2023-8 | FALKEN | Annapolis-Lunenburg
The Passage
Rough itinerary
All 59º North passages are very much subject to weather. We pick our routes based on the "correct" time of year to be sailing in the different regions we visit, and we always build-in enough time to give us some margin for weather windows. The skipper has final say on departure dates and weather windows, but generally speaking, the intinerary for this passage will look like this:
July 1, 2023
Crew arrive to FALKEN at in Annapolis, United States. FALKEN orientation followed by crew dinner. All crew stay onboard FALKEN.
Prep Days
Between the joining and departure dates, all pre-passage preparation, provisioning, and safety briefings will be completed. The specific pre-departure schedule will be outlined and posted onboard FALKEN by the skipper.
July 3, 2023
Scheduled departure, weather dependent.
July 9, 2023
Latest date (12:00 noon) for crew to depart FALKEN from Lunenburg, Canada.
TRAVEL LOGISTICS
Annapolis
Annapolis has marked the finish of eleven recorded passages for 59º North, from our first landfall in 2015 through the most recent in 2023. Isbjørn made the earliest of these arrivals after a run down from Lunenburg, and in the years since both Icebear and Falken have completed the Bermuda-to-Annapolis leg here, alongside coastal cruises down from Newport.
Set at the mouth of the Severn River where it meets the Chesapeake Bay, Annapolis is one of America's great sailing towns and the capital of Maryland. Its compact colonial core rolls down brick streets toward a working harbor still shaped by watermen, skipjacks, and a restless fleet of racing and cruising boats. The city grew as a colonial port and briefly served as the young nation's capital, and its waterfront remains dominated by the United States Naval Academy, whose seawall, chapel dome, and training vessels define the view from the water. The Chesapeake itself offers a vast cruising ground of shallow tributaries, marshy creeks, and countless quiet anchorages behind low, wooded shores.
Crew with a day or two ashore can wander the eighteenth-century streets around the State House, watch the tide of sailboats crowding Ego Alley in the inner harbor, and explore the maritime collections that trace the bay's oystering and boatbuilding heritage. A short trip out onto the Chesapeake reveals the low, sandy islands and lighthouses that give this estuary its distinctive, sheltered character.
Airport Info
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) is the nearest major airport, about 50 minutes drive away. Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is another option, around 1 hour drive.
Lunenburg
Lunenburg has been a familiar landfall for 59º North, marking the completion of five of our recorded passages here between 2015 and 2023. Isbjørn made this her destination three times, including a run from Annapolis in 2015 and a longer North Atlantic route via St. John's and St. Pierre in 2016, before Icebear closed a passage here in 2019 and Falken followed in 2023.
Set on Nova Scotia's South Shore, Lunenburg is one of the best-preserved planned British colonial settlements in North America, its brightly painted waterfront and grid of steep streets earning UNESCO World Heritage status in 1995. Since the mid-18th century the town lived by the sea, first through the Grand Banks fishery and then as a renowned shipbuilding center. It was here, in 1921, that the legendary racing schooner Bluenose slid down the ways, a vessel so celebrated it still graces the Canadian dime. The working harbor retains its authentic character, with wharves, boat sheds, and traditional wooden vessels alongside a still-active waterfront.
Crew with a day or two ashore can tour the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, housed in a former fish-processing plant, where historic schooners and dories line the docks. The reproduction Bluenose II is often berthed nearby, and the Big Boat Shed offers a glimpse into the craft that built her. Wandering the colorful old town rewards anyone drawn to maritime heritage and classic sail.
Airport Info
Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ) is the closest major airport, located about 2 hour drive to Lunenburg.
Weather conditions
Expect a mostly pleasant offshore passage with mild, comfortable temperatures and generally settled conditions, though you'll likely catch a few livelier stretches as you work north and east—nothing the boat can't handle, just enough to keep things interesting.
In-depth analysis, by WRI
WHY 59º NORTH?
ambitious sailing schedule
We sail upwards of 20,000 miles per year in all oceans of the world, and in over 200 passages, we've only been late by one day, one time! We've been able to accomplish this by properly planning our trips with enough time for weather windows, and allowing a few days in port between trips for staff to recover, re-provision and complete routine maintenance (most charter companies allow only a single day turnaround, which is insane!).
Every 4-5 trips we build in a 'fuse', where we have a 2-3 week maintenance period allowing us to take care of the boats in normal circumstances, or give a buffer should we get delayed by unforeseen circumstances prior to this break.
