Vergennes, VT

We had an absolutely beautiful day cruising from our Chimney Point anchorage on Wed. June 20 up the sinuous Otter River to Vergennes.  Known as the smallest city in the U.S., Vergennes is about an hour’s cruise up the Otter River from Lake Champlain at our slow cruising speed. The river was  lined with woods and greenery and here and there little settlements of small manufactured homes that looked like vacation homes to us.  Fortunately, the narrow river had been cleared of any floating logs that might disrupt our passage.

What a happy surprise awaited us when we arrived at the Vergennes town docks.  The river ended in small bay with a roaring waterfall and parkland surrounding it. The park had free docks with water and electricity on both sides of the river.  

The “city” of Vergennes is nestled just up a hill next to the falls.  We docked in front a Manatee (boat not mammal) whose owner we met on an earlier stop of our voyage.  He helped us tie up and we found ourselves in the premier position on the dock with our aft deck facing the waterfall.  What a fabulous view!

That afternoon we took a walk up a steep hill to explore.  Vergennes bills itself as the America’s smallest city and calling it a city is a real stretch.  It feels more like a village, at least the part that we saw. Main Street is lined with attractive shops, a gallery, some restaurants and an amazing library. The funds to build the impressive library building were donated by a local resident upon his death and it was a complete surprise.  We took a look inside because it’s highlighted as one of the town’s attractions.  Especially noteworthy was a stained glass domed ceiling.  Afterwards we treated ourselves to the first ice cream of the season, at a shop with the most unusual array of flavors we had ever seen.

Later that evening we had a date night with dinner at a local restaurant - the Black Sheep. It was definitely a local favorite as the manager/server seemed to know everyone who came in.  The food was quite good and the restaurant’s unusual feature was to charge the same amount for each of their appetizers and the same amount for each of their entrees which made the evening surprisingly affordable. 

We stayed in Vergennes for two nights because it was such an idyllic setting.  On Thursday we rode our bikes to the local supermarket going up some pretty steep hills (not Lynn’s favorite).  We had a delicious lunch at a local restaurant called 3 Squares. We chose it because it had the most people inside and we figured that was a good sign.  It was!

Then we went for a walk around the falls and along a very long path that lined the river.  We met a few individuals who looked to be taking a break from work for a lunch time stroll.  What a wonderful stress release!  We explored the old factory buildings on both sides of the falls which have been used as a source of power for over two centuries.  Vergennes had once been a manufacturing center during both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. The falls provided water power to a variety of forges and mills. And in fact, the American Naval fleet which fought the British in the the Battle of Plattsburgh War of 1812 was built at the base of the falls.  The bustling site that also included an arsenal and a number of factories is now the site of a hydro-electric power plant but one that doesn’t detract from the bucolic look of the area.

Vergennes was definitely one of the loveliest spots on our trip thus far and we would be happy to visit it again in the future.

Chimney Point, VT

It wasn’t until we shoved off from the Whitehall town dock on Tuesday, June 19 that we realized how windy and cool it was.  The forecast we had seen earlier looked more promising than what we encountered.  We weren’t  sure how rough it would get as we cruised on a wider portion of Lake Champlain towards our planned destination of Cole Bay.  But first we had to go through the last of the 12 locks that we traversed to get to Lake Champlain.  

We were pretty chilly so we just kept adding layers of clothing and closing the “glass” on the fly bridge.  But the scenery on the lake was just stunning.

We stopped at Chipman Point Marina for a pump-out which is the primary limitation to our staying on anchor for days on end.  We stayed at Chipman Marina when we did the Down East Loop and we have very fond memories of it.  What is particularly special about it is that the marina is housed in two pre-Revolutionary War storehouses - tall stone structures that are situated on a point lot overlooking the lake.  

Due to the windy weather including plenty of whitecaps on the long stretches of the lake, we began to identify alternatives to our original destination.  The Chimney Point, VT and Crown Point, NY locations looked promising especially the Chimney Point anchorage that was protected from the north wind.  Both sites are of historical interest and because it was still early in the day, we decided to visit both of them.

First, we anchored off of Crown Point and dinghied ashore to explore the ruins of two Revolutionary forts there, the French Fort St. Frederic and the larger British Port Crown Point. 

The location of these forts was both strategic and incredibly beautiful.  They overlook the narrowest distance on the lake between  New York and Vermont.  A very popular bridge spans the two points and has served as an important gathering place from the time it was first built as a much smaller wooden structure to today’s soaring replacement.

