2025-12 | FALKEN | San Francisco-Ensenada, Mexico
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?
The best boats
Professional, well-paid staff
knowledge & community
Why it costs what it costs...
"I can’t say enough good things about the camp, August, and ISBJØRN. The format is perfect for someone like me—I’ve done some sailing, but not enough to feel comfortable on a passage. August is an amazing teacher and so patient! I learned an incredible amount and feel ready to take on a passage with 59º North."
"Before 59º North I didn't know my bowsprit from my binnacle and suffered from low sailing esteem. After two weeks of 59º North, what a difference! As a longtime podcast listener, I arrived for my Bermuda to Horta transatlantic with high expectations, and they were all not just met but exceeded. I could not imagine a skipper and mate more professional and enthusiastic than Andy and Emma."
"Andy & Paul were amazing from the practice sails to the race itself; I never thought I'd be able to participate in such an exciting event. I'd also like to thank Liz & Lee, your first mates, who were always on hand to encourage us, teach us, and swap stories. I came away with tremendous respect for ISBJØRN, her captain, and the excellent crew she attracts. I'm definitely coming back."
"I'm AKA Andy’s Dad, so my opinion of the skipper may be slanted a bit. I admit to being wrong on my initial reaction to FALKEN—at first sight she seemed like a hard-to-handle race boat, but she is easy to handle and shrinks once you get used to her. The refit work done below is flawless, with comfortable bunks, a spacious galley, and plenty of storage. A trip with 59º North on any of their boats is truly a life-changing experience. Highly recommended!"
"Our voyage was interesting because both ISBJØRN (which I was on) and ICEBEAR traveled the same route at roughly the same time. We had Matt Rutherford as our captain and Ben Doerr as first mate, and they were both chill, fun, and always happy to answer questions and provide advice. I feel I got the experience I need with the ocean and Gulf Stream to pilot my own boat from Florida to Bermuda in the future, which was exactly my goal. If you are looking for blue water sailing experience and a fun adventure, I highly recommend that you sign up with 59º North."
"It was such an experience! Meeting all the people and being part of the crew is something very special. We were so lucky to spend the passage on FALKEN; the nature and weather gave us the best, and I really wish it could have lasted longer."
"If you are thinking about reefing—reef! The same logic applies to sailing with Andy and Mia: if you are thinking about sailing with them, stop thinking and GO! Andy and Mia are great sailors, leaders, teachers, cooks, and warm, intelligent, accepting people. No matter how many blue water miles you have under your keel, you will be a better sailor after your trip on ISBJØRN."
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!!