Still playing a waiting game

Serafina
Rob & Sarah Bell
Thu 10 May 2012 11:55
28:30.01N 71:58.26W

Thursday 10th May

So far this promised low has slipped forward by 36 hours since originally
forecast - we would feel so much better if it was over and done with! The
grotty bit is likely to be midnight tonight, Thursday and then as they say,
it will be all plain sailing (well possibly even motoring again in our
case).

Yesterday afternoon we continued to slowly make our way south - wind didn't
fill in as much as promised but we weirdly had 2 knots of current pushing us
south. Rob had a very successful time balancing the sails perfectly so
that we could just lock the wheel and save the wear and tear on the
auto-helm. Then as we had a little more wind, Henry 'The Navigator' our
Hydrovane (wind steering for those out of the know) took over. But we had
a definitely a feeling of all dressed up and nowhere to go, especially since
we had taken down the bimini (cockpit sunshade) and experienced our first
fully cloudless day! In fact in the last 24 hours we have only achieved 15
miles on the log!!! And in the wrong direction - more annoying still as the
previous day, until it had been deemed prudent to go south we had been
looking like breaking all 24 hour records.

We also watched a Tropic Bird constantly circling us for an hour or so.
They are rather fairytale looking birds, with two very long curled tail
feathers - but as I might have mentioned before, really don't look the
business in the efficient flying department. But you can't fault them -
here they are 300 miles from land, and we have seen several. This bird was
definitely looking to land on Serafina, but was attempting to settle on our
wildly swinging mast head and eventually the intricacies of landing (and he
tried every direction) beat him and he set off again.

We continued sailing south through the evening and Rob kindly decided to
keep on this heading for my off watch so that I could stay in one berth,
rather than tacking, saving me finding that sleep was untenable and
requiring a bed hop to the other side of the saloon.

At the start of my 0300 hours watch we finally tacked and bore off to head
to the point we would like to intersect the incoming cold front. We
discovered that far from the log mis-reading (as we have been suspecting for
a while), we really did have 2 knots of current, but now against us.
Barely making 4 knots SOG despite often doing 6.5+ knots through the water
although we are carrying very little mainsail, but our cutter rig is doing
sterling work. Wonderful night though: its great being sans bimini with
the sort of starlit/moonlit nights we are having. And there is now enough
headroom for me to dance to my ipod on the cockpit bar - just so many
benefits! (Incidentally this is a horizontal bar at ankle height for
anybody with strange notions of pole dancing and/or a bar in the cockpit.)

Presently we are sailing at bit better speeds and everything is hunky dory.
There is this awful thing called time and weather and although we would
rather not be sailing into the low pressure system, if we are ever to reach
the Chesapeake before the next lot of weather systems peel off the coast at
Hatteras on Tuesday, needs must as the devil drives (is that the saying?),
we have to press on to cross the Gulf Stream on Saturday (perhaps....).
Probably no log tomorrow until the seas stop swilling around.

And many thanks to all our friends who are so kindly sending us emails - it
enlivens our day no end, and we WILL be replying just as soon as we reach
terra firma. Our sons could take notice!!?