Rock and Roll towards Sardinia

This is the third day now and we are rocking and rolling. Crash, bang, wallow, wallup, roll. Get the plastic container ready to put in the locker. Put it down because two hands are needed to get to the locker beneath the cushion. Realise the container is scooting across the boat. Put half open locker lid to one side. Chase container. Put in locker. Wonder where locker lid has gone. Find it. Close locker. Phew - there's another major task completed.

I had to pause this posting to stagger up on deck and watch a pod of eight or so dolphins playing in our bow wave. Sparkly blue sea, sunshine, white wave crests and dolphins having fun for us.

We have one more night on the water and tomorrow morning with luck we will fetch up on the NE coast of Sardinia near Olbia where J and M fly from on Wednesday morning. They have been great and Marcus is fine today even though we are being bounced all over the place. They have been planning their new life in S America this morning.

Yesterday morning the sea was steely grey and dead flat, like a stick being dragged through a bowl of mercury. Today it was an angry, confused mess when I came up on deck. Genoa up, then down trying to find a comfortable accompaniament to the ever present drone of the engine. We have struggled to run downwind for the last couple of days which does not bode well for the Atlantic.

We are all ready for landfall now. It's like a mini Trans-At with a start, a middle and a finsh with different moods to match. We just want to get there ahead of the strong headwinds that are forecast for tonight.

EDIT from Olbia:
It was another bouncy night. Here in Olbia I changed the fuel filter, previously done only two weeks ago. This is why you need filters to catch the gunge. Horrid.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com