Exploring Champlain

No, We did not get eaten by Champ, the lake monster. We just have been having way too much fun. Here is the text version of our past ten days. Will post the Pics version tomorrow.

 Wed July 18 & Thurs July 19: Hanging on the mooring at night...sailing during the day & early evening...Very nice!

 Fri July 20: Moved to a reserved dock at Burlington Community Boathouse...right next to the dockside restaurant "Splash". Ready for the Owego crowd. Had "Dotty made" spiedies & Owego corn on the cob (best corn we've had this season, Mike).

Sat July 21: Biking adventure on shoreline bike trail. Amazing views! Grace & Paul made it to as far as they could go...20 miles...out on the causeway the trail was closed (washed out from last years flooding). American Flatbread Pizza & local beer to finish the night.

 Sun 7/22: Took the group sailing & then swimming in Shelburn Bay. Perfect sailing. Anchored for a swim. Dinner at Ice House. Definitely need to go there again.

Mon. 7/23: Bid goodbye to the Owego contingent. Went to do.laundry and got a call from the BoAthouse. "hey, why are you still in your slip? Big clusterf$&@k. "Sorry Mr D. We effed up, Can you move your boat? They did find another spot, but we found an open mooring instead in time for the next stormy light show. Most storms seem to miss us to the south, but Very vivid storms here when they hit.  Borrowed Colin's truck to grocery shop for our mini adventure. Colin has from noon on Tues till 3 on Fri off.

 Tues 7/24: Screaming sail from Burlington to Essex. Broad reach, 10-20 knots. 8 knot boat speed. 2-4 following sea, Hall of fame sail. NY. Very tight but protected overnight in Essex Shipyard as the wind howled all night. Just made it into a dock with help and only way out was 3 guys holding our bow as we backed out of the harbor. Very quaint town with old 1800's stone buildings. Outstanding meal at the Essex Inn.

 Wed 7/25: milled around & had lunch in town while giving the lake a chance to calm a bit and part motor & part sailed to a BIG protected anchorage at Valcour Island which is a NY park island. Looks very much like a Thousand Island only much bigger. 7 different anchorages to choose from depending on the weather all around the island. Everyone was huddled in 2 anchorages on west side prepared for coming weather. 43 boats anchored with us and room for more. Excellent holding. Got there in time to haul Grace up the mast to install the second ordered LED anchor bulb...this one works! Used Honda generator for first time.

Thurs 7/26: Big breakfast on the boat while we wait for the rain to stop and then explored some of the many trails and beaches. For those of you familiar...the beaches were what Leek Island beaches used to be. Soft sandy bottom with no zebra mussels. Also took a dingy trip around the island.

 Fri 7/27: Another fabulous sail back to Burlington but this time no moorings open so we spent an overnight anchored in the southwest corner of the harbor with 18 other boats. Very busy time here.

Sat 7/28: Snatched a mooring. Day of rest for us & back in Wi-Fi land so we could catch download pics & catch up on our Blogging.

Some Pics

 Avatar with mast down.  Just doesn't look right.

 Amusement park at Sylvan Beach.  A candidate for a photo essay if I ever saw one.

 Erie Canal

 Believe it or not this sign illuminates the canal in Ilion, frankly, a little eerie.  Non-cake eaters beware.

 Assume the position!

 Village of Little Falls

 Fort Edward Yacht Basin, and it's free!

F@#*ing steamboat festival.

 For those directionally challenged boaters.

 Champlain Canal

 So you're sure we'll make it under that bridge?

 Fort Edward Yacht Basin, did I mention it's free?

 Be sure you park next to a ladder.

 One more Fort Edward, obviously we were impressed.

 Hudson dredging project.

 Your tax dollars at work.

 Champlain Canal

 Chipman's Point Marina.  Had the mast stepped here.  Ain't it quaint?

 The new and improved Crown Point Bridge.

 Anchorage at Mile Bay, Vergennes.  Home to the Maritime Museum.

 Approaching Burlington.

 Colin hauling his taxi.

 Champlain sunset

 Early morning Lake Champlain sail.

After watching these nasty storms on radar all day one finally hit us.  40 knot gusts and impressive light show.

Burlington Bay

Sat. 7/14-Tues. 7/17:  Having discovered we have WiFi in the harbor we decided to do an update (Even Colin didn't know that apparently all of downtown Burlington is wired).
After our grueling journey and two days of boat cleaning inside and out (Mike, you may post an inspection when we meet up with you.), we have reverted to our usual sloth-like behavior.  Although several boat projects have been accomplished we have been lounging, reading, swimming, and sailing while hogging this mooring hook for almost a week.
Have been cooking on board for the most part (Went for apps and cocktails at the Icehouse, very tasty).
We see Colin in the evening, but he is busting his ass trying to get on top of things so that he can take off next Tues, Wed, and Thur.  Plan is to cruise the lake for a few days.

Lake Chamlain

Sun July 8: Adventure #1. Moved into Fort Edward Yacht Basin. "I wouldn't go in if it were me," said some of the lockmasters. Went down to 5'6" under the bridge but no problems. Very nice! And free dock, water, & power! Took the day off from traveling & Bill's cousin Steve & wife Kay joined us for the day. Then adventure #2: Took guests for boat ride & grounding practice in the Hudson Dredging Project. Took only couple of min. For work boat to pull us off. Beer & apps at Anvil Inn Fabulous! Mon July 9: last 5 locks & surprise #1: lock 12 Marina in Whitehall no longer steps masts...flooding last year eroded the base of his lift. So onward to Chipman's Point Marina who will step the mast tomorrow. Tues July 10: Worked all day. Stepped mast & rigged boat. All electrical working except new led mast light. Guess we'll have send Colin up the mast in Burlington. Wed July 11: Motored (This is a sailboat isn't it?) to Maritime Museum. Gorgeous anchorage. It's difficult to describe how beautiful the lake is here. Thur 7/12: Visited the museum. They have done a great job here. You really get a sense of the history and what life was like here. Motored (again) to Burlington. Colin and our nephew Derek visited. Colin stayed the night (Dad I can't wait to sleep on the boat.) Fri 7/13: Took Colin to work and started to wash the boat. I don't think I have ever seen a dirtier vessel. 93 degrees this afternoon. Dinner in town sounds like a good plan. We did not even have phone service for several days. We will try to ppst pics tomorrow.

Learning how to blog

The first 5days of our trip (with a few pics) were added to our first katlynn party post.then we realized that we were supposed to make a new post...not just edit the first.

Champlain canal

Thur. 7/5. Eight locks. Overnight in Amsterdam. The railroad is alive and well here. Trains every 20 minutes. Largest lock 40 foot drop.

Fri. 7/6. Seven locks. Stuck at lock 4 due to f$@&in steamboat festival in Waterford.

Sat. 7/7. One last Erie lock before Champlain Canal. Eight more locks. Overnight in Fort Edward. Would not lift bridge (clearance 15' 5") for our 15 foot radar. "just go slow" they said. It was very very close!

No wi-fi since Illion, so more pics to come later.