Around Lake Champalin

Rouses Point at the Northern Terminus 
and Back Around the Loop


Bob's View:

Courses:
Burton Island, VT to Rouses Point, NY
Rouses Point to Burlington, VT
Burlington to Willsboro Bay, NY
And another day at Willsboro Bay
Weather: wind driven chop but calm seas for the most part
Engine hours since leaving Maine 2 months ago: 207
Miles (S): 954

In the last 4 days we have cruised north to Canada and spent an interesting stop at Gaines Marina.  The marina is owned and being continually developed by a former Maine lobster-man.  The marina has it all: clean showers, a small but efficient store, propane, ethanol free gas, competent staff and well made new wide docks.  Having said that, the town offers very little else besides the marina.  Another marina just north of this one, Lighthouse Marina,  was destroyed last year in a storm and has been abandoned for that use.  I will allow PM to describe the laundromat and car wash we discovered (see below) and Rouses point did offer a decent place to get a cup of coffee, so all in all, a 6 out of 10, 2 points for the coffee and 4 points for the marina.  We could see Canada from our dock and while the bow was pointed north, VELOMER seemed to have a certain vigor.  We will visit again next spring and continue north in to the wilds of Quebec. In some ways we feel we are in Quebec since leaving Champlain Marina in Colchester, as about 90% of the boats and 100% of the radio traffic is Quebecois.

So far this trip north on Lake Champlain , we have had fantastic weather, and while crossing 3-4 foot seas does cause as much as a 30 degree roll in the bigger waves, most of our days are spent enjoying the green trees of the undeveloped lakeside hills, vistas that offer scenery identical to that as Benedict Arnold enjoyed 250 years ago, lunching on fresh veggies and creative sandwiches on the fly bridge while underway, walking ad riding bikes along well groomed paths (these in Vermont, New York has a bit of catching up to do)  and just breathing the clean clear air of this part of upper New York State and Vermont, however the air on the New York side is decidedly less aromatic with cow smells.

We returned to Burlington as we turned south on our way back to Maine.  An afternoon and  night there allowed restocking of fresh fruit and veggies at City Market again.  We are eating really well on this trip in terms of quality food, which surprised me a bit.  It seems that as we run low or out of critical foodstuffs like tea, coffee and chocolate (and OK, PM, salads, apples, and eggplant too), we always find a source for these essentials ashore.  Cooking on board, except for grilling, has been PM's area to exercise supreme skill in providing tasty meals.  This also has been a wonderful surprise for the captain as her attitude about cooking ashore was typically "get it done".

Some new friends we made at Champlain Marina  last week had called to ask if we would like to join them and some others at Willsboro Marina for a dinner out and anchor offshore.  This sounded like fun so we joined John and Kathy Scott in Burlington, where they had arrived early enough in the day to grab a mooring ball for us.  The next day we cruised slowly across the lake due west to Willsboro Bay.  This was the first time I had cruised with another boat and it was a treat not to have to pay such attention to the course and I  enjoyed watching the goings on over the water and drinking in the lush greenery of the surrounding hills to the fullest.  As much as I have become attached to Colorado, I do miss the greenery of New England.  After a few discussions regarding the wind and waves predicted for the night, we decided instead to stay at the marina so we could all get a good night's rest.  We dined at this really good place at the marina with Mike Sheehy and Sharon, Peter and Linda Brunell and John and Kathy.  With 8 of us at the table there was little quiet time, the ladies chatted about whatever woman discuss and we guys talked boats and traded sea stories. Well sea and air stories as John was a former fighter pilot.  He described for me a time he had a flame out in on a training flight at 15,00 feet while practicing a "zero G" maneuver, recovery was 200 foot over the minimum where a bailout was to be executed.  The pucker factor in that experience was intense.

Today, we had Mike and Sharon on board for a short venture up and back the bay.  Mike is considering a new boat, (his Carver 32 is under contract- yeah!!!) and a Monk has been one of the possibilities.  I suggested he and Sharon take a short ride with us to get a feel for the way the boat handles and feels underway.  Their current ( and soon to be former) boat is much more energetic but also much less fuel efficient.  He has been happy with 3 gallons an hour at trawler speed.  When I mentioned under a gallon an hour, I felt a tug on the line, I think he is hooked but it may take a bit more time on board VELOMER the perfect Monk 36 to really get that hook set well.  Mike may join us for the ride from Whitehall down the Champlain Canal to Waterford or even New York if he has the time.  That would really be fun for us to have another hand aboard at the locks but also to get to know Mike better.  Cruising with others aboard VELOMER does change the dynamic but is a treat for us as well.


Today PM is catching up with some office stuff while I walk around the marina and catch up on reading and writtting.  She always looks so happy when she does this.  It has been hard for her, I know, to change from boat handling mindset to office handling thinking.  Perhaps next season she will be able to enjoy the one she enjoys most.  By the way, the hotspot from AT&T we have on board has worked flawlessly to connect to the internet, even in areas where those around us get no signal for their cell phones.

I have mixed feelings about this turnaround point.   We have been away from friends, with the brief exception of Sam's visit over the 4th of July weekend, and family since we left Maine June 15, now 2 months ago.  Compared to the travel times of the Erie Canal era, this is brief but for us, used to 70 mile an hour highway speeds and internet downloads at 2 GIGs a second, the time we have been away on this adventure seems very long indeed. Our voyage has had its high points and only a few low points.  We enjoy the exploration of new waters and especially the realization we can handle what ever challenges this adventure sets out for us to discover. We have learned so much about American history, a little too much if PM were to be asked, and met some absolutely great people along the way.  I am feeling a bit saddened though as we turn around and make for Maine again.  This trip has been more than entertaining and an education, it has made us so much more appreciative of the time we have on planet earth and also given both of us a new appreciation for the other after 37 years of marriage.

VELOMER has behaved extremely well too and that and our new skills we have acquired negotiating locks and docks has been a boost of our confidence for the "loop trip" we depart on next year.  So we have turned south again, and the weather will be a bit warmer perhaps.  The days have been perfect, shorts and T-shirts everyday and an occasional need for a fleece in the morning or underway in the wind, and the nights just right for sleeping as we have cruised in Lake Champlain.  We have 12 locks to transit from Whitehall to Albany to get back to the upper tidal waters of the Hudson River.  While there is no lock #10 on the Champlain Canal, the Federal Lock at Troy has no number. But I am getting ahead of myself.  The prospect of seeing Anni and Trig, Erik and Phoebe and our close friends in the Portland area and getting to spend a little time with Phil and Bettina, Essie and Bob, and Sam and Susie in New York draws us a little harder every day.  We will surely have more adventures in the next four weeks, hopefully not as expensive as some we have had, and we will see new places and faces as we reverse our course to New England salt water.  We will discover if we recall how to use the GPS course plotter.

This life is sweet everyday and some days feature great coffee.


PM's Perspective:

I'm burnt out on reviewing appraisal jobs and will catch up next time.