Upper Lake Champlain to Canada

At the Canadian Customs dock on the Richelieu River.

The so-called Down East Circle is basically a 3,000-mile circumnavigation of the New England states, southern Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.  

The stars and anchors designate the planned daily stops on 
Bill’s planned completion of the Down East Circle.

The route is usually down clockwise to take advantage of the St. Lawrence River currents and includes the coastal waters of New England, the Hudson River, the Lake Champlain Canal, Lake Champlain, the Richeleau River and Canadian locks to the St. Lawrence River, down the St. Lawrence, around the Gaspe Peninsula to Prince Edward Island to Cape Breton and finally along the Nova Scotia coast to Maine.   Then, of course, I, meaning Bill, need to add 500 miles for a little side trip to Newfoundland that includes 80 miles each way of an open water crossing!

Now, Molly, bless her truly, has decided to forgo all future open water crossings.  There have, indeed, been a few rough patches in the past including when one wave that knocked her off the sofa and broke her big toe.  What is adventure to me is nerve racking to her, and she has already completed the Great Loop, three trips to the Bahamas and the first third of the Down East Circle (Maine to Lake Champlain).  She has agreed to accompany me for the first 12 days of this trip from the upper Lake Champlain to Quebec City.  There she will be replaced by my friend Dick Klain, who will cruise with me for the full remainder of the Down East Circle and Newfoundland.

So, early on July 6th we departed Maine trailering our boat Salty Paws to Mallett’s Bay just north of Burlington on Lake Champlain.  In 2021 Molly and I had spent two weeks on the Lake Champlain Canal and Lake Champlain up to Burlington.  Comparing and contrasting the 2021 trip and the present cruise is significant.  Both are filled with history and smokey skies, only this time the smoke is from Canada and 

Tory loved the rocky shore. The skies
still had some smokey haze but we get a
Day of beautiful blue skies after a good rain

not the western USA.        

In 2021 we found anchorage choked by weeds, and an algae bloom that closed virtually ever beach we visited.  Now in 2023 we are in the upper Lake Champlain.  Beautiful anchorages are plentiful, the swimming is fantastic, and the weeds rare.   In 2021 we cruised alone while now we have been joined for the first week by Maine friends Jon and Liz Surgenor and their beautiful homemade boat Taku. 

Salty Paws and Taku in Valcour Island’s
 Smugglers’ Cove.

Morning in Smugglers Cove.

 

Bev and Gordon Watson welcomed Salty Paws (and Tory)
 and Taku to their home and dock where they keep Loon III.

We have also been blessed with the hospitality of our Rosborough boating friends as the Watson’s hosted us for cocktails,  a lovely dinner and a night in their air conditioned cottage for our first night when temperatures stayed in the 80s. 

Liz, Bev, Jon, Molly and Gordon on Taku.

 

Peter and Claudia Hornby in front of the Bluff 
 Point Lighthouse.

Then Rossi owners Peter and Claudia Hornby, who live in Plattsburgh, gave a wonderful tour of the Bluff Point lighthouse and museum on historic Valcour Island.  They have been part of the historical society that has restored the structure to its former glory.   Even the Coast Guard agreed to reactivate the light, although it’s usefulness as a significant aid to navigation is questionable given the increasing height of the nearby trees.

Jon, Peter and Liz on the lookout deck.

Valcour Island is part of the New York State park system and has a number of beautiful coves, rock outcroppings and beaches that attract day boaters as well as cruisers from Canada and other parts of the Lake and beyond.  The island is the famous site of what may have been the decisive battle in determining the outcome of the Revolutionary War.  The British plan for 1776 was to cut the colonies in half by bringing a large force from Canada down Lake Champlain and then the Hudson River to New York City.  On the eastern shore of Valcour, America’s first Navy under the direction of Benedict Arnold hid and surprised the superior British fleet that was coming down the west side of the island.  With the advantage of surprise and wind direction, the Americans wore down the Brits.  While the redcoats eventually prevailed, their losses delayed the British advance one year until 1777 when the Americans had finally reached the strength to defeat the British at Saratoga.  I share more information about this on our August 6, 2021 blog entitled Benedict Arnold Revisited.

Plattsburgh, NY is not far from Valcour Island, and we learned that the waters off the town were also the site of another famous battle between Britain and the USA in 1814 during the War of 1812.  Once again Britain attacked the Americans, this time by both land and sea.  And once again, the British fleet was ambushed by the Americans as they rounded the point off Plattsburgh.  As before, the Americans were upwind, and also had cannons better designed for close warfare.  In less than three hours the Brits were decimated and surrendered, and in a few months the war ended.

The typical radar weather map the last few days.  Some
Areas had severe flooding with roads and houses destroyed.

Now we are dealing with our second straight day of rain, and the bad weather was punctuated with a squall that came through our Plattsburgh restaurant as we were dining, destroying many of the table umbrellas.  Today was a good day to stay on the boat and cruise 30 miles north of Plattsburgh into Canada on the Richelieu River.  More rain is in the forecast. Disappointingly, the rain is keeping us from visiting some of the small towns and historic sites we had hoped to tour. 

Jon helped me diagnose my electrical problem.

Molly went for a swim under Tory’s
Watchful eye.