Bit of rope in the bay (5)
I believe the answer is:
bight
This clue is a double definition.
'bit of rope' is the first definition.
(bight can mean a loop of rope)
'the bay' is the second definition.
(bight is a kind of bay)
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for bight that I've seen before include "loop of rope?" , "Bay, sounds like a morsel of food" , "Large broad bay -- middle part of a slack rope" , "Coastline curve forming a bay" , "bend in river" .)