To help us recover from a busy few weeks Rob and I moved onto Dusky Dolphin on Saturday and sailed to Rottnest, to one of our favourite bays, Porpoise Bay. The nice forecast was replaced with strong winds and seas from the northwest, giving us a grey, bumpy, difficult ride. But as we entered the bay all was peaceful and calm.

The first thing was a rest – me on the couch for a sleep and Rob in the cockpit for a quiet read. This included browsing through his log book. With the aid of a calculator he worked out:

    He has sailed 10,200 miles in Dusky Dolphin and our charter boat Blade Runner in Tassie;

    We have owned Dusky Dolphin for 2,400 days;

    In that time he has spent 530 days on board.

We were treated to one of most magic nights, sitting in the cockpit under the brilliant arc of the Milky Way. No swell so a beautiful sleep.

Friends (fellow sailors also moored in the bay) over for morning tea the next morning, lazy lunch, then a quiet motor sail back to the club over flat, sparkly seas.

Just what the doctor ordered (so to speak!).