Our gauge pin
Close bridge clearances for our buddies
The Champlain Canal
Lined with moss covered walls
We had to get an escort through an area where General Electric was working to remove PCBs. The project is quite an undertaking to restore conditions in the river after years of pollution.
Our escort
Went through several like this where they load barges
with sand from the river bottom to be treated.
We arrived in Fort Edward late in the day and since more rain moved in, we planned to tour the town the following morning.
Low bridge coming into Ft. Edward
SeaGlide at Ft Edward as the rain began to fall
Instead a phone call from the supervisor of the Champlain Canal told us to leave Fort Edward ASAP as it is fed by the Hudson River which was rising rapidly. In fact, he said that the Champlain Canal was on the verge of closing at Lock 12 and for us to make as much progress as we possibly could.
The following two bridges are the ones at Ft. Edward crossing waters fed by the Hudson.
You can see how close Barefoot'n was to not clearing the bridge.
We lowered SeaGlide's radar arch and were able to leave the bimini up and still make the clearances with no problem.
We made it back into the Champlain Canal and were most anxious to make it to Lock 12 before it closed. Due to rain and flooding, we had to dodge a lot of debris along the way which slowed our progress.
As we made our way up the Champlain we were excited to see Tug 44. The infamous Fred of Tug 44 is most helpful to anyone wanting to venture the Champlain Canal. He is an invaluable source of local knowledge.
Fred's Tug 44
Another beautiful but low bridge.
We were nervous for our buddy boat as they squeeked beneath many tight spots.
Otherwise, it was a beautiful route.
Lots of canoers and kayakers camped out along the way.
High waters made for turbulent currents around dams.
A hitchhiker
Finally, we were able to make it out of the Champlain Canal and into Lake Champlain. The threatened closure at Lock 12 never happened - whew! Once at Lake Champlain the clouds cleared, the sun came out, the topography changed, and we were surrounded by beautiful scenery.
We pulled into Chipman's Marina to enjoy our luck at making it through the Champlain Canal without incident.
Chipmans Marina - buildings dated 1810 and 1824.
The ladies of Chipman's
We enjoyed a beautiful sunset off our bow.
The next day we motored past Fort Ticondaroga, the 185 bridge to Vermont, and Port Henry - all the sites that we had visited by car a couple of weeks earlier.
Ft. Ticondaroga
Ferry
Beautiful farmland
The Adirondaks
185 Bridge to Vermont
Port Henry
Unable to make it into Burlington, VT due to the severe thunderstorms, we found an anchorage and hunkered down during the brunt of the weather. Once the clouds cleared we enjoyed another beautiful sunset.
It even calmed down enough for Amos to make an appearance on the flybridge. He has done incredibly well on this trip and has even gotten used to walking on a leash. He gets quite a few comments at most marinas we visit.
Sunrise the morning of July 4th. We prepared to motor on to Champlain Marina in Colchester, VT.
The fog cleared quickly and we were on our way.
Burlington, VT
An old railway bed made into a bike trail.
A bike ferry takes bicycles across the cut.
Champlain Marina
Too much water at the marina - their make-shift sidewalk.
We enjoyed an evening watching fireworks go off around the lake. The following day we got a cab with Barefoot'n and went into Burlington, VT for a little sightseeing.
The following day we headed to Rouses Point, NY. It would be our final day in the US before making the jump into Canada. The Owners here enjoyed talking to us remarking on our southern accents - most of their customers are from Quebec and speak French. They even loaned us their car, and we drove to an Italian restaurant in town.
Our last stop before leaving the US.
SeaGlide at the Canadian border which is just beyond the bridge.
No comments:
Post a Comment