#13. FALKEN | Ensenada to San Diego | Sail Training!
November 18, 2025 | Pos. 32°55.7N 117°50.2W local time: 16:00
Yesterday we left Ensenada at around 08:30 in the morning. It was sunny and you could barely feel any wind in your face. We went through the process of hoisting sails and straight away we dived into reefing drills followed by tacking. After 6 reefs and 12 tacks, we decided to settle into the watch system and embrace the night.
We knew from the forecast that we were expecting a front to come through at around 8pm local time so we set the boat up in anticipation of the weather. At 19:55 in came the wind shift followed by heavy rain and 30 knots gusts. It was exhilarating!
The night was then followed by isolated squalls that would hit you with strong gusts followed by light winds. So not an easy night sailing but one to be proud of. Unfortunately we did have the green monster make an appearance and debilitating a couple of the watches but everyone powered through and no one missed a watch.
With sunrise the wind decided to die off completely and we went onto our drill for the day: what to do if you loose the rudder or steering cables. We tried different methods and deployed our drogue as an additional steering option. It was a great success and a valuable learning experience!
We followed that up with a couple of theory lessons and gave the crew some time off. It was clear that we’re training hard as it was just myself, Adam and Delaney left on deck as everyone disappeared for a nap.
Now we’re cooking a mushroom risotto before we get into our watch system for the night, wind is fluky but we’re luckily still moving, so if you wonder where are we going on the tracker: where the wind takes us.
Lots of love
Alex | FALKEN Skipper
