passage logs & blog
Use the filters to find all logs from a specific boat, passage, category or from a specific author. These are all the passage logs + the blogs (technical shorts and philosophical musing from Andy) on the site. For the 2015-2022 passage log & blog archive, visit archive.59-north.com.
Baptism Off Ka’ena Point
For the ancient Hawaiians, O’ahu was the gathering place. On day one of Falcon’s passage to British Columbia, we were to pass this headland. In short order, the winds built to well over 30 knots on the beam. Below deck I took a seat on the low side and became drenched in sweat. I had finally rounded Ka’ena point.
Turning the corner
Yesterday found Falken on a Northward course, still heeled to port, climbing and falling over waves. Sunrise this morning found Falken in an entirely different condition, one familiar to her, but not yet to the current crew. And then a truly magic moment, a pod of dolphins at least fifty members strong came to dance on Falken’s bow wave. We are now joyfully headed northeast, on course toward our eventual destination of Prince Rupert. Falken has turned a corner.
Onwards and upwards
Today is set to be the calmest day of our trip so far, waves subdued, wind veering off more south-east, light clouds. What an exhilarating ride it has been, beating upwind non-stop directly north for 6 straight days! What ahead of us is a mostly downwind sail to Prince Rupert, but a very exciting one. This makes it an interesting few days going fast and closely watching the weather, and I’m very much looking forward to it. The crew is happy, everyone seems to be getting good rest, enjoying watches and time in between.
Quadruple digits!
We are still headed north away from Hawaii, though today we have started to veer ever so slightly east. Speaking of miles, we hit quadruple digits today and are currently 1051 nms into our journey to Alaska. The sea state continues to calm down, and the famous North Pacific high is just out of our reach. The next few days will be a delicate dance of riding the outskirts of the high while avoiding the pesky low pressure systems that are dancing nearby. In his very wise words, we need to get north but not too far north, stay south but not too far south, continue heading east but not too far east, and avoid going west but also stay west.
The basics
Nordic Falken and her crew have been in a steady course of NNW since the departure of Hawaii. But! The good thing of all of this is that the promised land on which the high pressure lies has been getting closer and closer, meaning in a couple of days we're gonna see the wind slowly veer all the way to the South, which finally should see us easing the sails and remembering the basics of human nature all over again. The crew have been amazing and we've had everyone come around to push through fatigue, seasickness and soaking wet clothes. On another note we left the tropics a while ago and we can really feel the shift of temperature, long gone are the shorts and foulies have been the norm. Not much more apart from this, my intolerance to upwind sailing still pretty much alive but doing it with a bunch of such amazing human beings makes it worth it worthwhile.
Pacific pace
After some initial adversity, we untied our lines and left the beautiful island of O'ahu behind as we set sail north on an adventure of a lifetime. And that is exactly what we are - a family of strangers brought together by a passion for sailing and a love for the sea. The passage, while at its infancy, has delivered. The wind and seas, stars and sails all set the stage for a fantastic journey. We will see you on the other side with many stories to tell.
24 hours of resilience
The first 24 hours have gone by and it has been a real test of resilience for the crew. Conditions have been far from ideal and we’ve been close reaching in 30+ Knots of wind with a cross swell of 2.7m. As I’m typing this conditions have slowly improved and as we progress North closer to the high they should get better and better, allowing those who have been hit by seasickness to recover and re-gain energy. Falken is sliding through the waves as the sun is shining and last night we had a clear view of the Milky Way.
Pre-departure
Hawaii to Alaska is not a walk in the park and a lot of thought and preparation goes into getting FALKEN ‘passage ready’. Adam, Zoe and I have spent the last 10 days getting everything ready, from new sails fitted, engine services, rig checks, replacing hardware, etc. to getting all the food, spares, etc.needed for a long passage. In the Eastern North Pacific it all depends on where the North Pacific high sits, that is what will decide our route and what weather we get. It normally starts with a Northerly route until you get the Westerlies before turning right to destination, easy right? The crew arrives in about an hour and then is game on.
