboard FALKEN.

Having reached Jamaica in remarkable time, given the almost perfect sailing conditions, the crew departed today but not before a number of mini adventures shoreside.

Having reached Jamaica in remarkable time, given the almost perfect sailing conditions, the crew departed today but not before a number of mini adventures shoreside.

There's nothing like tinned pineapple and peaches with yoghurt to start the day, and the on watch took great delight in the refreshing treat as we watched the sun rise….

Another night in paradise aboard the good ship Falken and I awoke to the dulcet tones of Chris shaking out reefs. Our downwind sleigh ride continued through last night after a dinner of traditional Jamaican 'rundown' courtesy of Natalie….

Blog from Emily: What a glorious sunrise this morning as we cruise parallel to the coast of Puerto Rico. We set into our night sail with a poled out jib and preventer on the main as yet another idyllic night sky welcomed us.

It's been an idyllic introduction to offshore sailing for those on the crew who have never experienced it before. The relatively calm waters of the Caribbean Sea alongside a sky of stars and a beautiful three-quarter moon perfectly complimented the reaching conditions gifted by the breeze.

Wednesday saw the arrival of our latest crew of intrepid adventurers as we met on the Dock at the Antigua Yacht Club. The heat of the midday sun had us plan our safety briefings carefully as we began below decks and moved to the shaded area of the marina bar to complete our introductions and orientation of the trip ahead. Unfortunately, 2 of our group were unable to continue with us due to a medical emergency, and so our remaining crew of 8 bonded over a traditional Antiguan feast on our first evening together.

We leave the anchorage and hoist our mainsail and staysail in a quiet fashion, the first bit of the trip is going to be tacking upwind towards the Eastern side of Guadeloupe so I go back to bed (or try to) as they start tacking. You can hear laughter and feel the tacks getting better and better.

So we’re in the French West Indies, but not on the island we’d planned. As we sailed past Guadaloupe the other day, I gave the crew the option to bear away and sail the 40 or so miles down to Ile des Saintes, or continue for another 18 hours to St. Barth’s. No bad choices here in the Caribbean! But I think it was my off-hand comment that I’d mentioned the Saintes are my all-time favorite Caribbean anchorage, so perhaps that swayed them. So we turned downwind, set the yankee on the pole and cruised on in to the most beautiful harbor in all the Caribbean off Terre-de-Haut, at least in my opinion.

Inshore sailing is all about enjoying the moment. The plans you laid out in the morning, will almost always be changed when the sails are up. We left Tananger after a slow morning talking to the locals, fixing things, and exploring. The downwind sail North took us through beautiful Kvitsøy. We were supposed to sails in the outskirts, but we ended up sailing through the very narrow channels in downtown Kvitsøy.

I’ve forgotten what it feels like to heel over. And to reef. For over 2,000 miles across the Atlantic FALKEN was flat, sailing downwind under full sail for nearly 11 days. No rain, no squalls, no reefing, wind never above about 18 knots. That all changed last night!

We left idyllic Korshamn in the morning and headed out to sea. The stretch between Lindesnes and Tananger is exposed, feared and most often bumpy. We got it all. From a light breeze to gusting 32 knots, confused seas, and rain. But the crew were all smiles and laughter all the way through the hardship. When we finaly pulled in to Tananger in the pitch dark they were wet, hungry, tired, but still smiling. JoJo's delicious curry warmed us all up. All well on board, Jon, JoJo and crew.

What a night. ISBJØRN ghosted into the night. Happy to be in her element again. We did 2 hours on and 4 hours off. Sleep never gets good the first night on a passage. But everyone got at least a few hours dreaming about the moonlight and stars the on watch enjoyed. What a day. When the sun climbed over the horizon the wind slowly evaporated. But the silence was to precious to be broken, so we enjoyed slow living on a mirror sea until noon. We had just sailed past Lindesnes, the most southerly point on mainland Norway.

Sails came up just outside the Hallberg-Rassy yard, and out West we went. Everybody smiling as Sweden sunk in the ocean, mobile phones went dead, and it was just us sailing along to a destination two days away. Now the night has surrounded us. Ken is alone behind the wheel looking at stars, I'm by the nav station getting warm while writing this, and the rest of the crew is sleeping. It is blowing 10 knots and we are doing 6.5 knots on a beam reach. ISBJØRN is just as happy as her crew. All well.