Day 20 Saturday, July 12,2025

We woke at 5am. We baked the bridge tender a couple of t8mes, but got no response.

0549 Phil started the engine. We had already removed the lines and the marriage savers (headphone walkie talkies) were on. I pushed out the bow, while Phil was at the helm, then got the stern line and we were off. I did reach the bridge tender on Channel 06. The bridge went up at 0600 and we were through by 0602. It took us a while as we remembered our last time at a bridge and gave ourselves plenty of room. I put down the CB. It doesn’t take long to get out the channel into the lake. We had 1’ choppy waves and could see the full moon in the sky.

We passed the last red marker for the channel at 0616. BTW, Long .150° to COG 144° true heading 171°SOG 5.4 KTS, boat speed 5.2 KTS. TWS 9.2, TWA 4° we’re going up the waves DTW 16.3 2NM. For my non-sailing friends it means you’re going pretty much dead up wind. We have such a long day scheduled that we’re gonna mow into it because the wind’s not too high and it just the main so it’s not flapping too much.

Weather at 6:30 AM

Inside boat: temperature low 72.3° high 86.2° current 76.3° humidity low 56% high 89% current 87%

Outside: 73° cloudy dewpoint 71°, humidity 92%, winds S 8MPH,

6:55 AM TWS 8kts. It seems I didn’t get the main raised enough so we selected the main sale and was able to get it up far enough.

7:50 AM TWS 11.7 KTSTWA 37° white caps one to one and a half foot waves plus. We still had a while ago and given our early start the rain went down for a nap at 8:55 AM

When I woke up, Phil said look at the lighthouse and we were too close to the lighthouse given the sand bars off Long point. After discussion, Phil turned the boat 25° to port and after he saw the sandbar, he turned the boat even more to port. We had our center board down and we touch bottom a few times. Phil turned the boat more to port almost north until we were heading to deeper water. It doesn’t take long to be in deeper water. We were around the point and into 60+ feet of water. No damage done that we can tell.

0925 Twp 9 kts so we let out the head sail and turned off the engine at 0928. Boat speed was 5.9 kts versus SOG 5.2 on my iPad.by 0950 the wind was down to 4 kts with TWZ 85° boat speed 2.3 KTS so 0954. We rolled in the headsail and started the engine. By this time we were heading west along the south shore of Long Point.

We did get a chance to sail again. at 11:43TWS 10 to 11 KTS, TWA 99° and then the wind increased to 12 KTS. 1148. We let out the head sale and turned off the engine. SOG 5.7 KTS, COG268° BTW, 277° boat speed 6.2 KTS iPad speed 5.7 KTS. It is nice to have the engine off.

12:30 PM we had lunch of ham and turkey sandwiches had grapes and sweet cherries and pretzels. at 1:25 PM SOG 3.9 KTS. We have too far to go today to keep sailing. 1:27 PM engine on, 1:29 PM rolled up head sail, 1:30 PM increased RPMs of the engine. SOG 5.9 26KTS, waves have calmed down, TWS9.1 KTS, TWA 96°, AWD (apparent wind direction) 210° boat speed 6.4 KTS.

That’s when we started having the biting flies which were ferocious this time. Phil and I kept killing flies with the fly waters, but they kept biting us and it got so bad that we had to put towels to wrap around our legs. I would have a spot of red between my sandals on my foot and the flies kept going to that. Phil had a scab from a skin tear on his left upper arm, and the flies came to that and actually removed the whole scab. You got to be that we just left the flies on the gas can and the pee bucket and just tried to keep it off the rest of us. This continued until we got into Port Stanley. I had put the screens in the companionway door and closed up the companion way hatch to keep as many flies out from down below as possible for the cats and for us later, even when we got close to land in the channel and at dock, there were still biting at us. When you’re at the helm or doing something else, you can’t keep the towels wrapped around your legs, so I told Phil to keep stamping his legs to keep the flies off of them as they were attacking him ferociously. As I’m writing this posts, that 6 hours of biting flies. Truly something we don’t want to live through again. We heard that putting wet towels around your legs help.

6:39 PM we lowered the main outside of the harbor as the water was glassy and we knew we wouldn’t be able to maneuver enough once we entered the channel. I went to raise the centerboard and the first 3/4 or more of the distance it had to go was like nothing. It just came came up like the line was slack and usually I have to really put my whole body into it with the winch we have. I did feel some resistance at the end so I hope everything is OK with the centerboard. Any Sailor out there that have this kind of experience that can give us their opinion? We made it through the 7 PM bridge with no difficulty and docked at 7:08 PM with the engine off 7:10 PM. Diane and Tony Lesick and Dick Foster were there to greet us and help us dock. We were on the far side of the main dock with the third slip in so had to 360 degree turn to right which is thankfully the better way for this boat to turn.

After the boat was put to bed, we came ashore and met Siegfried and Denise Horn (Saber 38) and Bonnie Benson (Tartan 30 SV Red Dog who has done well in races), both from Ashtabula Yacht Club who has been staying in a B&B close by. they were talking to other club members under the covered deck.

Distance: 121.0 nm (from 2 legs) Trip hours: 48.47

We had warmed up chicken thighs, vegetables, small potatoes in the microwave at the clubhouse. We talked with everybody for a while, but then went back to the boat as we were retired from our long day.