unsullied

Today and tomorrow are short days, each less than twenty miles. We're in Port Elizabeth tonight. That's a somewhat pretentious name for a geographical feature that is completely without human influence. Okay, not completely. There is the odd abandoned crab pot.

This is the first time this trip that we're anchored in a place that I've never been to before.

The problem with this anchorage is that while there is plenty of room, most of it is too shallow or too deep. I located a place that looked promising on the chart, but when we motored through, it was much deeper than the chart said it would be.

When I look for anchoring spots, I can tolerate 7' to 60'. Generally shallow is better if it doesn't get too shallow when the tide goes out. We end up in water that's 20-40' most of the time.

So what should have been 40' turned out to be 65'. I decided to look for something else. If 40 is actually 65, what will 16' be? It turns out 36'. Sold.

So that's where we are. Floating in 36' of water where the chart says there should be 16'.

Will pulled the standup board out of storage and paddled around the islands next to us. Two miles by his count.