Ladies who reef
Last night we were bowling along and I was looking at the blue sparkling bioluminescence creaming off the side of the boat when suddenly it started raining and the wind picked up with gusts of 28 knots slamming us hard over. She depowered the sail then hopped up on the coach roof in the now driving rain to clip the handybilly to the reef cringle to make a new tack and smaller sail. Last night (if I say so myself) Emily and I nailed the teamwork of winch grinding. Using the longer handle, she perched on the upper side and I took the lower (according to our respective heights) and together we turned those winches the hard and fast way. Hawaii is less than 250miles to go.
Yankee Doodle Died at Sea, Riding on a FALKEN
A thin, foot-long tear in the yankee sail—50,000 miles of ocean behind it—and suddenly the final stretch to Hawaii just got a lot more interesting. The crew of FALKEN had been running a tight ship through the trades, reefing in squalls like clockwork, when the last dance finally caught up with them. How a skipper handles the moment everything goes sideways says everything about the voyage itself.
A Gen Z Perspective
At 31, the crew thought they were reasonably fluent in the English language—then they met Kip. Today, the crew's self-appointed Gen Z correspondent takes over the log from somewhere in the middle of the Pacific, delivering dispatches on Milky Way night sails, focaccia-induced visions, and the singular mission of getting eleven people's "badonkadonks" to Hawaii. Consider this your glossary.
Fuel fears and back in the trades!
Five hundred miles of open Pacific, no wind, and a fuel tank that wasn't going to cover it. Falken's skipper Mary had a problem: the ITCZ had ballooned from a manageable sliver into an 8-degree-wide wall of doldrums, and the arithmetic wasn't pretty. This is the story of how rum, restraint, and some very attentive helming got them out the other side.
The Rhythm of Boat Life
On land, your biggest daily challenge is finding a routine. On a boat in the middle of the Pacific, routine is a survival strategy. Tilt your world 15 degrees, swap solid ground for a restless, heaving ocean, and suddenly the basics—eating, sleeping, brushing your teeth—become a negotiation with physics. The question isn't whether boat life is hard. It's whether the hard is the point.
An Equator Crossing for the History Books!
By royal decree of the high seas, nine unsuspecting souls aboard NORDIC FALKEN were summoned before Neptune's mischievous emissaries to confess their sins, offer their sacrifices, and drink the blood of the ocean. What followed was equal parts absurd, sacred, and deeply human — pomelo-husk hats, Cheerio bracelets, and all. The equator has been crossed, the pollywogs are gone, and nothing about this crew will ever quite be the same.
*queue Coldplay’s ”Sky Full Of Stars"*
Somewhere in the doldrums, under a sky so thick with stars that the Milky Way looks like cloud cover, the line between sea and space stops being a metaphor. The bioluminescence below mirrors the galaxies above, Venus sets on the horizon like a distant ship, and at 3am it hits you that you're watching sunlight ricochet through an incomprehensible tangle of celestial bodies to land on glassy Pacific water. Then the equator arrives — no painted line, just a countdown, a crew holding their breath, and Neptune waiting to collect his due.
Last night in the Southern Hemisphere!
At midnight, Joey's watch sang happy birthday under a sky full of stars; by 0930, the crew had already swum in 5,000 meters of Pacific blue, chased rainbows through a golden squall, and eaten chocolate chip pancakes with Moorea pineapple. That's the doldrums for you—the wind dies and life somehow gets fuller. Tomorrow, Neptune comes to collect his due as SV Nordic Falken crosses the equator for the first time.
First squall of the trip!
"We're gonna get our ass whooped" — not the sunrise greeting anyone had in mind, but Jim called it. The oldest and sharpest hand on board steered them straight through the squall, soaked to the bone and loving every minute of it. He's got a message for his wife, and it turns out she was right about the water.
Sextants, Polynesian Wayfinding, Captain Cook, and Tupaia, Oh My!
Somewhere north of Tahiti and south of Hawaii, aboard a 65-foot rocket of a sailboat loaded with GPS and Starlink, we pulled out a sextant. Not as a novelty—as a navigation tool. Because it turns out the 2,500-mile passage from Tahiti to Hawaii is less a ocean crossing and more a living museum of how humans have always answered the same stubborn question: where am I, and how do I get home? Captain Cook had his chronometers and math; his Polynesian crewmate Tupaia had the stars, the swells, and a map of the Central Pacific stored entirely in his head—and somehow, they were asking the exact same thing.
