Hot & Calm, Days 6 & 7

And the heat goes on! Yesterday I needed a break from being out on the water so that my brain could catch up with my eyes, or maybe it is my eyes can catch up with my brain (or is it my ears?)...vertigo had set in from bouncing around in boats. We did make it down to our town beach, which is closed, but you would never know it with so many people still sunning and swimming. There weren't any lifeguards there, but everyone was very civil and social distancing. The south wind had picked up and the water and shoreline were quite turbid for pristine Lake George, so I opted to stay on the beach and Dave did go cool off in the water.

Today was predicted to be in the low 90's and in fact reached 95 degrees. We decided to head further north and go to Valcour Island on Lake Champlain with our Sea Fox. We launched at the Peru State Launch Ramp and Foxie ran perfectly once it got its initial first of the season smoking out of the way. We were amazed at how few boats were at Valcour Island, but then again, we shouldn't have been surprised since the Canadians cannot cross the border yet and this part of the lake is known for Canadian boaters. In our whole trip around the island we saw maybe half a dozen skiffs and only one cruising sailboat anchored out! We had the bay on the north side of Bluff Point all to ourselves for our picnic lunch stop.

As we were eating, I noticed lots of big ugly fish swimming around us, which must have been carp, or perhaps bullheads, since that is what the name of this bay is. They stirred up the bottom so much that we decided to move a couple of coves to the north and found gorgeous sand and clear water. Dave keeps the boat super clean and you would never know it is 19 years old. Gotta love fresh water!

It was fun reminiscing about how we used to anchor out here when we had a cruising sailboat. Sometimes we would have to change coves in the middle of the night when the wind shifted. That was back in the days that the tour boat Juniper used to come in the bay at night with music blasting. It was also when the Plattsburgh Air Base was in service and the jets would take off overhead with their afterburners aglow. We nicknamed the Clinton County Community College Fort Velcro and it still stands quite regally.

Even I went swimming and I can't believe I was in Lake Champlain in June, when the water is normally freezing. When a few other boats came in our cove, we decided to up anchor circumnavigate the island. Cutting through the islands in Spoon Bay is fun but shallow. Good thing we know how to read the water and be in just the right spot with enough depth to get through.

We headed across the lake towards Vermont and peaked our heads into Mallets Bay. With it being so calm, we couldn't resist a quick trip out to Colchester Reef in the middle of the lake, before heading back to Valcour.

The good thing about Lake Champlain is that you can see any bad weather coming, unlike Lake George where once those clouds show over the mountains, you really better make a run for it. I saw some rain cloud on the horizon, but Dave wanted to go snorkeling in the cut by Spoon Bay, so we stopped for a short time...even shorter than expected. Once he got in the water, I heard him yelp and he flew to the shallow rocks. He was attacked by a huge bass protecting its fish nest! 

He tried several other times and it kept coming after him with its mouth wide open. He even tried going on the other shore and there was another fish nest. He gave up and got in the boat to realize he was dripping blood from cuts on his legs when he got chased into the shallows and the razor sharp zebra mussels sliced him in several places. We always keep saying how we love the fresh water because we don't have to worry about anything getting us. I guess we have to think twice about that now. LOL. Good thing there were no sharks though...

Dave dried up his wounds and we got back to the launch ramp before any rain showers hit, although we did go through some downpours on the way back to Ticonderoga. Our timing was perfect and so was our day! Dave will even have some battle scars to prove what fun boating is. 😉