SVJoli: Buggy Sail from Sandusky, OH to Port Colborne, ON

7/3/19 - I got up at 5:30 am to get groceries and was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise. There was also a nice breeze, so I was pretty excited for our first long passage, from Sandusky to Port Colborne. We were so happy we were able to stay at our old dock at SYC for a couple days since Doug and Pam on Bleu Lagoon had left for a long cruise up to Lake Huron. Our friends Denny & Ellie from Sans Souci and Frank & Billye arrived around nine with lots of provisions for the trip. We were off the dock by 10:45 and after a stop at Cedar Point Marina for fuel and holding tank pump-out, we hit Lake Erie and had a nice half-hour sail before the wind died. We started the engine and motor-sailed the rest of the way. Unfortunately, the bugs (biting flies, sweat bees and small muffleheads) descended when the wind died and they tormented us the rest of the trip. Denny and Bryan did the bucket brigade to try and keep the bugs from piling up on the deck, but by the time we arrived in Port Colborne at around 4 pm on Thursday, the dead bugs were everywhere. After showers for all, we had dinner at Don Cherry's, the restaurant right at Sugarloaf Marina. The whole crew was tired after the 30-hour passage, so it was early to bed for all of us.