The best boats
We take pride in the maintenance of all of our boats, and hold ourselves to extremely high standards. We buy sails that will last for tens of thousands of miles, while holding their shape (unlike standard dacron); we carry lithium battery banks with high-output alternators so there's less time running the engine to charge at sea and killing the vibe; we carry enough sails to sail the boat to the conditons, whether that's heavy weather or light weather, to give you the full experience.
WOMEN BUNKS GUARANTEED
As a woman sailor, you will never be alone on a 59º North passage. We guarantee at least two women on every passage, and save those bunks before they sell out. If they don't sell, they're given away to women apprentices - yes, we put our money where our mouth is.
In fact, we rarely ever have to. 59º North passages have always been 'mixed' - not only by gender, but also by age, nationality, background, you name it. Back around 2022, we had a few prospective crew wondering if they'd be the only woman onboard. As that had almost never been the case, we decided there and then to guarantee it.
Our staff are also mixed gender as often as is logistically possible, and several times per year, on both boats, we run All-Women's passages, staffed and crewed entirely by female sailors to help further empower an often overlooked demographic at sea.
Professional, well-paid staff
Adventure sailing is the highest calling for most aspiring skippers who truly want to sail. Unlike superyachts, who spend most of their time in port, we spend most of our time at sea, and the real sailors who want to work in that envrionment are attracted to it.
Sadly, the industry-standard pay is extremely low, and offers little in the way of a safety net, or provisions for having family back home. We want to change that.
All of our professional staff are paid well above industry rates, and we sail on rotations of usually 6-week stints, so those of us with families and small kids ashore can be present as parents and partners while still living our dreams.
The truth is, most of us would do this job for free, and that's part of the "supply & demand" that sets the salary rates in our industry.
But at 59º North we value people above all else, and that starts with our staff, many of whom have been with us for years and will be familiar faces to those who return to sail with us again and again.
knowledge & community
When you sign-on to sail with us, your journey to ocean sailing starts the minute you click "Submit" on your signup form when we start the preparation process with you to go to sea. That includes:
- Extended FREE trial in our Quarterdeck seam'nship community & knowledge-base.
- Series of 3 newsletters leading up to your passage, including specific packing lists, gear discounts with our partners (including 25% off everything at Helly Hansen).
- 1-1 comms with Andy, Mia & August and our skippers if you have any questions before your trip.
Once you join the boat, you'll see why people sail with us again and again. But your experience doesn't end when the passage is over. You'll get:
- Exclusive earned patches for different milestones you've earned with us at sea.
- Sea-service letter/signed logbook if you're looking to earn miles towards a license.
- A final newseletter with photos and other useful information, including a copy of the handwritten logbook you kept while on the boat.
Why it costs what it costs...
Imagine you’re craving a burger.
On the same street, there are two restaurants. Both serve burgers. One is mass-produced to be fast & cheap. The other is made with carefully sourced ingredients by people who genuinely care about making a great burger (even great veggie burgers!). The bun is baked that morning. The onions are pickled in-house. The beef comes from a local farm. Every little detail is curated & intentional.
On paper, both have pretty much the same ingredients: a bun, a patty, cheese, onions, pickles and some sauce. They’re both burgers.
But nobody would argue that they taste the same or provide the same experience.
Offshore sailing is, weirdly, similar. You get out what you put in, and we put in a lot of effort to cross oceans in safety, in style, on-time and with passion.
At 59º North we obsess over and invest in the details: experienced career skippers, beautifully maintained boats & meticulous preparation, small crews, "teachable moments" and a culture of camaraderie.
Those choices cost more.
We know they’re worth it.
The end result of our "burger" is that it'll be the best-tasting burger you've ever had, literally life changing. Yes, you'll cross oceans, but the overall experience is what you'll remember for years to come, and what you'll want to return again and again for.
That's one tasty burger.
Hold Fast,
Andy | Skipper & Co-Founder
THE BOAT


Farr 65
'
FALKEN
'
🇬🇧
FALKEN is ideally set up for long-distance offshore sailing. We fully rebuilt the boat in 2022 to our exacting specifications and with the help of legendary yacht designer Bob Perry. She's comfortable belowdecks and each crew has their own dedicated sea berth & gear locker. On deck she has a huge cockpit which easily seats 10 people for our daily meals offshore, and allows for plenty of room to move about when handling lines and trimming sails. She's also easy to maintain, fast and fun to sail! FALKEN sails with 8 crew plus a Skipper & Mate and the occasional apprentice.