We explored the ruins for a couple of hours on our own since unfortunately the small museum was closed.  The remains of the officers quarters and the enlisted men’s quarters were still standing as were reinforcements of a portion of the fort’s surrounding walls.

The views from this elevated site were just spectacular!

Next to the bridge was a large monument commemorating the tercentenary of Samuel Champlain’s discovery of Lake Champlain (not that the native Americans weren’t already aware of it).  It was designed as a memorial lighthouse and Lynn climbed its 101 steps to the top.  The monument is topped by a bronze bust of La France by Rodin.

Afterwards, we dinghied back to Zendo and made the short crossing over to the Chimney Point side of the lake.  There we anchored, protected from the north wind, and spent a restful night.

Whitehall, NY

We went for a walk in the park by the Schuylerville Lock first thing on Monday June 18 before we resumed our voyage.  It was a pleasant place to stay overnight and we appreciate the opportunity to dock for free and get out to stretch our legs.  It was interesting to see that adjacent to this lock was an older and smaller canal that preceded the current wider and deeper one.

From here, we went through locks 7, 8, 9, and 11(there is no 10). Between  two of them we reached the highest point and after that we would descend in each of the subsequent locks.  We also passed the infamous Guillotine gate near one of the locks that prevents water from flowing through.

Near Fort Edwards (which we hope to visit next time) we finally left the Hudson and cruised through a dug canal that eventually brought us to Whitehall. On the way we went under another very low bridge (17.5 feet). It was a squeaker but we felt confident going through it as our antenna was still lowered from the earlier bridge. 

We passed through some pastoral scenary and one unfortunate dwelling.

We stopped at Whitehall, home to the U.S. Navy, to have lunch at a cute historically restored restaurant there.

Tying up at the Town dock, we met another cruiser who warned us of a forecasted afternoon storm of which we were unaware.  Over lunch we decided to stay in Whitehall for the night since the town provided free dockage, electricity and water.

Jonny busied himself with boat chores in the afternoon and Lynn did not.  The predicted storms came through with only a short burst of heavy rain. We had made the right decision to stay put.

That evening we took a walk through the town.  Whitehall was significant during the Revolutionary War and there are several references to that time in the downtown area.

Although it is friendly towards cruisers, the town seems to be on a downward slide. It hadn’t changed much since we were here three years ago. There were few business establishments in this part of town and though the waterside park was planted with flowers, the town still has a feeling of glory long past.

The next day we’ll be going through our final lock before entering Lake Champlain!

Schuylerville, NY

We had a perfectly beautiful day of cruising up the Hudson on Sunday, June 17 - Father’s Day.  The weather was warm, but not hot, as we cruised past Albany, Troy and Waterford. 

The Hudson River leads to the Champlain Canal System which is part of the 524 mile New York State Canalway Trail Water System that links the Niagara and Hudson Rivers, the Finger Lakes, Lake Ontario and Lake Champlain.  We encountered our first set of locks in Troy which is one of the largest we’ll see on this trip.  We expect to go through over 100 locks in the next couple of months!  On the following photos, you can see the progression as one of the locks fills with water.

We traveled about halfway through the Champlain Canal System which is actually the upper Hudson. The canals and accompanying locks are used to circumvent the rapids.  We passed through five locks on our way.  Some of them opened quickly for us, but others required us to wait until southbound traffic went through first.  At one lock we had to wait for almost 30 minutes because a barge that was behind us has priority over pleasure craft  to go through locks.  Also, no other boats can be with it in the lock for safety reasons. 

By late afternoon, we reached Schuylerville which is on the Saratoga Plains, the site of a noteworthy Revolutionary  War battle.  Last time we cruised up here we rented a car and spent time in Saratoga Springs but we skipped that fine side trip this time.  

After going through the lock, we tied up at the lock wall next to a pretty little park.  Boats can tie up here for up to 48 hours.  There are no services but we could get out and stretch our legs and explore the park on foot. 

The day was starting to get rather hot so we decided to go for a swim which is getting commonplace for Jonny but for Lynn, it was just her second time this trip.  The water, though cold, was very refreshing and we are now definitely out of any traces of salt water.

Because it was Father’s Day there were lots of phone calls with Stephanie, Andy, Lisa, and others who we are arranging to see on the trip.  We expect to be in Lake Champlain by the next day.