We have finally gone back to summertime weather for the next week, so it is time to get back out on the water! Yesterday we decided to take Foxie to Willsboro Bay on Lake Champlain. Normally we launch the Bauer 12 sailboat or kayak at the state launch ramp, but then we can't go very far. Foxie was the perfect boat to revisit some of the places we used to frequent when we had our Caliber 28 sailboat docked at Willsboro Bay Marina, back in the late 1980s. The wind was predicted to be light southerly, but as we got further and further north and away from the protection of the bay (this bay is so big that it is like a lake itself), it got rougher and rougher. Our ultimate destination was the now defunct Port Kent ferry docks to see the Adirondack, which is soon slated to be towed to NYC and scrapped (unfortunately, it was deemed unusable as a possible dive sight). We did make it and it will be sad to see the Adirondack go, since this is the same ferry that Dave was invited to go down in the engine room in and watch its antiquated engine stop and restart when they had to go from forward to reverse and vice versa. I also believe this is the same ferry that my family took across the lake back when we were kids (I remember the trip consisted of going to Ausable Chasm, then the ferry ride in inclement weather, then on to Shelburne Museum on the Vermont side the following day). The run across the lake has been discontinued and the docks in Burlington have been turned into a marina.
We had planned on a picnic lunch stop in the crescent bay next to the Port Kent ferry landing, but the wind was actually southeast, so it wasn't a good anchorage. We headed back to historic and uninhabited Schuyler Island and found a little spot behind a rocky point with a bit of lee. We contemplated how many musketballs and cannonballs might be hiding among the underwater rocks.
After lunch we started back to the ramp, but while we were having lunch, the wind had apparently eased and was almost non existent by the time we reached the mouth of Willsboro Bay. This made for a change in plans and we went halfway across the lake to see the Four Brother Islands. These islands were taken over by cormorants many years ago and the trees were killed by their poop. Now we can see that the trees are falling down but the new growth has started from the bottom. The islands are still nesting areas for birds. We turned the engine off and drifted, listening to the sounds and remembering how we used to sail between these islands.
Back in the bay I wanted to get a photo of the train trestle that goes over a waterfall along the shoreline (there are two trestles and a tunnel in the area...the tunnel has a cove below it that we used to anchor in). We were also hoping a train would go overhead while we were there, but that wasn't to be.
The creek coming out provided a sandy shoal for us to anchor in and Dave waded in to get a closer look. The water was super cold.
The view from right below the trestle would have been quite dynamic had a train gone overhead!
What another great adventure to add to our numerous memories of this area. I can tell this is going to be a fun week coming up!
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