CANADA !!

On Saturday, August 31, 2013 Sea Star drifted across the 45th parallel to officially float in Canadian water after a 7 year absence.
Our wonderful summer afloat came to an end on Labour Day, Sept. 2nd as Sea Star was hauled out at Marina Le Sieur de Champlain immediately north of the U.S./Canadian border on the Richelieu River in Quebec.
We encountered a problem at Canadian Customs upon our arrival in regard to documentation to prove duty was paid by the original owner when Sea Star was initially imported from the U. S. in 2003.  This coupled with car problems when we attempted to retrieve it from Coeyman's (Albany) caused Barry to make a return trip to Quebec to rectify the situation.  With the proper documentation in hand along with a new fuel pump Barry (and brother-in-law Wes) made the journey back to Quebec and successfully satisfied Customs and got the car running, once again.

Time

This summer we decided to take time to relax and enjoy.
Last summer we were underway only 23 days before Sea Star's transmission broke down leaving us stranded on the Hudson River.  We hauled out near Albany in the path of hurricane "Sandy".
The summer before, we motored along the polluted inter-coastal waterway in record breaking heat and had a heart-pounding narrow escape from hurricane "Irene".
We got an early start this year with the plans that if we found somewhere nice, where we could finally swim, we would take the time to enjoy and that's just what we did.
We were through the Champlain canal and into Lake Champlain by Canada Day (July 1st).  Once there, we took the time to swim, sight-see, sail, spend time with family and savour the delights of summer 'til Sea Star's haul out on Labour Day (Sept. 2nd).
For the past few years we've pushed forward in an effort to keep Sea Star moving towards the Great Lakes.  This year we were more than ready to relax and enjoy the pleasures of fresh water sailing and Lake Champlain offered a perfect venue.  But now, as we see the leaves turning colour and feel the crispness in the air it's time to return to life ashore and make plans for next summer.
We take with us very fond memories of our wonderful summer afloat in Lake Champlain.

Holiday Time - Family Fun

August 17, 2013 to August 24, 2013 was a very special week for us as we got a chance to spend precious family time together with our daughter Robin, son-in-law Matt and our 2 grandchildren - Ryan (4) and Kate (4 months).
Travelling with small children is never easy but luckily for us Robin & Matt chose to rent a lake-front cottage for a week in the Champlain Islands (Ladd Point) and for all but one day the winds were favourable for us to anchor in the cove offshore.
We greatly enjoyed the opportunity to have our grandson Ryan over-night on the boat with us.
During the week we celebrated Matt's birthday and our wedding anniversary.  Appropriately in the evening, with our grandson on board Sea Star, we watched fireworks around the bay.
The hot, sunny week seemed to fly by as we enjoyed time together sight-seeing, shopping, swimming and even sailing.
We forever will share fond memories of our week together holidaying in Vermont.

Parks

Parks cover a vast part of Lake Champlain's shoreline.
There are 12 state parks on Vermont's side of the lake.  There are only 2 state parks on New York state's side as there just isn't room for more since the Adirondack Park covers the majority (75 miles) of the lake's shoreline.
We visited several of the parks.  Most can be reached by car but some, such as Butler Island, are only accessible by water.  At these you may arrive on your own boat or by way of the park ferry.  At the dock camping equipment is loaded onto trailers or carts to get it to your campsite.  Many of the sites were equipped with lean-tos.
We went in search of Lake Champlain's longest beach and found all 3/4 of a mile of it at Alburgh Dunes State Park. 

Lake Champlain may boast of a vast amount of natural beauty but sadly great sand beaches are in short supply.  (perhaps we've just been spoiled by living near Lake Huron)

Samuel de Champlain

A French explorer; the Father of New France; the founder of Quebec (1608); the first European to see Lake Champlain, which he named for himself in 1609.
At the south end of the lake at Crown Point stands the Samuel de Champlain memorial lighthouse.  It includes a bronze bust of "La France" by renowned sculptor, Auguste Rodin.  The memorial was presented by the people of France to commemorate the tercentenary (300th anniversary) of Samuel de Champlain's discovery of Lake Champlain.
At the north end of the lake, at St. Anne's shrine on Isle La Motte, lies another majestic granite statue of Champlain.  This monument was carved in the Vermont pavilion in Montreal during Expo 67.
In Burlington a commemorative area on the waterfront shows photos of the 400th anniversary celebrations that took place in 2009.
This summer, by rather a good coincidence, I find myself reading a book by Louise Penny, "Bury Your Dead".  The subject matter of her book is in regard to the location of Champlain's grave.  In her book she makes reference to the vision and courage that Champlain had to not only take from the land furs, fish and timber but to actually live here long enough to establish a colony in spite of the immense hardships that must have been endured.
Truly a man worthy of monuments!

Monuments and Shrines

St. Anne's shrine on Isle La Motte is located on the site of Fort St. Anne; Vermont's oldest settlement - 1666.
Among the many statues on the shrine grounds is a 15 foot gold-leafed statue of Our Lady of Lourdes.
The whole of Crab Island is a memorial dedicated to recognizing those killed in the Battle of Plattsburg, September 11, 1814 as Officers, Soldiers and Sailors from both the American and British fleets are buried there.
We followed the trail very carefully to view the many memorials on Crab Island as one plaque describes the 3 different types of poison ivy growing in profusion there - even a climbing ivy variety!

