2025-12 | FALKEN | San Francisco-Ensenada, Mexico
(Note that we offer a % discount if you pay by cash/bank transfer.)
59º North’s first stint on the west coast of the USA! We’ll start in iconic San Francisco with a day of weather, safety & boat briefings. Then it’s out through the famous Golden Gate and offshore to Mexico, some 500+ miles south. Expect to learn all aspects of ocean sailing on this passage and get the real deal in the Pacific.
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:
November 1, 2025
Crew arrive to FALKEN at 1300 in San Francisco, 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.
November 3, 2025
Scheduled departure, weather dependent.
November 8, 2025
Latest date (12:00 noon) for crew to depart FALKEN from Ensenada, Mexico.
TRAVEL LOGISTICS
San Francisco
Ensenada
Weather conditions
Expect a brisk, lively passage with cool offshore breezes filling in from astern, the seas building as you head south—settled overall, but pack your foulies, because it'll feel fresh and salty until you reach Mexico's warmer embrace.
In-depth analysis, by WRI
WHY 59º NORTH?
ambitious sailing schedule
The best boats
WOMEN BUNKS GUARANTEED
Professional, well-paid staff
knowledge & community
Why it costs what it costs...
"There are so few opportunities in our lives, unless we seek them out, for adventure, exploration, and personal challenge. Doing hard things results in personal satisfaction and makes life meaningful. If people don't understand that and want more creature comforts than 59º North trips offer, then they're not the right people for you. Keep doing what you're doing and there will be plenty of crew who share your values wishing to join you."
"I have been sailing for 60 years, mostly as an inshore one-design racer, and had never had the right boat, expertise, or opportunity to go far offshore. The Annapolis to Bermuda passage on ICEBEAR far exceeded my expectations—the skipper and mate were very knowledgeable, and ICEBEAR is a solid, sea-kindly vessel that is surprisingly fast in light air. Our crew of seven strangers became a cohesive, friendly, and competent group, and I’m grateful I got to put into practice the celestial navigation knowledge I gained from Andy and Mia’s 2020 seminar. I hope to make another passage with 59º North in the future."
"This trip across the North Sea from Bergen (Norway) to Oban (Scotland) was awesome! It offered hands-on learning about navigation, lots of sail handling, and a wide range of weather, wind (up to 35 knots!), and sailing conditions. Jon Amtrup is a highly experienced skipper—and he helped me fill in the gaps!"
"The experience was more than I hoped for in every way. I felt completely at home on the open water in our mighty vessel and with a wonderful crew that quickly became family. All of the staff at 59º North were kind, professional, fun, knowledgeable, and friendly. I will be back!"
"Huge thank you to the 59º North Team, especially Captain Emily and First Mate Mia, for taking me and our crew safely across the Atlantic Ocean. A daunting dream turned into an amazing reality under the expert supervision of a skilled and experienced team, on the beautiful, fast, and well-equipped boat, FALKEN. I feel very grateful to have met and worked with the wonderful, international crew aboard. I learned so much and I'll be back for more!"
"I have so many great memories from this sailing experience, and so much of that was because of our skipper, Mary, and first mate, Delaney. Mary was incredible: approachable, present, knowledgeable, and always calm, with a quiet confidence that made everyone feel safe and comfortable. She frequently studied the GRIB files and always considered the best course of action to keep her crew happy and safe. She kept us informed each day with clear explanations of passage changes and weather. She never wavered in providing gentle reminders about safety on board. It never once crossed my mind that we were not in good hands. Delaney was equally wonderful. She and Mary were perfectly in sync as leaders, communicating calmly, respectfully, and often with great humor. Delaney was always smiling, quick to laugh, and showed clear respect for Mary’s decision-making while bringing her own steady presence to the crew. Virginia, our intern, and I spent less time together due to our shifts. However, in the few interactions we had, we shared some amazing life perspectives that I will always remember. Together, they created the full offshore sailing experience I hoped for: a combination of education, safety, leadership, and kindness. The only problem is that they have now set a very high bar for future sailing experiences. When I reflect back on the passage, I have no ‘glums’ at all."
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.
packing lists & notes
mexico!
By Alex. FALKEN Skipper | As I’m writing this we are finishing cleaning FALKEN. This morning we arrived into Mexico in between the fog in what looked for a while exactly like our arrival into British Columbia. We managed to sail most of the night despite the forecast predicting we would lose all wind by 1am.
Sunshirts on!
By Kristen R. FALKEN Crew | 4 days in and I just took my foulies off for the first time. Coming from the PNW, I thought this passage would be much colder and wetter so the sun shirts, (whooo!) are a welcome reprieve. The flip side of sunshirts is that their need suggests we are getting closer to Mexico and our destination port of Ensenada.
Dolphins & Calm Sea
By Margaret H., FALKEN Crew | The seas have calmed down a lot from last night, giving us a much more comfortable ride as we head east on a starboard tack. A couple hours ago we encountered a pod of 20-25 dolphins leaping from the sea at right angles to us; they passed under the keel and went off towards the open ocean.
sunrise
By Alex, FALKEN Skipper | Yesterday we slipped our lines from St. Francis Yacht Club (thank you Jason for hosting us) and we squeezed past the sandbar of the entrance, hoisted our main and slowly glided with the tide under Golden Gate Bridge. What a view!!