Port Clinton to Rosslyn Bay

Wake me when it's over.

This morning we had coffee at 5:30am and motor sailed out through the Port Clinton bar shortly after.  The blue moon is setting on one side of the bay and the sun is rising on the other.  What a sight!

Soon we're sailing close hauled for Cape Manifold with the wind from the east and a knot of current against us.  From Cape Manifold we set our course due south for Rosslyn Bay which puts the wind on our beam.  Our boat speed is 7-8 knots in 15 knots of easterly wind.  A ketch loves to sail on a beam reach and it feels good.

It's all fun until the wind turns southerly.  Now we're heading for New Zealand.  Noooo!  At this rate it will be a late afternoon or perhaps an evening arrival at Rosslyn Bay.

We will spend a couple of nights at the Kepple Bay Marina.  We need to do laundry, dispose of trash, take on fuel and water, re-stock the food lockers. We will be busy.  Daisie needs a bath and she probably thinks we stink too for dragging her on this watery ride.  She'd like a nice patch of dirt right now.

It's a low low tide when we reach the marina.  It's a typically narrow entrance however there are few marinas we have entered wondering whether there is enough water under our keel.  One boat ahead of us turned back out exclaiming "it's shallow".  It's late afternoon, there's no wind.  We see 6 feet on our depth sounder at the entrance.  Our draft is almost 1.5m (5 feet) so we take it slowly knowing it's soft mud/sand on the bottom.  The other boat has followed us in, encouraged by our bravado and offering us up as a sacrifice.   In our slip on the blue dock we are resting on the bottom, 4.5 feet!  It makes tying up easy!  We're happy.  Robert goes to check us in and I go straight to the laundry and walk Daisie.  We have a busy day tomorrow.