Lighthouses and Forts

Along the whole length of Lake Champlain we encountered many monuments, forts, lighthouses and shrines that embrace and recognize the rich history of the area.
With interest, we visited the Valcour Island State Park to tour the Bluff Point Lighthouse; built in 1874.
Abandoned lighthouses along the lake were a frequent sight.
We didn't visit any of the many forts located along the lake but we did note with interest the "For Sale" sign on Fort Montgomery Island on the Richelieu river (a bargain at $2,950,000).
Fort Montgomery was built in 1776 to defend against British movement up the Hudson River.
Our guide book tells us that in the spring of 1777 a giant chain was stretched across the Richelieu River from Fort Montgomery to Anthony's Nose.  In the fall of the same year a British force came up the river from New York, captured the fort and cut the chain.  The construction of such a chain (in 1776) must have been a mammoth undertaking. 

Burlington

Sitting behind a break-wall on Lake Champlain's shore lies Vermont's largest city - Burlington.
The population of just 42,000 in this "university" town adds to the unique culture that is so much a part of Vermont.
Burlington boasts a very tourist friendly waterfront with beaches, parks, restaurants and a very busy, well-used "recreation" path (the 12 mile island line trail).
A "closed traffic" bricked roadway covers several blocks of the downtown which makes for a very pedestrian friendly area to shop and dine.
Adding to the boating traffic in this busy harbour are many sight-seeing boats and dinner cruises.
This is also one of the 3 places on Lake Champlain where the ferry crosses.
Just south of Burlington is one of the more popular sailing areas in the lake - Shelburne Bay.
Located on the waterfront is a wonderfully interesting, family-friendly science centre - ECHO. 
The name reflects the Ecology, Culture, History and Opportunity of the Lake Champlain basin.
We had 3 very interesting and enjoyable visits to Burlington during our summer afloat in Lake Champlain and we felt their waterfront offered one of the most spectacular views of New York state's Adirondack mountains.

Vergennes (Up the Creek)

With the Coast Guard broadcasting a wind warning for the lake we happily powered for 7 miles along Otter Creek inland to Vergennes, Vermont.  We tied up to the town's free dock, just below the falls, for a 3 day stay.
Our timing was good as we were in town during the weekly farmer's market.
On our boat there always seems to be one system or another not working.  This summer the battery on our laptop has given up which requires it to be linked to a direct power source and of course our inverter on board has decided not to work.  We took the opportunity while relaxing on Vergennes dock, hooked up to their free hydro, to have a movie marathon as we took a break from travelling to watch many of the movies we'd brought along.
While leaving early Sunday morning we planned to back off the dock and quietly slip away without disturbing the other 19 boats there.  Such was the plan but unfortunately during breakfast we regrettably broke the early morning quiet when our smoke detector went off.  We quickly turned it off and proceeded to back off the dock only to have our mast hit a branch on a tree over-hanging the river.  It broke off with a loud crack and showered Sea Star in branches and leaves. 
We gave everyone a rather sheepish good-morning wave and headed quickly out of town.

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum - Outboards and Iceboats

A 2 storey building on the museum grounds is devoted to housing the ice sailboat "Storm King".  Authentic (original) video footage shows the ice sailing craft catching the wind under full sail on the frozen Hudson River.  There is no disguising the thrill of such an outing.  She could reach speeds of 100 miles per hour (capable of 3 to 5 times the wind speed).  Those affluent enough to take part in such a sport are quoted as saying, "its exciting because its dangerous".  No doubt about that!
Another building on the grounds houses a very interesting collection of the first 100 years of outboard motors.  Sharing the space as well is a beautifully restored Chris Craft yacht. 
We thoroughly enjoyed touring this very interesting museum and it's beautiful exhibits.

 

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum

We spent a very enjoyable day exploring the museum located at Vergennes (Basin Harbour), Vermont.
It was fascinating to learn about the area's rich history; the Revolutionary Way 1776 (War of Independence) and the War of 1812.  We also saw evidence of the 300 historic shipwrecks that still lay in the depth of the lake.
Located on the museum's dock is a working replica of the 1776 Revolutionary War gunboat "Philadelphia" alongside several other historic water-craft and replicas all of which were constructed on the museum grounds by volunteers.
We learned about how the area experienced a very prosperous commercial period in the 1800s helped substantially by the opening of the Champlain canal in 1823.  By the late 1840s goods could travel south through the Champlain canal to the Hudson River (New York city), westbound to the Great Lakes via the Erie canal and north to the St. Lawrence River via the Chambly canal.
In the museum we viewed video footage of the 1776 gunboat "Spitfire" which sits intact in 300 feet of water.  The museum has done extensive research to find a method to preserve this very significant national treasure especially now that zebra mussels have entered the lake.
The original 1776 gunboat "Philadelphia" was raised from the lake bottom and is on display in the Smithsonian while the "Spitfire" remains preserved by the cold lake water.
The museum has been instrumental in locating, cataloguing and preserving the lake's underwater history.
Seven dive sites throughout the lake have been marked as "underwater historic preserves".  These locations offer divers the opportunity to view 19th century wrecks.