Star gazing and celebrating
Birthdays at sea hit differently—no cake, no candles, just brownies from a rolling galley and the Milky Way as a backdrop. It's day three aboard, and the skipper's birthday is just one of three to celebrate before landfall. Meanwhile, six crew members sat in silence last night, not from exhaustion or tension, but because the Southern Cross was doing something worth watching.
A Very Merry Mary Birthday
Space debris split in two off the starboard beam, a Starlink satellite train ghosted across the sky minutes later, and somewhere in the middle of all of it, it was the skipper's birthday. Out in the Pacific, far enough from everything that the universe feels less like a backdrop and more like a participant, the crew of this passage is finding their sea legs—and their perspective. Riddles, knitting, and a few cosmic reminders of just how small these grandiose sailing plans really are.
Rocket Launched into the Trades
The best almond croissant in the world only appeared once—and then vanished for days, taking a piece of Skipper Mary's soul with it. Meanwhile, FALKEN is tearing through the Pacific at 10 knots, a customs officer is threatening birthday fines, and a pod of dolphins just showed up to see the crew off. Leg 7 to Hawaii is underway, and it's already a lot to keep up with.
Hat overboard!
On June 4, we reviewed our passage plan before our departure from the marina in Hjellested.
Departure from Bergen!
The crew on the women’s sail training on Isbjorn is settling into a great routine for managing the boat and life onboard.
The sun sets on another journey
The hardest part of sailing across French Polynesia wasn't the night watches, the heat, or the open ocean — it was the prospect of being trapped on a small boat with a group of strangers. First-timer Natalie boards as a self-described land crab and discovers that the sea has a way of reshaping both your sea legs and your assumptions. What follows is dolphins, sharks, the Milky Way in full technicolour, and a crew that somehow made the whole thing better than she ever imagined.
A Day in Huahine
Hitchhiking with Mormons, hunting for Pareos, and saying goodbye to crew — all before most people finish their morning coffee. A pina colada hangover is no match for a full agenda on a small island where the only taxi has already left with your friends. The question is whether you can pull it all off and still make the tide.
Going Coconuts!
From a muddy anchor bow to a heeling, wind-charged run past Taha'a's reefs, Falken's crew earned every knot of the passage to Huahine-Iti. Scooters, a near-miss dog, a mosquito ambush, and a crocodile lurking at the dock rounded out a day that had no business being as good as it was. The coconut nut is, in fact, a really big nut—and somehow that tracks perfectly.
Tantalizing Taha’a
Turns out you can fit eleven people, a treasure hunt, and two manta rays into a single day — if you're willing to putt across a lagoon in an electric dinghy at dawn. Taha'a delivered one of the trip's top snorkeling spots: a floating coral garden where stingrays, reef octopuses, and parrotfish crunching on coral competed for attention. The only casualty? Mary, stuck aboard wrestling the watermaker — though she still managed to produce poke bowls for eleven by dinner.
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Taha’a-haha (say that correctly five times fast)
Ten heads bobbing around the stern, cold beers hidden a meter below the waterline, and coconuts dodged through the reef — the crew of NORDIC FALKEN have arrived at Taha'a, and they're wasting no time. First Mate Pheebs reports from a golden-hour anchorage in the Society Islands, where strangers became shipmates somewhere between Papeete and paradise. Manta rays and what might be the world's best coral drift snorkel are on tomorrow's agenda — if Skipper Mary's mushroom risotto doesn't slow anyone down first.
Tahiti-Taha’a and a birthday
Bora Bora who? Leg 6 crew are aboard and setting their sights on the lesser-known gems of French Polynesia — Taha'a and Huahine — where vanilla farms, manta rays, and drift coral snorkels await. The new anchorage booking system is a noble idea in theory, though its website appears to share the reliability of the wind, which has cheerfully decided to blow from exactly the wrong direction. It's upwind sailing, birthday cake, and uncharted territory from here.
”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.
