2024-8 | FALKEN | Bermuda-Azores

The sky cleared just before darkness fell and the crew had a final night to steer by the stars. Falken slipped along silently on an inky ocean and we slowly caught up with the last few boats of the ARC Europe who had left Bermuda four days before us.

We have had some fabulous nights on this crossing, allowing us to see the milky way in great detail. Along with many nebulae, star clusters, galaxies (all visible by naked eye), and of course, thousands of satellites, which make the sky feel strangely futuristic compared to the skies of my childhood. FALKEN, gliding effortlessly from one continent to another, under a hyper modern space age night sky, using “millennium” old technology. Seems to me like we are exactly at the right place at the right time.

Chris informed us that we will sail past Horta then tack to see if the wind will be more favorable on a starboard tack once the wind shifts. We undid the reefs to the Yankee and reef two in the main averaging 7.7 speed over ground for most of the morning. Dolphins, whales, and a nearby sailing vessel provided entertainment for the crew.

In another department, there has been a strong desire to see wildlife, and so far we have seen dolphins on multiple occasions, birds regularly, electric dolphins once (dolphins in bioluminescent algae). But yesterday definitely stood out as we were visited by a small group of whales just before sunset. A humbling few minutes, observing each other, before they disappeared again in the distance.

FALKEN has maintained a steady pace of 8.6 speed over ground the last sixteen hours as we sail through to 1157 nautical miles. It has been bittersweet with completing the halfway mark to Horta yesterday. The crew had a celebration thanks to Manot for making ice cream for dessert.

We are sailing on the edge of a high pressure system. On my morning watch we shook all reefs and hoisted the Staysail. Beam reaching under full Mainsail, Yankee and Staysail Falken was cruising along at 9, 10 sometimes 11 knots. In the late afternoon the wind veered to a SWester Force 4 to 5 and we dropped the Staysail, eased the sheets and continued on a broad reach.

With 223 nm sailed in the last 24 hours, sailing has been fun and exciting. FALKEN is powered up nicely, and the crew are doing an amazing job helming, keeping her as if she were sailing on rails. Sailors often have their ways to mimic that sensation of the boat flying through the waves, underlined by their eyes brightening up in excitement. I am sure that these days spent together on FALKEN will be referred to under those terms more than once.

FALKEN is cruising right along at 8-9 knots and completing 484 nautical miles within the first three days of our voyage. The last twenty four hours have been tough with moderate sea state and wind speeds, but the crew has been in high spirits since the change in weather. The moderate winds have given us the opportunity to put up the staysail and Yankee along with a reefed main.

Before we left Bermuda we studied the weather and went through all the possible routing options. In the end, with all weather models predicting Northerly winds for the last three days of our trip, we decided to take the Northern route. This is adding some extra miles, but hopefully we will be in a better position for the predicted Northerlies.

A little under 24 hours ago, we slipped the lines from the fuel dock in St George, Bermuda. The excitement amongst the crew was palpable, and it didn’t take much to get a departure picture filled with bright smiles.

The crew is wrapping up their final moments in St. George’s Bermuda. This has been my first time traveling outside of America. My time here has been overwhelmingly positive from the 59 North Crew to the locals here on Bermuda.