$5,000 // 7 Days

Synopsis

Join Nikki for an intensive week of sail and systems training in her home waters! 

This will be Falken’s official maiden voyage. Falken is 59º North’s new flagship: a Farr Millennium 65. She will be fresh out of her extensive 12 month refit and you will be her first paying crew to experience sailing her offshore! 

For anyone interested in buying a new boat, or refitting an old one, this will be an invaluable learning opportunity to see how the professionals handle commissioning. Nikki, Adam and you (!) will be using this voyage to put Falken’s brand new systems, sails, steering gear - and the rest - to the test. 

The plan is… as much as possible. Expect (weather permitting): sailing at ALL POINTS OF SAIL, SPINNAKER WORK, HELMSMANSHIP, HEAVY WEATHER SET-UP, and MAN OVERBOARD RECOVERY TRAINING. It’s winter, so it will likely be windy and definitely be COLD. But don’t worry, one of the refit items is installing heat, so it’ll be cozy at night!

We’ll join the boat in Portsmouth and set out from there. We’ll have a potential stopover in France or the Channel Islands (weather permitting) before finishing the passage either back in Portsmouth, or somewhere else along the south coast of the UK, depending on weather conditions and what we need to evaluate in the shakedown. Regardless, wherever we end up will be an easy train journey back to one of the major UK airports, so for travel purposes, it’ll be a round-trip flight.

Note:

We now reserve two spots for women on all of our passages! Learn more here.

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The Shakedown Area

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Expected Weather Pattern

Early spring in the English Channel will be challenging sailing with cold, wet conditions and heavy-weather sailing expected as the low pressure systems roll in over the North Atlantic. In short, the perfect conditions for FALKEN’S first sea trial with crew!

You’ll get detailed instructions in the packing list but be sure to bring a sleeping bag and good wet weather gear. 

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Tentative Itinerary

• Feb 14:  Join the boat in Portsmouth, UK at 17:00. Dinner with the group either ashore or onboard.

• Feb 15:  All-day safety briefing & boat orientation

• Feb 16:  Departure! (weather permitting)

• Feb 16-20: We will probably do a couple of overnight sails - either along the coast and back, or to France and back over the English Channel. We’ll adapt the program to get some solid offshore sailing in, combined with anchoring out a few nights to evaluate the boat’s systems!

• Feb 21:  Disembark the boat on the south coast of the UK by 12:00 Noon. We’ll make sure to finish the trip somewhere with good train connections to the major London airports.

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Travel Logistics

• Fly into Gatwick or Heathrow and get the train to Portsmouth!

• Fly back out of the same airport - we’ll get you somewhere within a train ride.

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How to Join

To register, complete the Offshore Passage Registration by clicking the 'Sign Up' button above, or at the bottom of the page. You'll be asked to complete the form - make sure you hit submit. Indicate '2023: FALKEN Crew Sea Trial' as your preferred passage. 

Once we receive your registration, you'll be sent an invoice for 50% of the balance, due immediately. The final 50% of the balance will be due 60 days prior to the passage date. Terms and conditions are in the registration form, and you'll be asked to agree to them before submitting your deposit. Please read them carefully.

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