Smooth sailing to squalls
Squalls, doldrums, and the Southern Cross — Day 3 aboard Falken delivered the full spectrum. Just as the crew found their rhythm under steady Trade winds, the weather had other ideas, pinning reliable forecasts against a restless low to the south. The only certainty out here is that the sea keeps you honest — and the crew is rising to meet it.
Quick stop in Ua-Pou
Good morning from FALKEN, it’s 8.55 onboard and we have been underway less than 12 hours, but it feels like we have been sailing for days. A lot have happened though since we left our secure anchorage in Nuku Hiva on Wednesday...
On anchor in Nuku Hiva!
Tomorrow crew arrive to join us an exploratory sail from Nuka Hiva to Tahiti, via the Tuamotus. I arrived just under a week ago to take over from Alex..
LAND HO!
The formula for distance to the horizon (in nautical miles) is the square root of the height of eye (in feet) times 1.15. Which means the easternmost island in the Marquesas, Ua Huka, which is 2,806 feet high, should have been visible at 60.9 nautical miles, at around 430 pm, ship’s time, this afternoon. We didn’t however factor in cloud cover.
Dolphin party!
Kate was about to yank the spinnaker’s sock down when I spotted a stampede of fins heading straight for us. ”Dolphins!”, I yelled back to the cockpit excitedly. Post dinner dish duty was halted down below for the show.
The pool is open!
We stopped the boat, got the ladder down and put out a line with a fender behind the boat. I love swimming in the middle of the ocean, and a bit scary when you realize its more than 4000+ m deep! Love it!
Big Pink Sail Day
I had a most fashionable pointed striped hat at dinner, and out of the depths of a cupboard a cake was created, after 14 days at sea. A group of people I had never met two weeks ago made me feel very special today.
Three digit party!
The sky has been clear and there isn't much of a moon so the stars have been incredible. I think my favorite part of being out here is the night sailing and the night sky.
1,000 miles to go!
No amount of WD-40 will silence its determination to drive us mad, but if that is the price of warm scones at sea, I will certainly pay.
Land Ho’ing? Landing Ho? Making Landfall…
I never know exactly what to expect, but based on my past travels, every landfall is different.
The Downhill Run
We have been easily making 8 to 12 knot speeds and 200 nautical mile days.
Watches, ranked
Please read on for a totally subjective and not at all data driven tiering of our watches by Kate.
The Beautiful night!
We had an amazing night with a sky filled of stars, except for a short lived rain cloud that came over us earlier in the night. We had Scorpio behind us with Libra above, while Orion was setting just behind the jib.
Wing on wing!
Falken is officially on the highway to the Marquesas, as Alex calls it, also known as the southeasterly trades. She is cruising along with the swell (finally) on her stern and the sails wing on wing.
Plan, go, learn, do. Why?
Mia prompted the group to provide the answer to why are we doing this trip?
600nm from land
At night, between the clouds, the Milky Way stretches down to the waves. The southern cross tumbles slowly in place near the horizon, across the sky the Big Dipper disappears to the north.
Oh, The Places You’ll Go
I find myself making passage between exotic locations on Falken for the 5th time. Blessed with great friends and having been in the right place at the right time a couple times, I have come to deeply treasure this type of exploration and adventure.
Thai curry and whales!
Happy Birthday to Quinn!
Turtles, stars and lasagna
FALKEN is officially under way!
Between Passages
After some nice rest and time to explore the Galapagos, it's now time to welcome a new crew to FALKEN and start a new adventure!
Galapablog
You’d think this crew bonding is borne on the back of shared mild discomfort - life’s steadfast instructor. But we have all of the mod cons - showers 2 - 3 times a day*, ice in our drinks **, great food (without fail!).
Life of luxury
Today started with a Blue-Footed Booby on the bow amongst his Red-Footed, Nazca, and Brown Booby friends.
A Dark & Stormy Night
We were guided by the Southern Cross off the bow, and approximately 35 Brown Boobies who were hitching a ride.
Under Way!
AND WE WENT SWIMMING TODAY!
Lectures and food
Big thumbs up to the crew for listening to my voice for that long.
Playa Flamingo, Gyrocopter Style
I can’t say that taking a spin in a gyrocopter was on my 59° North bingo card.
We Did It!
