Montreal into Lake Champlain to Fort Ticonderoga, NY. Sept 2 to 18, 2019

On Monday, Labor Day, the forecast was for rain a good part of the day with clearing in the evening.  Although this was Labor Day and a holiday in Canada too, we concluded this was a good day for travelling down the St. Lawrence to the Richelieu River to begin our trip South.  We left in a light rain and it continued for a good part of the day.  But we were making very good time with the river current at our stern and we were quickly to Sorel and the entrance to the Richelieu.  Our target for the night St Ours is only three miles from where we are on the St Lawrence in the photo below but 30 some miles by water!

In the photo above, our boat is on the left and the sailboat icons on the right are our destination.  We had to go quite a ways north on the St Lawrence to head back South on the Richelieu. Also note our SOG (speed over ground) of 13.2 MPH.  We were picking up 3 MPH due to the St Lawrence current behind us.
We went about 12 miles upstream on the Richelieu to the St. Ours lock.  Along the way we encountered a few of the so called Quebec Navy.  Here are a number of them coming at us and believe me they do not slow down.  

But our boat is heavy and with a little steering into the wakes it really is not an issue.  

We spent the night on the lock wall.  We took a nice walk around the lock and dam area and even tried our luck at the underwater viewing station built into the wall of the fish ladder area of the dam.  No luck seeing any... 

Tuesday we departed for the Chambley locks to hit the 1:30 lockage time.  They only do two lockages per day after Labor Day.  Upon arrival we checked in with the lockmaster and asked if there would be room to tie up for the night above lock 3.  We wanted to stay here to visit the fort on site and there was also power on the lock wall.  She explained that due to the reduced staffing and only 2 lockages per day this was not available.  They do not want a boat “stuck” in the system.  At this time of year, once you start the 15 mile 9 lock system, there is no stopping. Let us explain a bit.  You line up on the blue line wall to show you want to lock through.  Once enough boats are there to fill the locks, all other boats must wait for the next available lockage, which might be the next day.  And these locks are small, two boats our size would fill it.  So, we considered ourselves fortunate to lock through alone at 1:30 but this meant we had to do all 9 locks and would not finish till after 5 PM.  A bit of a difference from the 2:15 or so it would have been had we stayed at lock three as planned.  Going up in locks handling our 50,000 pound boat is a challenge.  In fact, as lockmasters offer help many of them just try to "manhandle" the lines without cleating it off and thus get a severe challenge.  Many of them do not believe us when we tell them what the boat weighs.  Oh well, it was a beautiful day and there was space to stay above lock 9 as well. 

The Chambley is quite narrow.

The natural Richelieu River running parallel to the canal we are in.

Lock number 9, the last of the day.

Forecasted weather came true and thunderstorms and 25 MPH winds occurred on Wednesday.  

So it was a good day to do a little engine room maintenance, cleaning and organizing and prepare for our entry back into the US on Thursday.  As we were planning, we learned that Fort Lennox which we planned to visit, was closed for renovation until 2021.  It appears it also closed on Tuesday….I guess that is the price we are paying for spending so much time in northern Canada.  We were able to get in some grocery shopping and spent the rest of our Canadian currency at the local craft brew house just across the street from our boat.

Thursday we moved on and planned to anchor in Pelots Bay on North Hero Island, Vermont.  Along the way we crossed the US border using our CBP ROAM app.  We were asked to check in at the customs dock.  

When we got near the dock a border patrol agent came out on the dock and just asked us to get close enough so we could show or passports.  We removed our sunglasses, flashed the passports and we were on our way.  Easy!

So we are now in Lake Champlain.

Pelots Bay on North Hero Island was a very nice anchorage but the water was not nearly as clear as the Georgian Bay and some of our other anchorages along the Trent Severn and Rideau earlier this summer.  But still, clear fresh water it was.  

We launched the dinghy and took a nice long walk along the shoreline of the island.  Saw an osprey nest atop an old farm silo no longer in use, a unique spot for a nest!  On the way back we stopped at the marina tiki bar and had a beverage before returning to Sum Escape for dinner. 

Wanting to see as much of Lake Champlain as we can before it turns too cold, we moved on to Burton Island State Park Marina.  Upon arrival we found out that this is the first year they are staying open past Labor Day.  Very nice floating docks, great trails, really cool camping sites, firewood/firepits and only accessible by boat (a ferry runs on the hour).  

Lots of people came to camp for the weekend.  We met another live aboard couple Mike and his wife (forgot her name, sorry) aboard a 38 Carver who are moving toward Florida too.  Asked them a bunch of questions about Lake Champlain and the canal and they were very helpful.  It will not surprise us if our paths cross again as we both migrate south as they are headed to St. Pete.  We took a nice hike on this very comfortable late summer day.  

Saturday we moved on to Deep Bay on the NY side of the lake.  

