We Get Around

A trip to Lake Champlain was in order when the hot days of summer kicked in. We launched the skiff in Westport, which was a good boat choice for the day because of the Sea Fox's bimini top to protect us from the sun. I was the captain and chauffeured Dave up and down both the New York and Vermont shoreline. First stop was a picnic lunch and snorkel in the lee of Split Rock Point. This photo was taken looking from the bay out into the main part of the lake.

The rocks and deep water here make the water colder than the rest of the lake. I could barely get my feet wet, but Dave went in the clear water (lots of filtering Zebra Mussels around). He said that the temp at the surface was about 70 and a foot down it felt like 10 degrees colder!

We were amazed to see quite a few loons in the lake and are thrilled that they are making a comeback.

Serenity now...

Insanity later! We were chased out of our serene spot near a cobblestone beach by 11 noisy kids in kayaks. I do give them a lot of credit for paddling across the lake, but their boisterous voices were carrying on the water, including the two adult chaperones. To me kayaking should be quiet time to enjoy nature.

We continued our trek towards Essex, where the ferry crosses the lake to Charlotte, Vermont. The cliffs along the way don't make for a very good place to have a dock. We wondered who climbs up and down this ladder? As Dave's father used to say when heading down to a dock, "Don't forget the ketchup!"

We followed the path of the ferries and checked out the boats in McNeil Cove, VT.

Then we scooted through Converse Bay and on to Point Bay Marina to see if there were any different boats there.

An exploration of this part of the lake would not be complete without a stop in Kingsland Bay. We have fond (and challenging!) memories of anchoring here with our sailboat from years gone by. We hung out by the state park and the water was weedless and warmer, so we both went swimming.Yes, that really is Dave relaxing twice in one day!

As the sun got lower so did the light south wind, and our trip back to the launch ramp, after a quick circumnavigation of Button Island, was totally calm.

What a great day on the water that brought back many memories of our past cruising history here.