We did it!! We have sailed across the North Atlantic and red pants can now legally be worn by the whole crew :)
Last Letter to My Mother…
Apprentice Anton's Final letter to his mother, in which the crew wonders whether a hot dog counts as a sandwich.
Random Thoughts at Sea
Randomish thoughts as we get closer to port.
How about we just keep sailing?!
Time is weird at sea. During the first few days of an extended ocean passage, it often feels as though you will never arrive at your destination.
Reflections from a Former Band Teacher
By Linda, Adrienne II Crew | Well “I woke up this morning” to a “zippity du dah kind of day.”
Dearest Mother…
By Apprentice Anton | A second "letter to his mother" from the high seas.
Many Colors of The Atlantic
By Crewmember Molly | A cold front overtakes Adrienne II, and the crew enjoy a wild night on the helm.
Party Time!
Sorry Anton, but the middle of the Atlantic is a million FEET deep. Nobody knows how many meters.
Finding My Sea Legs
By Crewmember Simon | "The prunes finally did what prunes do."
Counting Boobies
By Crewmember Nick | Is motoring across a calm sea boring? Not when there are boobies at the bow!
Boobies Escort FALKEN out of Cocos
By Crewmember Anne | FALKEN departs magical Cocos, with a fleet of boobie escorts.
Highs & Lows on ADRIENNE II
By Crewmember Knut | A racing sailor reflects on the cruising life in the Atlantic. And the seasickness is (finally!) gone.
A Cruising Guide Map to Isla del Cocos
Crewmember Amy Kardel's amazing map of Chatham Bay, as described by Captain Mary.
A Letter to My Mother
By Apprentice Anton | Whereby Anton laments the discovery of the ancient, and resilient, diesel bug.
Life on Starboard Tack
Will the upwind sailing never end?
Adventuring at Isla del Cocos
By Jakes {aka Johann) | The Ranger pays FALKEN a visit, and stamps passports with a unique design.
Jurassic Park Island!
FALKEN is anchored at Isla del Coco!
At Peace at Sea
Adjusting sails, loving the moments, and at peace with all. By Linda.
Smooth Seas at the Start
Moonlight, starlight and smooth surfing onboard FALKEN. Written by FALKEN Crewmember Andreea.
Notes from the Navigation Table
ADRIENNE II is bucking the tradewinds and making speed east.
Pre-Depature for Isla del Cocos
Captain Mary really digs the winds off Costa Rica.
The First 24 Hours at Sea
The crew gets their sea legs.
T-Minus 1 Day Til Departure
Almost time to go.
THE LAST 24
“Dolphin rave, dolphin rave, everybody come to the dolphin rave.”
CUTTER RIGS & CREW APPRECIATION
A challenging passage offers bigger rewards.
A CIRCUS OF ANIMAL ACTS
Manta rays & a new idea of the poop deck.
MAKING FRIENDS AT SEA
After four days at sea, the conversation takes a deeper turn.
SHARED EXPERIENCES
The passage is memorable for the people you share it with.
ENJOYING THE ROUTINE
Apparently there's orcas in the Pacific.
MANY FIRSTS ONBOARD FALKEN
“Mary looked like she came out of a war zone.”
MEXICO-COSTA RICA: T-MINUS 1 DAY & COUNTING
LFG to Costa Rica!
HOW'D WE END UP IN CABO?!
We're supposed to be in La Paz, what gives?
40+ KNOTS IN A BLACKOUT NIGHT
By the time one reef was in, it was basically time for a second, and before 1930 we had two reefs and a partially furled headsail.
DEEPWATER SWIMMING
Swimming in 10,000-ft deep water...yes please!
FLYING THE KITE + DOMESTIC CHORES
Each day we rotate through who cooks the meal (I was on chili duty tonight, my specialty), who cleans the heads (that’s done on whoever has the 1930-2230 watch.
BONUS SAILING
The wind filled in between 1100-1200 today, right on schedule with the GFS weather model, and by lunchtime we were sailing.
COASTING DOWN BAJA
Mary and I joked that this was probably the longest lead-up to a passage we’ve ever had - we arrived into San Diego on Saturday, January 10, deliberately a bit early as it’s the first trip of the year and we needed to recommission FALKEN after a 5-week layover.