By Thursday, April 10th, we began to approach the southeasterly trade winds, turning off the motor as Falken surged at 9.0 kts Speed Over Ground (SOG). We were finally sailing and there was a shift in the mood of the crew as the air temperature cooled, a welcome change from the oppressive heat.
That night got a little crazy during our 9 to 12 PM watch. There was a front of thunderheads and squalls on our course of 215 degrees Southwest. We monitored the storms on radar and Andy directed to change our course by 10 degrees to 200, then back to 225 to avoid those clouds with the most potential energy. At about 10:30 PM, it started to rain. First came light raindrops, then a downpour. It took us a couple of tries to find the right combinations of foul-weather gear that kept us dry while preventing overheating.
The only downside is that Jim has a cold and isn’t feeling well. We had to reorganize the watches to cover for him. This meant Ted shifted to Udo’s watch, and Scott and Kim were without Ted. We are now steering for 1.5 hours per watch instead of 1 hour.
Around 2:30 PM, Andy had the full mainsail and jib up. We were sailing along at 8 to 9 knots with 11 knots of wind; we were finally approaching the trades. I steered for an hour straight as the sun dipped below the horizon and the moon rose. It was the most amazing time at the helm that I had ever experienced to date. Course 245 with an apparent wind angle of 50 to 70 degrees. Just effortless.
Excerpt from Ships log: #6. FALKEN | GALAPAGOS TO MARQUESAS | SQUALLS
April 11| Squally 24 hrs.
The last 24 hours have been a relentless mission of opening and closing hatches as the heavy downpours synonymous with the tropics have kept us on our toes. Had anyone suggested a few days ago that I might find myself cold during this passage I would have laughed at the incredulous notion and yet the early hours of the 11th saw just that reality.
The crew have been steadfast in their resolve to keep Falken sailing and mostly in the direction of the Marquesas. As each squall set in, we saw the wind shift teasingly through every point of the compass and switch from almost nothing to strengths that required some positive sail reduction. Finally, it seems that the hatches can remain open as the rain has subsided and the below decks temperature has returned to some level of normality, albeit still oppressively humid.
Eric is currently on the helm (he says hi to his mum), Dennis has just replenished the teacups, and Hillary is completing the log as the daily tasks continue. The rest of the crew appear to be sleeping soundly as FALKEN glides graciously through the mighty Pacific waters. The success of a long passage relies on routine and teamwork, whatever the weather, and the team on Falken have fallen nicely into the rhythm of daily life at sea.
Emily | Mate on FALKEN
Messages
Chris McMillan, Wow so great you got the winds! Ask the Barbour about ‘No Energy (Glum) Vampires!’ – Moby
By April 11th we are about 650 NM into the voyage. Our shift from 12 to 3 AM was quite challenging as we sailed through a series of squalls. The most difficult was the rainstorm with no wind. Emily steered brilliantly in the low wind. Our 9:00 AM. to noon shift was just as eventful. We navigated through 26 knots of true wind while the boys trimmed the sails. It rained all day. During each of our shifts, it rained—rain with wind and rain without wind. By the end of the 9:00 PM shift, the wind had picked up, and the boat was flying at 215 degrees with a 50-degree apparent wind. We worked hard today. Andy had previously consulted a weather router that said we need to reach 8 to 10 degrees latitude south to avoid heavy weather. We are moving at an angle, so it is taking a lot longer.
At this moment we are sailing Falken downwind with two reefs in the main with a reefed Yankee poled to port in building winds and seas. Regularly averaging 12 knots over a 3-hour watch and hitting wild surfing speeds. Kim even hit a record speed burst for this passage, 16.2 knots!
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