This long skinny bay has many moorings for $22 a night (plus a $4 weekend premium) and many hiking trails to explore.  When we arrived skies were darkening so we decided not to launch the dinghy for exploring.  It turned out to be a good move as it rained for an hour or so and quite hard at times.  Later during cocktail hour another Grand Banks owner dinghyed over to say hello.  Tim and Dolly spend summers on Lake Champlain on their boat and winters at a home on Cat Island, one of our favorite Bahama islands.  We traded many “have you gone here or met so and so” and had many common Cat Island things to share.  Another small world story for sure!

Sunday proved to be a better day and we cleaned the boat given it was still nice and wet from the overnight rain shower and then launched the dinghy for some trail exploration.  We took a nice 6+ mile hike.  This is just a beautiful lake.  

Only one little issue today.  As we approached the dinghy dock I was not paying enough attention apparently.  Hit a rock under about 18" and took a good chunk out of one of the dinghy prop blades and bent another one pretty good.  I think we'll just try to straighten it up a bit and run it slow until we are done with the rocky lakes!  Have a spare aboard so we'll install it once we hit the Hudson river.  A little map to show the geography covered in our wonderful summer of 2019!

On Monday we moved on to another anchorage, Bluff Point South.  Along the way we stopped in Plattsburg and got a pump out, took a walk to get groceries and did some laundry.  Plattsburg was the site of a very cool war memorial to the heros of the war of 1812 (and others).  

Bluff Point on Valcour island was a very nice stay.  It was our first of two anchorages on the island. Good hiking.

 Wasn't open but could peer into windows....

Tuesday we moved on to Spoon Bay.  As we were unwinding after a busy day (smile) we saw a pontoon boat approach and its occupants had camo suits on.  

Suddenly, bang, bang, two of the Canadian geese swimming along the beach were history.  Seemed like they were awful close to us and it seems early for goose season.  Our Canadian sailor friends occupying another part of our anchorage also appeared concerned.  But checking the rules showed that hunting season was in fact open.  So these hunters had an easy bagging of these geese. But a nice sunset followed.

On 9-11 we moved over to Mallet’s Bay and took a nice spot just off Niquette State Park.  

We dinghyed in to the beach, well more of a muddy shoreline and the park attendant raking the beach collected our daily fee.  We had a nice walk along the trails.  Each stop had poetry to read and reflect upon.

Thursday we went to Willsboro Bay to try to hide near the boat ramp to get out of the strong north wind.  

We were the only one in the anchorage and were able to launch the dinghy and land at the boat ramp to take a nice walk.  We walked over to the Marina and noted a very nice restaurant….but again we are past the “season” and it was not open.  The small waves we encountered in the anchorage were no issue.

We took a hard left (yes a pun is intended) and visited Burlington Vermont at the Ferry Dock Marina on September 13.  

The Spot on the Dock bar made famous by Kenny Chesney...we are backed right up to it.

We had made arrangements to have our friend Father G drove from Boston to join us for Friday night. We had a wonderful dinner at the Shanty Restaurant overlooking Lake Champlain.  The seafood was very good and the company even better! However, it turned out to be a very windy night and was probably our second or third roughest marina stay since we started cruising over 4 years ago. And this was Father G’s first overnight on a boat!  And he did not get seasick!  We rocked and rolled all night.  This is what it still looked like in the morning due to the up to 45 MPH gusts overnight. 

Saturday we bid farewell to our guest 

and walked over to the farmer’s market.  Found some great fresh vegetables and a good lunch too.  Sunday, we attended the Grace Potter Music Festival in the late afternoon to early evening.  We saw Lucius, Rainbow Kitten Surprise (melody was great, Julie thought lyrics might be questionable), Gov’t Mule, a great acoustic set with Warren Haynes (Gov’t Mule) and Grace Potter (best of the show in our opinion) and Grace Potter. 

They also had the "Above the Radar" graffiti painting event at the end of our dock.  This wall was a black concrete wall when we arrived on Friday.  Pretty amazing.

The view of the Adirondacks across Lake Champlain from our slip.

Monday we did a little shopping before we departed and then set off for an anchorage at Converse Bay 

renowned for its sunset over the Adirondacks. 

Could have used a few more clouds to make it spectacular but it was beautiful.

Our next stop was the Westport Marina to get a pump out, fuel and pick up a package we had forwarded there.  

It was a rough spot with the winds along the service dock but our overnight accommodations were behind a seawall and very comfortable.  We took a little walk to a cute little grocery store and spoke to the owners of this family business marina.  A good stop for us.
Sunrise as we left.

We set out fairly early for Fort Ticonderoga a restored fort along the way to the Champlain Canal.  It was a very interesting tour and the tour guides gave a good history lesson about the French and Indian War as well as the history of the fort alternating between French and British control.

 Sum Escape anchored below the fort.

 The Gardens area of the family who financed rebuilding the fort as a historic site.  The mansion is being restored but will be a while before it is complete.

On our walk around the grounds we found this historic site as well.